Stories of Human Abuse and Human being in wretched plight all around the World

Blasphemy trials in Pakistan reveal a broken justice system By Karin Brulliard and Shaiq Hussain Washington Post Foreign Service Friday, December 10 KULLUWAL, PAKISTAN - With its single dirt road, friendly residents and abundance of drowsing donkeys, this village hardly seems a hotbed of religious radicalism. Nevertheless, four years ago, dozens of angry townspeople marched and chanted, "Death to the blasphemer!" Their demands were answered. Two years later, court records show, a teenaged Muslim named Muhammad Shafique was sentenced to hang for cursing the Prophet Muhammad and tossing pages of the Koran onto "cow dung and urine." Today, an air of regret permeates Kulluwal. Shafique's accusers fled town, and their relatives now say the allegations were lies. Many residents call the case a setup fueled by political and personal rivalries. But as Shafique waits on death row, his appeal stuck in Pakistan's glacial courts, no one is quite sure what...

9 December 2010 Afghan law has done little for women - UN report By Bilal Sarwary BBC News, Kabul Things have improved little for many women, the report says Millions of Afghan women continue to suffer from violence and harmful practices despite a new law aimed at curbing such abuse, the UN says. In a new report , the UN spoke to women and men across the country, including officials and religious leaders. The report paints a bleak picture of life for Afghan women in urban and rural areas among all ethnic groups. Women still face "honour killings" and forced marriages nine years after the Taliban were ousted, it said. The report blames insecurity and poverty caused by three decades of war, but it also says the government is not doing enough to protect women's rights. A law was introduced last year to eliminate violence against women...