INTERNATIONAL ALLIANCE AGAINST FUNDAMENTALISM Indian Rationalist Association P.O.Box 9110, New Delhi 110 091, India Phone: +91-11-2253255 +91-11-8539526 Fax:+91-11-2256042 E-mail:sakth-@giasdla.vsnl.net.in edamaruk-@yahoo.com ________________________________________________________________________ 

ALLIANCE BULLETIN-11 23 May 1999 _______________________________________________________________________ 

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Report from Bangladesh YOUNG WOMAN FLOGGED TO DEATH BY FUNDAMENTALISTS  FOR HAVING PREMARITAL SEX

 Bedi Begum, a young woman of 18 years, was flogged to death in Batsail, a remote village in Sylhet district, 192 km north-east of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, for having premarital sex and inducing an abortion. The cleric who presided over the village council on May 14 ordered Bedi Begum to be flogged by three men while being buried waist deep in the ground. The council declared that her actions were unIslamic. Bedi induced the abortion with herbal medicines given to her by her lover, a 25 year old neighbor. The body of Bedi was sent for autopsy and the report is awaited. Though the three men who flogged Bedi to death were questioned by the police, they are yet to be arrested. Police are still searching for the cleric who conducted the illegal trial. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Report from the Philippines PHILIPPINE PRESIDENT DEFY CHURCH ON  BIRTH CONTROL 

In a surprising turnabout, Philippine President Joseph Estrada said in a weekly radio on May 22 that he would not follow the advice of the Catholic church on birth control. The Catholic church is vocally opposed to artificial contraception, even attacking the use of condoms to prevent the spread of AIDS. The President had previously opposed birth control and his administration was ignoring population control in its bid to fight poverty. He had said that as the eighth child in his family he would not have been born if contraceptives were available then. The earlier position of Estrada that increased food production, and not birth control was the answer to bringing prosperity has been a growing concern of economists. The Manila-based Asian Development Bank warned last month that population growth could undermine any expansion of the economy. With 2.3 per cent population growth, the Philippines could have a population of more than 100 million within 25 years, from the current 74.7 million. Estrada is now willing to defy the dominant Roman Catholic church's ban on birth control, saying rapid population growth must be checked. Reminded that the Catholic church, to which most Filippinos belong, opposes artificial contraception, he said: "We do not follow everything they tell us. We have to think about the welfare of the whole population of the Philippines." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Report from Kuwait NATIONAL ASSEMBLY DISSOLVED FOR MISPRINT OF QURAN;  WOMEN GET VOTING RIGHT!

The first-ever Constitutional National Assembly of Kuwait was dissolved by Sheikh Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber al-Shah, the Amir of the State of Kuwait following a legislative move to dismiss Ahmad Khalid Al-Kulaib, Minister of Justice, Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, over the misprint of copies of Quran. The decree of dissolution states that the "MPs have misused constitutional powers in a way not consistent with the spirit of the Constitution and in defiance of the morals and values of our society." New elections are scheduled to be held on July 3, 1999. The coming parliament elections in July may be the last male-only elections in the Emirate.The Kuwaiti government granted women full political rights last week and put the conservative Muslim Gulf state one step further in direction of democracy. Latest for the next general election in 2003, women would be allowed to vote and run for public office. The unexpected and much appreciated decision needs the ratification of the new parliament after the July elections, but is quite likely to be approved, because it is not just a draft bill of the government, but follows direct order by the Amir. The Amir has the authority to dissolve the parliament in case it does not co-operate. That was what he did earlier this month after two years of clashes with the last parliament, causing the coming elections. Kuwait is the only Persian Gulf state with an elected parliament. Quatar has a council with only advisory powers, Oman's Consultative Council is indirectly elected. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Remember: GOLDEN JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF INDIAN RATIONALIST ASSOCIATION AND THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL RATIONALIST RATIONALIST CONFERENCE. 26-31 DECEMBER 1999: KERALA. REGISTRATION OPEN NOW  _______________________________________________________________________ 

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