Summary
Violence against women is considered the main human rights issue in the world, but it is rarely discussed. Women continue to be subjected to crimes such as domestic violence, forced prostitution, rape and genital mutilation. Fortunately, women's groups have made considerable progress in shifting national laws and international conventions to their favor. National governments are also developing legislation aimed at the eradication of several forms of gender violence.
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Extract
Violence against women.
It may be the biggest human rights issue in the world - and it is certainly one of the least discussed. Yet increasingly, women are finding ways to fight the mutilation, rape, beating, and murder that have been their lot.
A GIRL IS MUTILATED IN EGYPT It is not a ritual that many people would expect much less want - to witness. Yet in the fall of 1994, the television network CNN brought the practice of female genital mutilation (FGM) into living rooms around the world, by broadcasting the amputation of a young Egyptian girl's clitoris. Coinciding with the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo, the broadcast was one of several recent events that have galvanized efforts to combat the various forms of violence that threaten women and girls throughout the world. The experience suffered by 10-year-old Nagla Hamza focused international attention on the plight of the more than 100 million women and girls in Africa victimized by FGM. In doing so, it helped spur conference delegates into formulating an official "Programme of Action" that condemned FGM and outlined measures to eliminate the practice. Euphemistically referred to as female circumcision, FGM encompasses a variety of practices ranging from exc...See the full content of this document
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