Last week, over 800 women marched through Monrovia, Liberia demanding peace in their West African country. Leymah Gbowee, the organizer of the protests, stated that "the women of Liberia will no more allow ourselves to be raped, abused, misused, maimed, and killed," reports the Independent. The protesters are demanding the disarmament of the fighters who have treated women as spoils of war during the 14 years of civil war.
According to Amnesty International, despite the peace agreement set in August, women continue to be raped. "War made [Liberian] women the spoils of conquest" as Charles G. Taylor fought his way to the presidency, as rebels tried to oust Taylor, and now as soldiers continue to fight in the countryside - far from where the United Nations peacekeepers are stationed, reports the New York Times.
Amnesty International is urging the current government in Liberia to publicly condemn the continuing abuses against civilians. Amnesty is also urging that the current peacekeeping force be expanded and be deployed beyond Monrovia to provide security.
6/18/2013 Supreme Court Strikes Down Proof of Citizenship Voter Requirements - On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law requiring voters to provide proof of citizenship before being allowed register to vote.
In an opinion written [PDF] by Justice Antonin Scalia, the Court ruled that the Arizona statute violated the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA, also known as the "Motor Voter Law") of 1993, which created a federal form that individuals can mail in to register to vote in federal elections. . . .
6/18/2013 Pakistani Women's University Bus, Hospital Bombed - A bus for a women's university in Pakistan and the hospital that treated victims from the blast were bombed on Saturday, killing 14 students and 24 others at the hospital.
The bus was transporting female students and teachers from Sardar Bahadur Khan Women's University in Quetta, located in the southwestern part of Pakistan. . . .
6/18/2013 Taliban Attack In Afghan Capital As NATO Transfers Power - Yesterday, NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) transferred responsibility for the country's security forces to the Afghan government after a bomb blast targeting a political official left three civilians dead in Kabul. . . .
