Sunday, April 3, 2011

When a Girl Is Executed … for Being Raped

We’re all focused right now on Libya and budget battles at home, but this story from Bangladesh just broke my heart and outraged me — and offers a reminder of the daily human rights struggles of so many women and girls in villages around the world. A 14-year-old Bangladeshi girl, Hena, allegedly was ambushed when she went to an outdoor toilet, gagged, beaten and raped by an older man in her village (who was actually her cousin). They were caught by wife of the alleged rapist, and the wife then beat Hena up. An imam at a local mosque issued a fatwa saying that Hena was guilty of adultery and must be punished, and a village makeshift court sentenced Hena to 100 lashes in a public whipping.

Missing: Black males on campus

Fewer and fewer are making it ‘into the pipeline’to state’s largest four-year schools, officials find

Farrakhan addresses attack on Libya, warns of catastrophe headed for America

The Minister called the news conference to address U.S. policy in the Middle East and military attacks on Libya. He again condemned U.S. military action against Libya and warned the president about tricks that could lead to his disgrace and ruin. The bombing of Libya has ended hope in Africa and in the Middle East that President Obama would usher in a different type of U.S. policy and hurt the president's popularity, he said.

Relevant Video

Teachers, workers and activists fight for rights

A diverse crowd of hundreds convened outside city hall to express their displeasure with budget cuts proposed by Governor Rick Perry and the Texas GOP Legislature.

The “Texans Day of Outrage” rally was held on March 15.

Despite having an estimated $9.4 billion in its Economic Stabilization Fund, also known as the Rainy Day Fund, the state of Texas is facing a $27 billion budget crisis. Gov. Perry is on the verge of cutting $10 billion in funding for schools and possibly laying off 100,000 school employees over the next several years. Gov. Perry has also come under scrutiny for refusing to accept $830 million from the federal Education Jobs fund that could be used for teacher assistance.

Angry workers march, fight back as wages fall, rights threatened

William Peterson, 46, the son of a Hartsville, South Carolina, brick mason, has worked at the Woodlawn Cemetery in The Bronx for the past four years.

Now he is in a fight to keep his $24.50 an hour union job. Management wants to lay him and 23 other workers off, saying it is cheaper to outsource their work to a private contractor.