Iranian Government Agencies Question Need for Iran’s Family Protection Bill

Fifteen-thousand Iranian Women Petition Against Changes in the Law of the Land, Present Parliament with ‘Story Quilt‘

By Michael Ireland
Senior International Correspondent, ASSIST News Service

TEHRAN, IRAN (ANS) -- A new Bill, which has been making its way through the Iranian Parliament for mre than a year, seeks to give Iranian men the right to take a second wife without the permission of the first, and it would enshrine a man’s right to have an unlimited number of temporary marriages, which can last from 10 minutes to 99 years.

The Iranian government calls it the Family Protection Bill, but activists call it the “Anti-Family Protection Bill,” according to an online article by Amy Kellogg writing for www.FoxNews.com  

The multiple marriage arrangements come from Shariah law and have always existed in Iran, but the Family Protection Bill would make them official.

FoxNews.com says that two groups -- the International Coalition Against Violence in Iran, and the Association of Iranian Researchers -- arranged a press conference in London last week to raise awareness of the issue.

Amid the upheaval in Iran right now -- the hardship associated with sanctions, and the political strife -- they question why such a law, which has been winding its way through Iran’s government for several years, even needs to be on the table, FoxNews.com says.

The online article says women opposed to the articles in the bill that pertain to polygamy went on a brave and creative odyssey more than a year ago to confront it, traveling around Iran to talk to women whose lives have been adversely affected by their husbands taking second wives.

According to the article, the women wrote their stories on pieces of cloth; if they were illiterate, they had someone else write them down. Then they sewed the pieces together into a quilt.

The quilt is still in Iran, but a digital image was smuggled out, says FoxNews.com.

“Most of the stories are from around Iran, not from Tehran. They are sad stories,” said Rouhi Shafii of the International Coalition Against Violence in Iran.

One of the stories on the quilt says: “A few years after my marriage, my husband started telling me, jokingly, that I looked like an old woman. I was five years younger than he. He began beating me and broke my hands several times.

“When he talked of taking up another wife, I took it as a joke. He wouldn’t do that, I thought. We have two children. But one day he married a young girl and wanted to get a two story building to bring his bride to live with us. I made him swear on the Koran not to do that, and he took his child bride elsewhere. He forgot about us and spent all his earning enjoying his bride. I was providing for the children by working at people’s homes or hairdressing salons. My younger son says: ‘when I grow up, I will kill my dad.’”

FoxNews.com says that a group of women activists also gathered 15,000 signatures from women opposed to the law -- signatures complete with their addresses.

The activists brought the signatures and the quilt to Parliament last year, to try to stop the legalization of the polygamy articles as part of the new law. The Iranian Parliament accepted the signatures, but would not take the quilt.

“It was a very brave act they did last year, in the middle of demonstrations and detentions,” Shafii told Fox News.

FoxNews.com says that many of the women involved in creating the quilt are out of Iran right now, but they were afraid to appear at the London press conference, fearing the regime would make life hard for their families back home.

FoxNews.com stated: “To many Iranian women, temporary marriage is tantamount to legalized prostitution. But the women’s opposition to the bill is not unanimous. Many female Members of Parliament are as conservative as the men, and they support the legislation.”

The FoxNews.com story says that at this point, the two articles of the bill that deal with polygamy are on hold, but they have not been canceled out of the bill.

FoxNews.com says Shafii believes activism has kept those bills from being passed so far.

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** Michael Ireland is the Senior International Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of the National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior International Reporter

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** You may republish this story with proper attribution.

Chen Guangcheng's Report Released: Forced Abortion and Sterilization

LINYI, China, Nov. 12, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Women's Rights Without Frontiers has obtained a report from Chen Guangcheng's 2005 investigation into coercive family planning in Linyi County, Shandong Province. This report was drafted by human rights attorney, Teng Biao. Read the report here.

 

Since Chen's investigation exposed the fact that there were 130,000 forced abortions and sterilizations in Linyi in 2005, he was jailed for four years and three months. He remains under house arrest, where he has been tortured and denied medical treatment. His health is in jeopardy. Thousands will celebrate Chen's 40th birthday today, November 12.

