A man was killed by a mob in Tulamba in the Khanewal District of Pakistan on February 12. Muhammad Mushtaq, 41-years old, was killed by an angry crowd and his body was left tied to a tree. Reuters reported that Mushtaq “appeared to have had mental disabilities.”
Women's rights advocates and activists in Pakistan are distraught over the impending acquittal of a Pakistani man who murdered his sister in July 2016. Muhammed Waseem strangled his sister, Qandeel Baloch, and was sentenced to life imprisonment after confessing to the murder.
Outrage and scores of protests are erupting in India's Karnataka state after a group of Hindus heckled a young Muslim girl. In a video posted on Twitter on February 8, a Muslim girl wearing a burqa was bullied by a mob of militant far-right Hindus. Muskan Khan, a college student, can be seen fighting back the protesters in the video.
On Tuesday, February 1, Mubarak Bala appeared for the first time after his arrest at the High Court of the state of Kano in Nigeria, almost two years after his arrest. Kano is the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria and was arrested on April 25, 2020.
On February 1, 2022, the Egyptian parliament discussed increasing the penalty for wife-beating proposed by a female lawmaker, Amal Salama. Salama stated that she did not believe the current penal code provided “appropriate penalties” for domestic violence.
As it stands, women are unprotected as no law specifically criminalizes domestic abuse against women. Salama’s proposal details imprisonment of up to five years for men who beat their wives.
On January 25th, 2022, a video of Samajwadi Party (SP) candidate for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly Election, Adil Chaudhary, went viral on Twitter where he stated “we,” as in Muslims, “will take revenge” for crimes being committed against us.
On January 19, 2022, the French Senate voted in favor of banning religious veils in sporting events held by an official sports federation. The bill passed in a 160 to 143 vote with overwhelming support of the French right-wing party, Les Republicains.
A controversial samba performance has caused an outcry in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. A video posted on Twitter on January 11 showed a group of samba dancers performing on the street during the Jazan Winter Festival.
