Archive for ‘Middle East’

01/08/2025

Marital Rape: Confronting Religious Misinterpretations, Social Stigma, Despite Legal Clarity

Human Wrongs Watch

KARACHI, Pakistan, Jul 30 2025 (IPS)* “The last thing she asked for was a sip of water,” recalled Najma Maheshwari, referring to 19-year-old Shanti, a newlywed who died last week after brutal sexual violence allegedly inflicted by her husband, who is now in custody.

“Then she closed her eyes and never opened them again,” she said quietly, her voice steeped in sadness.

From beautiful bride, to victim of marital rape, this is the story of Shanti, a 19-year-old whose husband has been charged under the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act of 2013.

From beautiful bride, to victim of marital rape, this is the story of Shanti, a 19-year-old whose husband has been charged under the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act of 2013.

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01/08/2025

Yemen: Water Situation Worsens amid Scant Rains

Human Wrongs Watch

Mureshed, 75, surrounded by his grandchildren in Hajjibah camp, Yemen. Suleiman Al-Shara’abi/NRC

Low seasonal rainfall in Yemen has severely exacerbated an already dire situation, with Yemenis in both rural areas and cities struggling to access clean water, warns the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC).

“With every year that passes, Yemenis see their ability to access water shrink,” said Angelita Caredda, NRC’s Middle East and North Africa Regional Director.

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01/08/2025

A Chance to Breathe: How Life-Saving Incubators Are Transforming Newborn Care in Somalia

Human Wrongs Watch

By the United Nations Population Fund*

MOGADISHU, Somalia – “I didn’t know if she would make it.” When Faduma Mohamed gave birth to her daughter at Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu, the silence that followed was terrifying. Her premature daughter was tiny, underweight and barely breathing. 

A health worker in a white UNFPA medical coat smiles as she holds two newborn babies in a hospital ward.
A midwife holds twins at a UNFPA-supported neonatal care health facility in Baidoa, Somalia. © Reado
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The doctors quickly transferred her to the neonatal intensive care unit, a place Faduma feared her newborn might not return from.

Just months earlier, she might not have; the hospital’s newborn intensive care unit was severely under-resourced, lacking essentials such as incubators and oxygen support machines.

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01/08/2025

On Brink of Famine, Gazans Forced to Scour Dirt for Food

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — In Gaza, UN aid teams continued their efforts on Thursday [] to help people of the war-shattered enclave by retrieving urgently needed fuel and other supplies from the Kerem Shalom crossing in the south of the Strip.

Crowds move towards an aid delivery point in the northern Gaza Strip.
UN News | Crowds move towards an aid delivery point in the northern Gaza Strip.

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31/07/2025

Forests, Fossil Fuels, and the Fight for the Future: DR Congo’s Oil Expansion Sparks Global Alarm

Human Wrongs Watch

SRINAGAR, India & KINSHASA, DRC, Jul 29 2025 (IPS)* The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) stands on the precipice of a profound environmental and social crisis, as the government prepares to auction 55 new oil blocks that cover more than half the country’s landmass.
Activists march in the street of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo to demand climate justice and an end to oil exploration in the Virunga National Park. Credit: MNKF Creatives

Activists march in the street of Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo to demand climate justice and an end to oil exploration in the Virunga National Park. Credit: MNKF Creatives

Touted as a pathway to economic growth, the move has triggered fierce backlash from scientists, civil society groups, Indigenous leaders, and international conservationists, who warn that the proposed fossil fuel expansion threatens some of the most ecologically and culturally significant landscapes on Earth.

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31/07/2025

Six Months into Congo’s War, Cholera Is Killing More than Four People… Every Day

Human Wrongs Watch

By OXFAM International*

Francoise lost six children in the conflict in DRC. She has been displaced to a camp in Bunia with her five remaining children after their village was attacked. Photo: John Wessels/Oxfam

Francoise lost six children in the conflict in DRC. She has been displaced to a camp in Bunia with her five remaining children after their village was attacked. Photo: John Wessels/Oxfam

Six months since the renewed war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a full-blown public health emergency is accelerating, Oxfam warned on 24 July 2025

Since January, more than 35,000 suspected cholera cases and at least 852 related deaths have been reported – an average of more than four deaths every day and a 62 percent increase compared to 2024.

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31/07/2025

Cholera Outbreak in West and Central Africa: 80,000 Children at ‘High Risk’  

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — Some 80,000 children are estimated to be at high risk of cholera in West and Central Africa as the rainy season begins across the region, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Wednesday []. 

A cholera awareness session is held for young students in Bweremana, in the DR Congo's North Kivu province.
© UNICEF/Jospin Benekire | A cholera awareness session is held for young students in Bweremana, in the DR Congo’s North Kivu province.

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30/07/2025

American Inhumanity on Full Display to the World

Human Wrongs Watch

ATLANTA, USA, Jul 30 2025 (IPS)* – Why is a grinning Netanyahu, Israel’s Prime Minister, wildly cheered by both Democrats and Republicans whenever he addresses the US Congress, while at the same time in Gaza countless innocent civilians are being killed by American bombs and bullets—and now babies are starving?

Rescue workers line up body bags in Tal Al Sultan, in Rafah, in southern Gaza. Credit: UNOCHA

Shamefully, Israel’s leader, a certified genocidaire, is one of the few global leaders to have ever been granted the privilege of speaking to Congress, which he has done frequently.

But the world sees and will remember his Big Lie that “There is no starvation in Gaza.”

The mantle of righteousness that once adorned the American flag after WW II is shredded, perhaps beyond repair.

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30/07/2025

‘Key Food and Nutrition Indicators Exceed Famine Thresholds in Gaza’

Human Wrongs Watch

NEW YORK/ROME, 29 July 2025 (UNICEF)* -– Gaza faces the severe risk of famine as food consumption and nutrition indicators have reached their worst levels since the conflict began, according to data shared in the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Alert.

Two-year-old Yazan, severely malnourished, lives in the Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City. His mother, Naima, says, “We have not had flour or any food assistance for two months.” Yazan sits on a torn piece of foam, his wide eyes heavy with exhaustion, his thin body clearly showing signs of acute hunger. Malnutrition has spread rapidly among children in the Gaza Strip, with rates in Gaza City rising fourfold since February.
 
UNICEF/UNI838255/El BabaTwo-year-old Yazan, severely malnourished, lives in the Shati (Beach) refugee camp in Gaza City.

His mother, Naima, says, “We have not had flour or any food assistance for two months.” Yazan sits on a torn piece of foam, his wide eyes heavy with exhaustion, his thin body clearly showing signs of acute hunger. Malnutrition has spread rapidly among children in the Gaza Strip, with rates in Gaza City rising fourfold since February.

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30/07/2025

Lured by Hope, Trapped by Lies: Healing after Being Trafficked

Human Wrongs Watch

(UN News)* — The promise seemed simple: a job, a fresh start, a way out. Instead, Maria* stepped off a boat onto a picture-perfect Trinidadian beach with hope in her heart and into a nightmare that would shadow her for years. 

Maria left Caracas, Venezuela, in search of better opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago.
© IOM/Gema Cortés | Maria left Caracas, Venezuela, in search of better opportunities in Trinidad and Tobago.
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On the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, observed on 30 July, follow the journey of a woman who escaped.
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Eight years ago, Maria left Caracas, Venezuela, driven by dwindling opportunities and the hope of completing her veterinary studies.
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At just 21, she accepted an offer from an acquaintance who promised work in Trinidad and Tobago, cleaning homes, waiting tables. It seemed like a lifeline, a way to support herself and her family back home.
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She didn’t know then that she was stepping into a well-laid trap.

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