 

Women's Rights Without Frontiers President, Reggie Littlejohn, stated, "It is an honor to release this report on the 40th birthday of Chen Guangcheng. For the first time, the world can read actual witness statements from cases that landed Chen in jail. The Chinese Communist Party has attempted to silence Chen, but they cannot silence the voices of millions in China crying for freedom."

 

In this report are accounts of a woman forcibly aborted and sterilized at seven months; villagers sleeping in fields to evade Family Planning Officials; Officials who broke three brooms over the head of an elderly man and forced a grandmother and her brother to beat each other. There is a detailed discussion of the practice of "implication" – the detention, fining and torture of the extended family of One Child Policy "violators."

 

"Chen is suffering for doing what we are doing: exposing the truth behind forced abortion and sterilization in China," Littlejohn said. "A report went out that Chen may have paid for this with his life, so we are even more determined to carry on this work in his name. We demand the immediate release and medical attention for Chen and his family."

 

Things may not have improved in Linyi since 2005. Earlier this year,Family Planning Officials stabbed a man to death.  In addition, a woman who was six months pregnant recently died during a forced abortion in Lijing County, also in Shandong Province.

 

"The spirit of the Cultural Revolution lives on in China's Family Planning death machine. We have chosen to release the names of the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity, so that they can be held accountable before the world," said Littlejohn.

 

Littlejohn urges those who support Chen to join the Chen Sunglasses Freedom Campaign.  "People everywhere are taking a picture of themselves wearing sunglasses in honor of Chen, and sending it to be posted on the WRWF website and Free Chen websites inside China, showing that they care about Chen and want him to be free."

 

Watch a 3 minute video about Chen and sign a petition to free him.

Yemeni women burn veils in protest for freedom

Yemen (MNN/IMB) ― In the last couple of weeks, Yemeni women in search of more rights have set fire to their veils in protest.

"Here we burn our makrama (veils) in front of the world to witness the bloody massacres carried out by the tyrant Saleh," read leaflets handed out by women present at a recent demonstration, according to The Associated Press.

It's a traditional Bedouin tribal cry for help from the women of a nation that has faded from headlines. But International Mission Board workers are holding out hope that these protests will be what leads these women to Christ.

IMB reports that Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh has long said he would step down from his 33-year rule, but he doesn't seem to be going down without a fight. In late September, government gunfire killed dozens of demonstrators, and rockets hit a protest camp. The bloodshed hasn't slowed down in October.

And women have been right in the middle of it all, begging for democracy and freedom, says IMB. One Yemeni woman, Tawakkul Karman, was even named as a joint winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize for her activism for women's rights.

"What do they want? Well, what do we all want? We want lives filled with joy. We want the freedom to pursue the things we enjoy, and we want to experience the kind of love found only in a family," said Beth Judson, a Christian worker who spent some time in Yemen in the past. "This is what they want as well."

The theme of their dreams, however, is starting to change with a new generation, Judson said. "More recently, I think there has been a shift taking place in what the younger generation of girls wants out of life. Many of their mothers only ever thought about getting married and having sons. Though this is still very important to many of the high school and college-age crowd, they are also starting to explore new and perhaps unconventional paths for their lives."

The average age for marrying is rising for women because they sometimes fear their husbands might keep them from going to college, she explained. "Most of the women who are protesting have at least some education and are lobbying for their own rights--a freedom that was once reserved only for men."

It's a yearning Judson prays will put them on a journey to finding freedom in Jesus Christ -- a permanent freedom they can't find in expanded civil rights or career opportunities. "My desire is that these women find the joy that they are searching for," said Judson. "The joy and satisfaction they seek comes only from being set free from the chains of sin and death and being robed with the righteousness of Christ."

It is a lasting joy and not a temporary one they seek, Judson said.

"A new government, or a degree from a well-respected university, or a job will not give them what they are looking for," she said "Only a relationship with their Maker--the One who loves them and created them for fellowship with Him--can fill them with the joy they seek."

Judson asked believers to pray for God to move among these women, and for believers to boldly share their faith.

