India most dangerous country for women with sexual violence rife — global poll

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The controversial Hindu chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh dubbed the "guru in bling" headed there to await a verdict in his rape trial. (AFP)
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This file photo taken on June 14, 2012 shows police escorting controversial Hindu Swami Nithyananda (C) faces a series of assault and sexual abuse charges. (AFP)
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Indian demonstrators gather at the India Gate monument for a late night candlelight vigil in protest over the gang rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl, in New Delhi on April 13, 2018. (AFP)
Updated 26 June 2018
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India most dangerous country for women with sexual violence rife — global poll

  • the United States in the top 10 most dangerous countries for women came down to the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns against sexual harassment and violence that have dominated headlines for months
  • Afghanistan fared worst in four of the seven questions, with concerns over health care and conflict-related violence

LONDON: India is the world’s most dangerous country for women due to the high risk of sexual violence and being forced into slave labor, according to a poll of global experts released on Tuesday.
War-torn Afghanistan and Syria ranked second and third in the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey of about 550 experts on women’s issues, followed by Somalia.
The only Western nation in the top 10 was the United States, which ranked joint third when respondents were asked where women were most at risk of sexual violence, harassment and being coerced into sex.
The poll was a repeat of a survey in 2011 that found experts saw Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan, India, and Somalia as the most dangerous countries for women.
Experts said India moving to the top of poll showed not enough was being done to tackle the danger women faced, more than five years after the rape and murder of a student on a bus in Delhi made violence against women a national priority.
“India has shown utter disregard and disrespect for women ... rape, marital rapes, sexual assault and harassment, female infanticide has gone unabated,” said Manjunath Gangadhara, an official at the Karnataka state government.
“The (world’s) fastest growing economy and leader in space and technology is shamed for violence committed against women.”
Government data shows reported cases of crime against women rose by 83 percent between 2007 and 2016, when there were four cases of rape reported every hour.
The survey asked respondents which five of the 193 United Nations member states they thought were most dangerous for women and which country was worst in terms of health care, economic resources, cultural or traditional practices, sexual violence and harassment, non-sexual violence and human trafficking.
Respondents also ranked India the most dangerous country for women in terms of human trafficking, including sex slavery and domestic servitude, and for customary practices such as forced marriage, stoning and female infanticide.
India’s Ministry of Women and Child Development declined to comment on the survey results.

TRAPPED BY WAR
Afghanistan fared worst in four of the seven questions, with concerns over health care and conflict-related violence.
Kimberly Otis, director of advancement at Women for Afghan Women, said women and girls faced severe gender-based violence, abuse, illiteracy, poverty, and other human rights offenses.
“The ongoing war and conflict are getting worse in Afghanistan, which puts the lives of women and girls at increasing risk,” said US-based Otis, a survey participant.
Afghanistan’s Public Health Minister Ferozuddin Feroz said the deteriorating security situation was making life difficult for women, with large parts of the country still in the control of Taliban fighters after nearly 17 years of war.
“Nowadays, suicide bombings and armed conflict is the third (highest) cause of deaths and disability in Afghanistan,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an interview in London.
“Instead of focusing (spending) on maternal health, on nutritional status, we spend it on trauma.”
The impact of a seven-year war drove Syria into third place in the survey, amid concerns over access to health care and both sexual and non-sexual violence.
“There are so many dangers for girls and women,” said Maria Al Abdeh, executive director of Women Now For Development, which supports women’s centers in Syria.
“There is sexual violence by government forces. Domestic violence and child marriage are increasing and more women are dying in childbirth. The tragedy is nowhere near an end.”
Somalia, where more than two decades of war has fueled a culture of violence and weakened institutions meant to uphold the law, was again named as one of the five most dangerous countries for women.

#METOO PUTS US ON LIST
Experts said the surprise addition of the United States in the top 10 most dangerous countries for women came down to the #MeToo and Time’s Up campaigns against sexual harassment and violence that have dominated headlines for months.
“People want to think income means you’re protected from misogyny, and sadly that’s not the case,” said Cindy Southworth, executive vice president of the Washington-based National Network to End Domestic Violence.
“We are going to look back and see this as a very powerful tipping point ... We’re blowing the lid off and saying ‘#Metoo and Time’s Up’.”
Rounding out the top 10 most dangerous countries for women were Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Yemen and Nigeria.
India, Libya and Myanmar were considered the world’s most dangerous nations for women exploited by human traffickers in a global crime worth an estimated $150 billion a year.
“In many countries the simple fact of being female creates a heightened risk of becoming a victim of slavery,” said Nick Grono, chief executive of the Freedom Fund, the first private donor fund dedicated to ending slavery.
The poll of 548 people was conducted online, by phone and in person between March 26 and May 4 with an even spread across Europe, Africa, the Americas, South East Asia, South Asia and the Pacific.
Respondents included aid professionals, academics, health care staff, non-government organization workers, policy-makers, development specialists and social commentators.


