Women and Human Rights	April 30, 1999 • Volume 9, Issue 16
Is the global anti-violence campaign succeeding?

By Mary H. Cooper

Introduction

Hiding her identity, a woman takes refuge at a jail in northern Jordan. Women who were raped or had adulterous relationships are kept in jail to protect them from “honor killing” by their families. (Photo Credit: Ali Jarekji, Reuters)

Ethnic and religious conflict throughout the world has sparked horrific violence against women and girls in recent years. From Bosnia to Rwanda, combatants use rape, mutilation and enslavement to terrorize civilian populations. Islamic militants in Afghanistan subject women to severe punishment for minor offenses. In the absence of conflict, women still face violence – from wife-burning in India to “honor killings” of rape victims in the Middle East to forced prostitution in Asia. An international women's rights movement is gathering strength, with strong United Nations and Clinton administration support, but the Senate has yet to ratify a key U.N. convention designed to protect women.

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