Women and Their Families in China Who Are Victims of Human Rights Abuses Need Voice of America Radio

NEW YORK, Nov. 7, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- On Sunday, November 6, 2011 the Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB) Executive Director Ann Noonan joined a panel discussion sponsored by All Girls Allowed, Inc. at New York's Flushing Sheraton and spoke against plans to cut Voice of America (VOA) radio programs to China:

"... in China today, young fighters for democracy listen to VOA radio. ... Radio listening -- unlike the Internet -- cannot be easily monitored or blocked. Although radio signals can be partially jammed, they can never be completely silenced -- unless the U.S. Government decides to end these broadcasts, as it was proposed by the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Let's hope and pray that will NEVER happen as long as there is no freedom of expression in China or as long as the Chinese people want to learn about America."

Following a bipartisan action in the U.S. Congress to block the Broadcasting Board of Governors' proposal, the Federal agency which runs the Voice of America has suspended the termination of VOA radio and television programs to China but is still considering reducing radio broadcasts. Ann Noonan said that these radio programs from the United States are especially needed by women and their families. They provide critical information and give hope and encouragement to the poorest and the most oppressed segments of the Chinese society, said Ms. Noonan. Prior to joining CUSIB, she founded Free Church for China, an NGO which researches and documents religious persecution in the PRC. CUSIB has been contacting BBG members to urge them to continue VOA radio and satellite television to China.

The discussion following Ms. Noonan's presentation focused on Chai Ling's new book A Heart for Freedom. Ms. Ling is a Tiananmen Survivor and founder of All Girls Allowed, an organization which works to end forced abortions, gendercide, and trafficking of children in China. Other panelists included Tibetan author Jianglin Li, and former New York State Assembly member Ellen Young.

The Committee for U.S. International Broadcasting (CUSIB),www.cusib.org, is a nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization working to strengthen free flow of uncensored news from the United States to countries with restricted media environments.

Personal Prison Prepared for Forced Abortion Opponent Chen

Reggie Littlejohn

MEDIA ADVISORY, Aug. 31, 2011 /Christian Newswire/ -- Blind forced abortion opponent Chen Guangcheng and his wife, Yuan Weijing, will be transferred to a small prison built specifically for them, according to a Radio Free Asia report. Activist He Peirong stated that the couple will be forcibly removed from their home and transferred to a building "which basically amounts to a jail" so that authorities can "keep tighter controls on them." They will be separated from their five-year-old daughter in the move. Their young son, living with relatives, was reportedly strip-searched leaving the family home.

Reggie Littlejohn, President of Women's Rights Without Frontiers, decried this action. "The Chinese Communist Party has already beaten and tortured Chen and his wife, denied them medical treatment, stolen their television, phone, computer and books, and appears to be slowly starving them to death. The couple is constantly surrounded by 66 guards and multiple surveillance cameras tracking their every move inside and outside their home. Why is the CCP so threatened by a blind, sick, penniless man that they have to build a personal prison for him? They seek to make an example of Chen, to demonstrate how they will punish anyone who challenges their forced abortion policies. But they are really making an example of their own, shameful brutality."

Bob Fu, President of China Aid, said "The treatment of Chen Guangcheng and the torture and disappearance of human rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng, are unconscionable. These are not the acts of a government that respects the rule of law. Since the beginning of this year, the CCP has launched an offensive against human rights lawyers and activists, religious leaders, house church Christians and even dissident artists. We urge the release of those unjustly imprisoned, tortured and disappeared." 

Chen was arrested in 2006 for exposing evidence that 130,000 forced abortions and involuntary sterilizations were performed on women in Linyi County, Shandong Province in a single year. Time Magazine named him one of "2006's Top 100 People Who Shape Our World." Chen spent four years in prison. Since his release, he continues under house arrest. He and his wife have been beaten repeatedly and denied medical treatment.

To watch "Free Chen Guangcheng!" (three minutes), click here:
www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/blog/?p=296 

To sign a petition to free Chen, click here:
www.womensrightswithoutfrontiers.org/index.php?nav=chen-guangcheng 

Women's Rights Without Frontiers and China Aid are spearheading a campaign to free Chen Guangcheng. The Jubilee Campaign and World Youth Alliance are partners in this effort.