Chad accuses Sudan of aiding rebel forces

Updated 4 sec ago
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Chad accuses Sudan of aiding rebel forces

LIBREVILLE: Chad on Friday accused Sudan of arming and financing rebel groups on Chadian territory with the aim of destabilising its neighbor.
Chad claims Sudan is aiding a rebellion by members of the Zaghawa ethnic group operating out of Sudan’s southwestern El Facher region.
“Sudan is financing and arming terrorist groups operating in the sub-region with the aim of destabilising Chad,” foreign affairs minister and government spokesman Abderaman Koulamallah said in a press release.
The Zaghawa rebels based in Sudan are led by Ousman Dillo, the younger brother of Chadian opposition leader Yaya Dillo Djerou, who was killed by Chadian military forces earlier this year.
In February 2008, a Zaghawa rebel group based in Sudan launched a lightning offensive in Chad along with other groups, forcing former president Idriss Deby Itno to take refuge in his presidential palace, before he was able to repel them with help from France.
In 2021, Idriss Deby Itno died fighting other rebel forces near the border with Libya and the army named his son Mahamat Idriss Deby as president.
Sudan’s government has accused Chad of meddling in its own civil war by helping to deliver weapons from the United Arab Emirates to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary forces, which Chad and the UAE have denied.
The Sudanese war, which pits the army against the RSF, broke out in April 2023 and has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 11 million, including 3.1 million who are now sheltering beyond the country’s borders, monitors say.

Elon Musk joined Trump’s call with Ukraine’s Zelensky, media reports say

Updated 26 min 28 sec ago
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Elon Musk joined Trump’s call with Ukraine’s Zelensky, media reports say

  • Ukraine's President Zelensky called Trump on Wednesday to congratulate him on his election win, Axios reported
  • Trump reportedly said he would support Ukraine, without providing details, and Musk reportedly said he would continue supplying Starlink satellites

WASHINGTON: When Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Donald Trump to congratulate him on his presidential election victory, Tesla CEO and Trump supporter Elon Musk joined the call, according to media reports on Friday. During the 25-minute call on Wednesday, the day after the election, Trump told Zelensky he would support Ukraine, without providing details, and Musk said he would continue supplying Starlink satellites, Axios reported, citing unidentified sources.
Musk owns SpaceX, which provides Starlink satellite communication services that are vital for Ukraine’s defense effort, but his statements have sometimes angered Kyiv since Russia invaded its neighbor in 2022.
Zelensky was telling Trump how important the satellites had been for Internet service during the war when Trump said Musk was with him and put the billionaire on the line, the Washington Post reported.
Trump and Musk were at Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Palm Beach residence and club, when the call took place, according to the New York Times.
Musk gave millions of dollars to support Trump’s presidential campaign and made public appearances with him. Trump has said he would offer Musk, the world’s richest person, a role in his administration promoting government efficiency.
Musk did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump campaign said it did not comment on private meetings.
Zelensky was among the first leaders to congratulate Trump, who has been critical of US military and financial support for Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Zelensky said in a post on social media platform X on Wednesday that his conversations with Trump should continue.
“We agreed to maintain close dialogue and advance our cooperation. Strong and unwavering US leadership is vital for the world and for a just peace,” the Ukrainian president said.


UK’s Met Police refers itself to watchdog over Al-Fayed probes

More than 400 women and witnesses have come forward alleging sexual misconduct by the former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed. (AF
Updated 08 November 2024
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UK’s Met Police refers itself to watchdog over Al-Fayed probes

  • Two women have complained about the police's handling of investigations into alleged sexual abuse by the late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed

