22 November 2011: Seminar on Sharia and Children Act

On 22 November, One Law for All will host a seminar on sharia law and the Children Act. In the first examination of its kind, One Law for All will claim that there is a real danger that children, within Muslim communities, are at risk of being exposed to sharia law rulings and removed from the protections of the Children Act. Sharia tribunals and councils are gaining ground across the UK. According to a sharia practitioner, the courts are increasingly hearing cases on matters concerning children.

The seminar will bring together experts on the Children Act, sharia law, and campaigners. It will coincide with the release of a new report by One Law for All examining the doctrine of sharia councils and tribunals and how these can or do affect children in Britain. Speakers include: Maryam Namazie, One Law for All; Anne Marie Hutchinson, Dawson Cornwell Solicitors; Diana Nammi, Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation; Sue Cox, Survivors Voice Europe; and Yasmin Rehman, Domestic Violence Intervention Project. The seminar will be chaired by One Law for All’s Anne Marie Waters. For more information or for a booking form, please click here.

Manifesto for a Free and Secular Middle East and North Africa

More than 1,600 people have signed on to the Manifesto for a Free and Secular Middle East and North Africa. Recent signatories include Women Living Under Muslims Laws, Writer Salman Rushdie, European Women’s Lobby, Zari Asli of the Friends of Women in the Middle East Society, Hassan Massali of Action for Democracy and Human rights in the Middle East, Corinne Lepage, Member of the European Parliament, and the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA).

If you have signed the petition, thank you! If you haven’t, please do. Our goal is to reach 100,000 signatures and we need more support. You can find out more and sign the petition here. By the way if you need to any help with signing or information on the campaign, please contact Nahla Mahmoud at secularMENA@gmail.com.

Passion for Freedom Art Competition

One Law for All’s third edition art competition and exhibition held during 29 October – 5 November at Unit 24 Gallery in London was a huge success bringing together a shortlisted group of international artists addressing controversial topics including female genital mutilation, executions of gays in Iran, censorship and the veil via painting, drawing, sculpture, film and installation. Judges Deeyah (Singer and Composer), Francisco Laranjo (Artist and Head of School of Arts at Porto University) and Joan Smith (Writer and Columnist) selected as the competition winners: ‎1st: Sandra Ackermann, ‘No Man´s Land’, 2nd: Magdalena Czubak Vlasak ‘Untitled’, and 3rd: Mario Raoli’s ‘Triathlon’. Steve Rosenthal’s ‘No Homosexuals’ won the people’s award. To see photos of the private viewing and some of the pieces click here.

Upcoming speaking engagements

For more information on Maryam Namazie and Anne Marie Waters’ upcoming speaking engagements, including on the conflict between religion and gender rights, the Left’s failure to fight for human rights, and film-making and censorship, click here.

We urgently need your help!

A heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you who has donated to our campaign; you can’t imagine how much it has helped. Frankly, we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your support. We really do need all the help we can get. So if you can donate again, or fundraise for us by holding a small event in your home or organising a fundraiser at a local club, we would really appreciate it. If you’d like to be a regular donor and join the likes of AC Grayling, please become a member of our 100Club. Every little does go a long way in the fight against Sharia and for secularism and rights.

Thanks again
Warmest wishes
Maryam Namazie
Anne Marie Waters
One Law for All Spokesperson

NOTES

To donate to the crucial work of One Law for All, please either send a cheque made payable to One Law for All to BM Box 2387, London WC1N 3XX, UK or pay via Paypal.

We need regular support that we can rely on and are asking for supporters to commit to giving at least £5-10 a month via direct debit. You can find out more about how to join the 100 Club here.

If you shop online, please do so via the Easy Fundraising’s website. It won’t cost you anything extra but can help raise much needed funds for One Law for All.

The One Law for All Campaign was launched on 10 December 2008, International Human Rights Day, to call on the UK Government to recognise that Sharia and religious courts are arbitrary and discriminatory against women and children in particular and that citizenship and human rights are non-negotiable. To join the campaign, sign our petition here.

For further information contact:
Maryam Namazie and Anne Marie Waters
Spokespersons
One Law for All
BM Box 2387
London WC1N 3XX, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 7719166731
onelawforall@gmail.com
www.onelawforall.org.uk