Defend the Human Rights of Adolescent Girls

Update on AGLDF campaigns

Yemen – child marriage: Equality Now and partners in Yemen have been pushing for a child marriage law in Yemen since 2009 . In a promising development Yemeni Human Rights Minister Hooria Mashhour in September 2013 requested the reintroduction of a parliamentary bill that would effectively ban child marriages in the country. Equality Now and our partner YWU support the Minister in her efforts and we issued an update highlighting a number of child marriage cases and supporting the efforts of the Yemeni Human Rights Minister in calling for renewed discussion of the child marriage legislation. We are hopeful that a draft bill setting a minimum age of marriage will soon be considered and passed.

You can read commentary on this development from Equality Now’s Suad Abu-Dayyeh: http://www.thedailybeast.com/witw/articles/2013/11/20/yemen-to-finally-ban-child-marriage.html

Egypt - FGM: We would also like to share details of a new campaign we have undertaken on FGM in Egypt. In June of this year, 13-year-old Soheir died after a doctor performed female genital mutilation (FGM) on her at the behest of her father in a clinic in Cairo. The doctor who performed the procedure was interrogated by prosecutors and released on bail pending investigation. Soheir’s death highlights the immediate need for effective implementation of the 2008 FGM law in Egypt with 72% of procedures being performed by doctors in private clinics.

Our Middle East consultant traveled to Egypt and met with lawyers from both the Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA) and the Egyptian Coalition for Children’s Rights (ECCR) who are pushing for both the father and doctor to be prosecuted for FGM and manslaughter. We are working with them on pushing this case forward and we issued an Action on the case in July 2013. Progress has been slow due to the political situation in Egypt but we have recently learned that the medical report has been released and are strategizing with partners on next steps in the case.

Brazil – Sex tourism: We continue to work with a pro bono law firm on the civil case filed on behalf of a number of girls in Brazil who were exploited in prostitution by a “fishing tour” company that brought American sex tourists to the Amazon. The stay in the civil case against the sex tour operator was lifted in November 2012 and although the defendant is appealing, his lawyers have reached out to us about a possible settlement. Our NY Director and the pro bono attorney in the case traveled to Manaus at the end of February 2013 and again in October 2013 to meet with the plaintiffs and our partner, IACAS.  During the October trip, the plaintiffs were interested in settling the case, as this will bring about a quicker resolution, and the pro bono lawyer will continue negotiation with the defendant’s attorney to arrive at an agreed figure. A mandatory mediation has been ordered by the U.S. court for early December 2013 to encourage settlement negotiations before the case potentially goes to trial. 

The 4 plaintiffs are still dealing with the trauma from their exploitation and Equality Now has arranged for them to receive weekly counseling sessions with assistance from our NGO partner and a consultant. As a result of awareness created by the Brazil case a recent public hearing was held in Manaus about commercial sexual exploitation of children at which posters and leaflets on the issue were handed out. In addition a law was recently passed that requires fishing guides (some of whom were luring girls onto boats to be exploited) to register and take a course on children’s rights and accountability. We also recently learned that Nick Kristof’s Half the Sky initiative is exploring taking a trip to Brazil to possibly include this story in a second book.

Thanks for your support!