Making Equality Reality: February Edition

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Dear John

It’s update time! See what our team of expert human rights lawyers and advocates have been working on around the world in February to #MakeEqualityReality for women and girls. Thank you for making this work possible.

Sierra Leone: A Step Closer to Outlawing FGM?

On February 3rd 2022, our partners Forum Against Harmful Practices (FAHP) in Sierra Leone delivered an open letter co-signed by 130 women’s rights organizations from 34 countries calling on the Government of Sierra Leone to criminalize female genital mutilation (FGM) and protect women and girls from this harmful practice.

The Speaker of Parliament responded with a groundbreaking public statement on the need to outlaw FGM in the country. As Equality Now, we are ready to support the Government of Sierra Leone towards the development of this law prohibiting FGM at all ages. This is a true illustration of how collective action can be galvanized towards a common goal – ending FGM.

Read the full statement

Noura Hussein is Free: the Young Sudanese Woman that Escaped a Death Sentence

Noura was forcibly married off against her will at 17. The man she was married to, raped her with the aid of three male relatives. When he attempted to rape her again, Noura defended herself and the man died in the ensuing struggle. She was sentenced to death in a Sudanese court. Following international attention and direct legal support from Equality Now and our partners in Sudan, her death sentence was quashed and commuted to five years in prison. Noura was released in 2021: in planning for her release we had discussed options for Noura to continue studying at the Open University of Sudan where she had an offer.

Noura’s case opened up an important debate about gender equality in Sudan and the need for reform of discriminatory laws, which we hope will continue.

Why Noura Hussein's case matters

In the US: Constitutional Equality is Non-Negotiable

On January 27th, our Legal Advisor Jorie Dugan spoke at a rally in front of the White House on the urgent need to incorporate the Equal Rights Amendment into the US Constitution once and for all.

Arguments like “we already have protections for women and girls, we don’t need a special amendment” and “The Equal Rights Amendment wouldn’t actually impact the everyday lives of Americans” don’t hold up to empirical evidence from around the world. Without the ERA, the US constitution is out of compliance with international law and human rights standards. The only way to remedy this is to certify the ERA now.

Read Jorie Dugan's remarks

Learn more:

Podcast: International Action is Needed to Stop Online Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Women & Girls

In the latest Thomson Reuters Institute Market Insights podcast, we look into the steep challenge of fighting online sexual exploitation and abuse (OSEA) in today's digitized world. Listen to Tsitsi Matekaire, Equality’s Now Global Lead for End Sexual Exploitation, talk about this global and multijurisdictional problem, challenges on detecting OSEA and holding perpetrators acocuntable, and recommendations to governments and the international community to stop it.

Listen to the podcast episode

Get involved:

Inviting Applications to the Public Voices Fellowship on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls

Equality Now is delighted to announce its partnership with The OpEd Project and Senior Advisor Ann MacDougall in sponsoring the Public Voices Fellowship on Advancing the Rights of Women and Girls. This Fellowship is part of The OpEd Project’s Public Voices initiative to change who writes history, and Equality Now’s mission to create a just world for all women and girls.

We are seeking to assemble a cohort of twenty diverse thought leaders to join a fellowship that will receive a year-long program of training and mentoring. All workshops will be provided free of charge and shall be held virtually so participants can join online from around the world.

How to apply

Our recent submissions:

Uzbekistan and Lebanon – Committee On The Elimination Of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Submissions – 81st Session, 2022.
Bolivia – Submission To The Human Rights Committee – 134th Session February – March 2022.

All of Equality Now’s work is impossible without you. As always, thank you for being a part of this incredible feminist community.

In solidarity,

Niki Kandirikirira
Director of Programs

PS Equality Now’s Global Executive Director Yasmeen Hassan joined Margaret Atwood's hand-picked panel in the Guardian Saturday sharing ideas to change the world. Read their rich conversation!

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