Honor Killings

Honors killings are on the rise and they are growing at a fast rate in the United States. Finding their roots in the practices of Middle East and Asian tribes, an honor killing is when a woman or man has "disgraced" the family's honor and is allowed to be killed to preserve or return honor to the family name. Mainly targeted at women, honor killings are usually overlooked by government officials and accepted in areas where tribal culture and rule dominates that of the state.

Human Rights Watch today released a call for India to prosecute those responsible in a sudden rise of honor killings throughout several provinces. There are no actual figures for honor killings in these provinces because often, the family will make it look like a suicide or a natural death. However, on June 21 2010, "in Haryana, after the bodies of a young couple whose relationship had been condemned for violating kinship rules were found hanging from a tree, six family members were arrested for murder." (read the full article here)

Marie Claire August 2010 has an excellent piece about honor killings here in the United States. Many often think that these crimes occur on the opposite side of the world, in backward communities that don't know better. But the truth is that this horrible action occurs in our country, in our states and in our own backyards. Just read this excerpt from "An American Honor Killing":

"But honor killings in America are a chilling new trend. In Texas, teen sisters Amina and Sarah Said were shot dead in 2008, allegedly by their father, because they had boyfriends. That same year in Georgia, 25-year-old Sandeela Kanwal was allegedly strangled by her father for wanting to leave an arranged marriage. Last year in New York, Aasiya Hassan, 37, was murdered in perhaps the most gruesome way imaginable: She was beheaded, allegedly by her husband, for reportedly seeking a divorce. And this past spring, 19-year-old Tawana Thompson's husband gunned her down in Illinois, reportedly following arguments about her American-style clothing." (Marie Claire)

Doctors Without Borders Session

Want to combine your medical knowledge with humanitarian aid?
Looking to contribute to an organization providing assistance in nearly 60 countries?
Ever consider Doctors Without Borders?

Doctors without Borders/MSF USA is an organization providing aid in nearly 60 countries to people who are threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe. They bring assistance to communities that have been primarily effected by "armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters. MSF provides independent, impartial assistance to those most in need." (MSF USA website)

Doctors Without Borders will be holding a recruitment and information session this week in their new york office.

Doctors Without Borders
7PM Recruitment Session
333 7th Avenue 2nd Floor
New York, New York

Nichols Kristof's latest op-ed column talks about the dangerous mineral market that is funding the war in the congo. Read about how our tech gadgets could actually be spurring one of Africa's most heinous civil wars.

Nicholas Kristof "Death By Gadget"

Starved For Attention

If you were not able to make it to the Starved for Attention exhibit in Brooklyn this week, check out the Starved For Attention website for great videos bringing light to malnutrition from different countries. Not only will the videos captivate you, but check out the Starved for Attention Blog which brings news about what Doctors Without Borders/MSF is doing in different countries.

Here is just one of the videos that Doctors Without Borders/MSF has on their site. Take a look.

Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide

Looking for a good book to read this summer?

Check out "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide" by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn.




The two New York Times journalists argue the case for investing in the health and autonomy of women worldwide. According to them, more girls have been killed in the last fifty years than men were killed in all the wars of the twentieth century.

Killed mainly due to their gender, Kristof and WuDunn detail a gendercide in the developing world, focused mainly on India and Pakistan. Their argument is that countries like Pakistan can not climb out of poverty if only 9% of women are part of the labor force. Local women are declared the most effective in bringing change to these countries and to improving the standards of living to their families and their communities.

"While the title might suggest a kind of call to feminists... the book is anything but. The book emphasizes international human rights atrocities that are often overlooked while also offering an in depth analysis on how you, the reader, can evoke change."
- Tatsiana Kulakevich, Humanus President.

The Girl Effect

An amazing fundraising video that was created to help micro-finance organizations that assist women in developing countries. This video has also been used by organizations that work to create higher literacy rates and school attendance rates of young girls in developing countries. Thought it would be a beautiful video to show.

Starved for Attention

If you will be in the city this long weekend, check out the amazing Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) exhibit entitled “Starved for Attention".

"Starved for Attention" is a multimedia campaign exposing the neglected and unseen crisis of childhood malnutrition. With the use of photograph and video from award-winning photojournalists such as Jessica Dimmock, Franco Pagetti and Marcus Bleasdale, the work exposes malnutrition in war zones and emerging countries.

Reporting from Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, India, Mexico, and the United States, "Starved for Attention" aims to show how an estimated 195 million children worldwide suffer from malnutrition.

The exhibit is open until July 2nd in Brooklyn.

VII Gallery
10am-6pm
28 Jay Street
DUMBO, Brooklyn, NY

Welcome Again!

Hello Everyone,

Due to complications with the last blog, we are re-doing our Humanus blog so that it will be bigger & better than ever! So welcome and thank you for stopping by to learn a little big more about what we are doing.

Please check the blog regularly to read about human rights issues in the news as well as see events that are happening in the NYC area. Additionally, the link's section will be growing so you can visit other blogs and websites to expand your HR knowledge. Also this month, we'll be uploading old versions of the journal for you to download so keep an eye out for that update!

Thanks again for visiting & I hope everyone is having a great summer!

Ivy