LONDON: The UK’s Metropolitan Police on Friday referred itself to the police watchdog following complaints from two women over its handling of investigations into alleged sexual abuse by late Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed.
The complaints, referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), involve investigations from 2008 and 2013.
They revolve around the quality of the police response and, in the case of the 2013 probe, how details came to be disclosed publicly.
“In recent weeks, two victims-survivors have come forward with concerns about how their allegations were handled when first reported, and it is only appropriate that the IOPC assess these complaints,” said Stephen Clayman, from the Met’s Specialist Crime team.
“Although we cannot change the past, we are resolute in our goal to offer every individual who contacts us the highest standard of service and support,” he added.
More than 400 women and witnesses have come forward in the past six weeks alleging sexual misconduct by Fayed, who died in August last year aged 94.
The allegations follow the airing of a BBC documentary in September that detailed multiple claims of rape and sexual assault by the former owner of the upmarket London department store.
The Justice for Harrods Survivors group said it had received 421 inquiries, mainly related to the store but also regarding Fulham football club, the Ritz Hotel in Paris and other Fayed entities.
The Met said Friday that it was “actively reviewing 21 allegations reported to the Metropolitan Police prior to Mohamed Al-Fayed’s passing... to determine if any additional investigative steps are available or there are things we could have done better.”


India’s Naga separatists threaten to resume violence after decades-long truce

Updated 08 November 2024
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India’s Naga separatists threaten to resume violence after decades-long truce

  • “The violent confrontation between India and Nagalim shall be purely on account of the deliberate betrayal and breach of commitment by India and its leadership to honor the letter and spirit of Framework Agreement of 2015,” he said

GUWAHATI, India: An armed separatist group in a remote northeast Indian state on Friday threatened to “resume violent armed resistance” after nearly three decades of ceasefire, accusing New Delhi of failing to honor promises in earlier agreements.
The Naga insurgency, India’s oldest, is aimed at creating a separate homeland of Nagalim that unites parts of India’s mountainous northeast with areas of neighboring Myanmar for ethnic Naga people. About 20,000 people have died in the conflict since it began in 1947.
A ceasefire between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), a leading separatist group, and Indian security forces has held since it was enforced in 1997 and the group signed an agreement with New Delhi in 2015 toward striking a resolution on their demands.

BACKGROUND

A ceasefire between the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), a leading separatist group, and Indian security forces has held since it was enforced in 1997.

But talks have stagnated since and in a statement Friday, the group’s chief, Thuingaleng Muivah, accused India of “betrayal of the letter and spirit” of the 2015 agreement.
India’s Interior Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Muivah’s remarks.
In a statement, Muivah urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s federal government to “respect and honor” the 2015 agreement, which he said “officially recognized and acknowledged” the right to a sovereign flag and constitution for the separatists.
Muivah proposed a “third party intervention” to resolve the impasse, threatening that it would resume violence if “such a political initiative was rejected.”
“The violent confrontation between India and Nagalim shall be purely on account of the deliberate betrayal and breach of commitment by India and its leadership to honor the letter and spirit of Framework Agreement of 2015,” he said.
“India and its leadership shall be held responsible for the catastrophic and adverse situation that will arise out of the violent armed conflict between India and Nagalim,” he said.

 


Comoros arrests suspected key smuggler

Comoros Police officers and Comoros soldiers patrol in Moroni on January 17, 2024. (AFP)
Updated 08 November 2024
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Comoros arrests suspected key smuggler

  • The International Organization for Migration said on Monday that at least 25 people died after the boat was “deliberately capsized by traffickers”

MORONI, Comoros: Police in the Comoros said on Friday they had arrested the alleged leader of a smuggling network involved in the capsizing of a migrant boat that claimed around two dozen lives.
The boat sank on a well-known smuggling route between the Comoros island of Anjouan and the French Indian Ocean archipelago of Mayotte on Nov. 1.
“The smuggling ringleader who owned the capsized boat was arrested on Thursday in Anjouan,” Col. Tachfine Ahmed said.
“He admitted that he owned the boat and bought all the material needed for the trip,” he added, saying the 37-year-old suspect was a resident of Mayotte.
The International Organization for Migration said on Monday that at least 25 people died after the boat was “deliberately capsized by traffickers.”
The Comoros police said they knew of 17 deaths.
Fishermen rescued five survivors who said the boat was carrying around 30 people, including women and young children, the IOM said.
A survivor said the smugglers sank the vessel before fleeing on a speedboat.
Police confirmed the survivor’s account, saying the two smugglers escaped.
“We are actively looking for the two smugglers who got on another boat,” the colonel added.
In addition to homicide charges, the arrested suspect faces up to 10 years imprisonment for belonging to an organized criminal group as well as three years for illegal transport of passengers.
Anjouan is one of three islands in the nation of Comoros, located around 70 km northwest of Mayotte, which became a department of France in 2011.
Despite being France’s poorest department, Mayotte has French infrastructure and welfare, which makes it attractive to migrants from Comoros seeking a better life.
Many pay smugglers to make the dangerous sea crossing in rickety fishing boats known as “kwassa-kwassa.”