- 12 Mar 2012
- [International Secretariat]
- Region: Middle East and North Africa
- Topic: Women's Rights
People around the world should show their solidarity with the courageous women who were pivotal in uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, Amnesty International said.
Ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, the organization is calling on its supporters to mark the day by sending messages of support to women in the region. Thousands of individual actions are expected to be taken, with a focus on four countries ? Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Yemen ? where women remain at the heart of calls for reform, but a broad spectrum of women’s rights are still threatened.
In North Africa, which saw momentous events in 2011, political change has yet to translate into real gains for women’s rights.
“Across the Middle East and North Africa, women have been an inspiring force for change, standing up against repressive regimes to defend basic human rights and promote reform and equality,” said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.
“This International Women’s Day, we stand in solidarity with these courageous women, to support them in their struggle for human rights and freedom, and to let them know the world is behind them at this historic moment.”
6 March 2012
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL PRESS RELEASE