The Muddy Notebook » Middle East

Mother’s Day gift from Save the Children

carolynthewriter — Tue, 04 May 2010 15:53:59 +0000

It’s the NGO’s annual State of the World’s Mothers report and it’s just out and available here from Save the Children. A cause being important and worthy, and a product about it, such as this report, coming from a well-regarded organization, doesn’t mean journalists and others will automatically give them attention. Advocates who want attention for their issues are smart to find news pegs for them, such as Save the Children releasing this report near Mother’s Day. Smart stuff, effective advocacy.

Lets not forget what else is going on

carolynthewriter — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 15:31:27 +0000

Iraq, Sudan, Somalia, Myanmar — there still are crises in these countries and others around the world requiring a slice of attention. Even as the urgency of Haiti clearly rises to the top of the agenda, as I’ve said before, the world must be able to multitask on humanitarian situations. Look to Thomson Reuters Foundation AlertNet and IRIN for broad coverage of humanitarian crises and issues that persist even as Haiti grabs most of the world’s spotlight.

One teeny-tiny step forward in Saudi Arabia

carolynthewriter — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:40:55 +0000

It is so small, in fact, that I can’t really get myself to praise past the headline of this posting. It’s outrageous that an 8-year-old girl was forced into marrying a 50-year-old man. It is more sad proof that child trafficking thrives, as does the commodification of children. It’s a damn good thing she was allowed to sever the marriage, but where are the laws and enforcement that would have prevented this and heavens know how many other such marriages in the first place? Allow me to stray from trying to be literate in this blog by simply saying I’m really pissed by this.

CAIRO - An 8-year-old Saudi girl has divorced her middle-aged husband after her father forced her to marry him last year in exchange for about $13,000, her lawyer said Thursday.

Saudi Arabia has come under increasing criticism at home and abroad for permitting child marriages. The United States, a close ally of the conservative Muslim kingdom, has called child marriage a “clear and unacceptable” violation of human rights.

The girl was allowed to divorce the 50-year-old man after an out-of-court settlement had been reached in the case, said her lawyer, Abdulla al-Jeteli. The exact date of the divorce was not immediately known. They were married in August