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Cabinet ministers call for increased penalties for violence against women
Ma'an Palestinian Tourism Minister Khouloud Daibes and Justice Minister Ali Al-Khashan announced a new plan on Tuesday combat the phenomenon of killing women for reasons of so-called "family honor." Daibes and Al-Khashan have proposed a presidential decree modify articles of the Palestinian Basic Law that are unjust towards women. Specifically, they will ask to increase sentences for men who kill their female relatives for reasons of so-called "honor." The ministers made the announcement during a meeting of the Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD) in Ramallah. More than a hundred women attended the meeting. PWWSD is organizing a campaign marking the United Nations-sponsored International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25th. Some attribute an apparent increase in attacks against women to ongoing security chaos and difficulty asserting the rule of law in stateless Palestine. In one week in October, four women were killed. A suspect in the murder of two women in the West Bank city of Qalqilia said his motivation was "family honor." Posted by: Fred 2007-11-22 |
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