Women and the World - 2002-11-06

In our time, known as the 'Information Age' and gradually the 'Digital Age', there are unique challenges associated with modernization. One of these is navigating websites and getting lost in their web-like structures. This leads me, while searching for another issue, to the establishment of a new international court, and I learn that the first permanent international criminal court will begin operating in The Hague early next year. Most importantly, the 'Women's Committee for Justice and Equality' has succeeded, through five years of discussions with UN officials, in incorporating a group of women's issues into international law, aiming to shape the true meaning of justice and equality for women through its application in this court. Reflecting on the fact that the global community is taking steps towards equality and justice every day more than the day before brings to mind the severe criticism that arose globally when, on August 19, the Sharia appellate court in Nigeria issued a ruling for the stoning of a young Nigerian woman named Amina Lawal for having given birth to a child out of wedlock. Amnesty International stated that this punishment contradicts Nigeria's constitution, its legal obligations under international human rights laws, and the African Charter on Human Rights, adding that stoning as a method of execution is undoubtedly inhumane and one of the most brutal forms of torture, violating the 'Covenant on Civil and Political Rights' and the 'Convention Against Torture.' As for the Nigerian government, I am unaware of their current stance, although just a few days ago, they promised not to carry out the stoning of Amina Lawal under pressure from international organizations and human rights groups, or perhaps the threat of not hosting the Miss World pageant next year in Nigeria influenced their decision. However, the Iranian government... The Iranian government signed the Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1975, and as a result, it should either officially withdraw its signature or refrain from stoning Maryam Ayubi in Evin Prison on July 11 of last year. I also recall that according to human rights organizations, the number of women who have been stoned in Iran over the past twenty-three years is certainly more than dozens. Nevertheless, they say that any loss can be turned into a gain, and for this reason, I ask myself whether Mohammad Khatami, the President of Iran, could not present a bill to the Islamic Consultative Assembly to abolish the stoning punishment for Iranian citizens, which would undoubtedly demonstrate respect for the dignity of civilization, just as he brought the dialogue of civilizations to the UN General Assembly two years ago, and in 2000, the UN declared it the Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations.