Indian maid subjected to horrific abuse: reports

05/10/2013

NEW DELHI: A teenage Indian maid rescued last week with horrific injuries has alleged her employer forced her to drink urine, kept her naked in the bathroom and burnt her with a frying pan, reports said Saturday.

The young woman was speaking to the media Friday after being rescued by police from a home in an upscale New Delhi neighbourhood following complaints by neighbours.

Police say the teenager had been tortured by her employer, a 50-year-old Indian woman working for a French multinational.

“(My employer) forced me to drink urine, kept me naked in the bathroom and would singe me with a frying pan and hit me with a broom,” the maid told The Hindustan Times newspaper.

“She would laugh after beating me,” the girl alleged.

The girl also alleged her nails were pulled out and a piece of paper on which she had written down the telephone numbers of her relatives had been torn up, The Indian Express reported.

After her rescue last week, social rights campaigners said she had been slashed with knives and mauled by dogs.

The girl's account has focused the spotlight on abuse of domestic servants, including children.

The employees are sometimes trafficked from remote and poverty-stricken Indian states to urban centres and toil for long hours in homes for little and or no pay.

The teenager, who was initially reported to be 15 but is around 18 according to police, spoke to journalists in hospital where she is recovering from multiple injuries all over her body, including a deep gash on her head.

The maid recounted her alleged ordeal in detail after being reunited with her mother Friday, the English-language daily said.

Photographs showed the girl hugging her tearful mother inside a hospital room.

The girl, from the impoverished eastern state of Jharkhand, told police after her rescue that she had been working for her employers for the past year.

Social rights activists who assisted in the police rescue said she was slashed with knives and mauled by five dogs kept as pets by her employer who lived with her 85-year-old mother in the house.

The employer, who has been arrested and is facing charges of illegal confinement and assault, has denied the allegations and has accused the teenager of being mentally unstable.

Charges would not be pressed against the employer's elderly mother on account of her age, police said.

Reports of impoverished domestic servants being abused by their rich employers frequently appear in Indian newspapers.

In April last year, police arrested a wealthy doctor couple who locked up their 13-year-old maid while they went away on holiday.

She was rescued by firefighters when neighbours spotted her crying on an outside balcony.

In 2006, India passed legislation banning employment of children under 14 in households, roadside eateries and hotels, but the law is widely flouted in the country of 1.2 billion people.

Over 8,500 human rights violations reported in 20 months

01/10/2013

ISLAMABAD: A total of 8,648 incidents of human rights violation have been reported in the country between January 2012 and Sept 15 this year, according to a document of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights submitted to parliament.

The document shows that 239 rights violations have been recorded in Islamabad, 1,599 in Punjab, 3,768 in Sindh, 1,552 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 1,490 in Balochistan during the period.

These include 90 incidents of acid burning, 72 of burning, 481 of domestic violence, 860 honour (karo-kari) killings, 1,564 kidnappings, 20 minority-related issues, 141 cases of missing persons, 1,233 police-related and 112 prison-related violations, 344 rape/gang rapes, 260 sectarian violence/targeted killings, 268 sexual assault/harassment, 493 cases of violence against children and 535 against women and 2,175 miscellaneous violence.

Of the 90 acid burning cases, three have been reported in Islamabad, 60 in Punjab, 18 in Sindh, eight in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and one has been reported in Balochistan.

Of the 72 cases of burning, three have been reported in Islamabad, 36 in Punjab, 27 in Sindh and six in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Of the 481 cases of domestic violence, seven have been reported in Islamabad, 78 in Punjab, 154 in Sindh and 242 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. No case of domestic violence has been recorded in Balochistan from Jan 2012 to Sept 2013.

Out of the 860 cases of karo-kari, two have reported in the federal capital, 97 in Punjab, 667 in Sindh, 44 in KP and 50 in Balochistan.

Of the 1,564 incidents of kidnapping, five have taken place in Islamabad, 230 in Punjab, 731 in Sindh, 303 in KP and 295 in Balochistan.

Out of the 20 minority-related violations, six have been recorded in Islamabad, four in Punjab, two in Sindh, six in KP and two in Balochistan.

Of the 141 cases of missing person, five have been reported in Islamabad, nine in Punjab, two in Sindh, 78 in KP and 47 in Balochistan.

Ninety-three police-related violations have been reported in Islamabad, 233 in Punjab, 44 in Sindh, nine in KP and 854 in Balochistan. Of the 112 cases of prisons-related violence, four have been recorded in Islamabad, 81 in Punjab, 15 in Sindh, 12 in KP.

Out of the 344 cases of rape/gang rape, 11 have taken place in Islamabad, 241 in Punjab, 91 in Sindh and one in Balochistan. No such case has been reported in KP.

Of the 260 cases of sectarian violence/targeted killing, six have been reported in Islamabad, 19 in Punjab, nine in Sindh, 216 in KP and 10 in Balochistan.

Out of the 268 cases of sexual assault/harassment, four have taken place in Islamabad, 75 in Punjab, 157 in Sindh and 32 in KP.

Of the 493 cases of violence against children, four have been recorded in the federal capital, 88 in Punjab, 89 in Sindh, 201 in KP and 111 in Balochistan.

Out of the 535 cases of violence against women, 10 have been reported in Islamabad, 199 in Punjab, 78 in Sindh, 219 in KP and 29 in Balochistan.

Of the 2,175 cases of miscellaneous nature, reported between January 2012 and Sept 15 this year, 76 have taken place in Islamabad, 149 in Punjab, 1,684 in Sindh, 176 in KP and 90 in Balochistan.

Saudi cleric warns driving could damage women's ovaries

30/09/2013

Saudi Arabia: A leading Saudi cleric warned women who drive cars could cause damage to their ovaries and pelvises and that they are at risk of having children born with "clinical problems."

Sheikh Saleh Al-Loheidan's widely derided remarks have gone viral as activists claim a website urging women to defy their country's driving ban has been blocked in Saudi Arabia.

"If a woman drives a car," Al-Loheidan told Saudi news website sabq.org in an interview, "it could have a negative physiological impact ... Medical studies show that it would automatically affect a woman's ovaries and that it pushes the pelvis upward."

Explained Al-Loheidan, "We find that for women who continuously drive cars, their children are born with varying degrees of clinical problems."

The controversial comments, published Friday, were widely interpreted throughout Saudi Arabia as an attempt to discourage women in the country from joining a popular online movement urging them to stage a demonstration by driving cars on October 26.

"This is his answer to the campaign," Saudi women's rights activist Aziza Yousef told CNN. "But it is an individual opinion. The clerical establishment is not behind this."

Added Yousef: "He's making a fool of himself. He shouldn't touch this field at all -- the medical field is not his field at all."

Mai Al-Swayan, who was one of the first Saudi women to sign the online petition, called the comments "ridiculous: " and added, "I am really disappointed. How could somebody ever make such a statement?"

Al-Loheidan's words have been ridiculed mercilessly via social media since they were first reported.

An Arabic Twitter hashtag called "#WomensDrivingAffectsOvariesAndPelvises" was quickly created to make fun of Al-Loheidan -- underscoring just how widely the call for Saudi women to defy the driving ban has resonated thus far.

And while numerous conservative voices have supported Al-Loheidan, many Saudis believe this was an extremely clumsy way of trying to counter the popularity of the October 26 campaign.

"I don't think it will harm the campaign -- on the contrary, it will make it stronger," said Saudi columnist and author Abdullah Al-Alami.

Since it published online over a week ago, a petition on the website www.oct26driving.com has garnered more than 12,000 signatures from those asking authorities in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to lift a de facto ban than prohibits women from driving.

"There is no justification for the Saudi government to prohibit adult women citizens who are capable of driving cars from doing so," reads part of the petition. No traffic law specifically prohibits women from driving in Saudi Arabia, but religious edicts there are often interpreted to mean women are not allowed to operate a vehicle.

The new petition also urges the Saudi government to present "to the citizens a valid and legal justification" for the ban, demanding authorities should not simply blame it on "societal consensus."

Many supporters of the campaign expressed dismay when reporting the website could no longer be accessed throughout the Kingdom as of Saturday.

A post on the Oct26driving.com website read, "Society wanting the ban to be lifted is apparently such a threat that the page petitioning the government to lift the ban has been blocked from within Saudi."

Al Alami wondered if the numerous conservatives opposed to women being granted the right to drive may have asked for the site to be blocked. Still, Al-Alami said he isn't too concerned.

"The message has been delivered," said Al-Alami. "This is a battle we must fight. There is no U-turn."

CNN was unable to reach various Saudi Ministries for comment.

The issue of women driving in the conservative kingdom has long been a contentious one. And while such demonstrations are extremely rare, they have been staged at least twice before.

In June 2011, dozens of women across Saudi Arabia participated in the "Women2Drive" campaign by driving throughout the streets of their cities.

In 1991, a group of 47 women drove through the country's capital city, Riyadh. After being arrested, many were further punished by being banned from travel and suspended from their workplaces.

In addition to prohibiting driving, the country's strict and compulsory guardianship system also prevents women from opening bank accounts, working, traveling and going to school without the express permission of their male guardian.

Saudi Arabia has been moving toward change under its current ruler, King Abdullah, who is considered a cautious reformer and proponent of women's rights. In January, he appointed 30 women to the Shura Council, the first time women had been chosen for the country's top consultative body. In 2011, he announced that women can run for office and vote in local elections in 2015, and in 2009, he appointed Saudi Arabia's first female deputy minister.

Religious fury alters Miss World in Indonesia

27/09/2013
Jakarta, Indonesia : Demeaning, exploitative, degrading. Beauty pageants have been called lots of things.

And it's also the line coming from Islamic hardliners, who are protesting this year's Miss World Contest, which is held in the most populous Muslim nation in the world.

Protesters in Indonesia denounce the contest where women sashay in swimsuits and form-fitting evening wear, calling it insulting to Muslims and triggering threats of violence.

Islamic groups urged the government to shut the contest down. Hardliners burned signs featuring the image of last year's winner Wenxia Yu of China that read "Reject Miss World." They also presented what they deemed as appropriate attire for beauty contestants -- long dresses and full head scarves.

"It's only beauty, beauty and beauty, but also body, body and body, so that's why we consider it as a contest that exploits women physically," said Ismail Yusanto, spokesman of Indonesia's Hizbut Tahrir, a conservative Islamic group.

In an attempt to appease religious concerns, the pageant has scrapped the swimsuit competition and replaced it with less-revealing beachwear attire.

Also, the finals were originally to be held on the outskirts of Jakarta, but angry protestors forced the event to relocate to the Hindu resort island of Bali. Members of the group, Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) tried to travel to Bali by sea from East Java, but were stopped by police.

Hary Tanoesoedibjo, the CEO of MNC Group who organized the pageant locally, disputed the government's decision to move the contest to Bali.

He said no laws have been violated by the pageant and that "everything has been adjusted to the local culture. We all know that, so no bikini."

Even before the three-week contest began on September 8, protesters slammed it as "pornography" and held signs reading: "Miss World is whore contest."

"Our demand is still the same," Yusanto said. "Don't continue this contest."

Miss World's 127 contestants competed in beach fashion, fitness, world fashion, talent and "Beauty with a Purpose" meant to honor charitable work. The top 10 models -- from Ukraine, South Sudan, Brazil, Philippines, France, Cameroon, Cyprus, England, Italy and the United States -- were announced earlier this week.

A winner will be crowned in Bali on Saturday.

Security forces will have 700 police officers for the final event.

There has been criticism of how the Indonesian government handled the Miss World controversy, that it sent a message of capitulation in favor of a vocal minority.

Indonesia is a secular country with moderate Muslims, but "a small extremist fringe has become more vocal in recent years," according to the Jakarta Post.

"We are a complex country, so we have to balance domestic concerns with our ability to host international events," said Mari Elka Pangestu, the Tourism and Creative Economy Minister of Indonesia. "But in general, Indonesia is very open."

But not all such women's contests are so vehemently opposed.

A week ago, the World Muslimah 2013 competition was held in Jakarta, to crown a woman who applies "Islamic values in everyday life," which includes the ability to recite from the Quran. Contestants dressed in head scarves and floor-length dresses. Obabiyi Aishah Aijbola from Nigeria was named World Muslimah 2013.

Photo gallery: See World Muslimah 2013

Eka Shanty, founder of World Muslimah says the difference between Miss World and World Muslimah is that the latter is not a pageant.

"This is an international award event to appreciate young and talented Muslim women."

In addition to decrying the Miss World contest, the conservative Islamic group Hizbut Tahrir does not support the World Muslimah competition.

Arrest made in Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf 'sextortion' case

27/09/2013

 Temecula, California:A college student was arrested Thursday for allegedly hijacking the webcams of young women -- among them reigning Miss Teen USA Cassidy Wolf -- taking nude images, then blackmailing his victims to send him more explicit material or else be exposed.

Jared James Abrahams, a 19-year-old computer science student from Temecula, California, surrendered on Thursday to the FBI on federal extortion charges, the agency announced. Authorities say he victimized young women surreptitiously, by taking control of their computers then photographing them as they changed out of their clothes.

Abrahams appeared in court later in the day, then was released "on intensive pretrial supervision and home detention with electronic monitoring" after his parents signed bond agreements totaling $50,000, FBI spokeswoman Lourdes Arocho said. U.S. District Judge Jean Rosenbluth ruled that he could use a single desktop computer at his parents' home for school only, albeit only after monitoring software is applied.

When he admitted what he'd done in June, Abrahams said he had 30 to 40 "slave computers" -- or other people's electronic devices he controlled -- and has had as many as 150 total, according to a criminal complaint.

His arrest came six months after a teenager identified in court documents as C.W. alerted authorities. She has since publicly identified herself as Cassidy Wolf, the recently crowned Miss Teen USA. She touted news reports of her alleged tormenter's arrest on her Twitter feed.

At the time she contacted police, in March, Wolf was not a national figure -- even though she was Miss Teen California -- and lived in an apartment and attended Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.

Wolf got a Facebook alert that someone had tried to change her password to the social networking site, then noticed other passwords had been changed and that her Twitter avatar was now a half-nude picture of herself.

A short time later, she received what would be the first of many messages, this one featuring pictures of Wolf at her Riverside County address and others apparently taken months earlier when she lived in Orange County, says the criminal complaint. The message explained "what's going to happen" if Wolf didn't send pictures or videos or "do what I tell you to do" in a five-minute Skype videoconference, according to the criminal complaint.

"Either you do one of the things listed below or I upload these pics and a lot more (I have a LOT more and those are better quality) on all your accounts for everybody to see and your dream of being a model will be transformed into a pornstar (sic)," he wrote.

Recalling that day, Wolf told NBC's "Today" show she started "screaming (and) bawling my eyes out."

"I wasn't sure what to do," she said in August, shortly after her Miss Teen USA win. "So it was terrifying."

The messenger had taken great efforts to hide his online identity. But investigators were eventually able to find corresponding e-mails, IP addresses and other communications they linked to Abraham. They also tied him to online forums asking about malware, how to control webcams, and hacking into Facebook accounts.

Investigators also linked him to at least eight other young women -- some of them, like Wolf, from Southern California, though others were from as far away as Moldova. The victims told authorities similar stories: of a person they did not know saying, and in some cases proving, he had nude images and making demands as a result.

The stalker claimed to have 1,000 photographs of one woman, the complaint said. When she asked, "Why are you doing this to me?" the response was, "I told you I'll answer any questions after you Skype."

As an FBI agent was speaking by phone to this young woman, she logged onto her Instagram account to find it populated by nude pictures of her, the complaint said.

A few young women apparently complied with the demands for a Skype session. The man promised not to record the sessions and he made it look like he was erasing the nude pictures of them. One such session was found on the suspect's phone, police said.

Foul-mouthed hacker hijacks baby monitor

Investigators examining e-mail exchanges found one in which an alleged victim wrote she was downloading Skype and pleading, "Please remember im only 17. Have a heart."

"I'll tell you this right now! I do NOT have a heart!!!" he wrote back, per the complaint. "However I do stick to my deals! Also age doesn't mean a thing to me."

Authorities executed a search warrant at Abrahams' home on June 4, at which time he "voluntarily agreed to speak" with a pair of FBI agents. Describing himself in that interview as a college freshman who was good with computers, the complaint said, he admitted using malware and his expertise to "watch his victims change their clothes and ... use the photographs against them."

Abrahams further admitted the e-mail accounts, VPN, domain names or other pieces of the electronic puzzle that investigators used to build a case were his, according to the criminal complaint.

Outside the court Thursday, Abrahams' lawyer Alan Eisner said that his client's family feels "profound regret and remorse" over what happened. He told CNN affiliate KTLA that Abrahams is autistic.

"The family wants to apologize for the consequences of his behavior to the families who were affected," Eisner said.

As to the now 19-year-old Wolf, she is juggling her studies at the New York Film Academy with duties tied to being Miss Teen USA.

A lifelong dancer and aspiring model, Wolf is using her platform to promote a number of initiatives -- including, given her personal experience, the issue of cyberstalking.

"It does happen," she said in an interview with CNN affiliate WPIX. "And there are ways to prevent it."

Naked scammers seduce, blackmail men on Web