18 Sep 12 | Events
Date: Tuesday 13 November, 6pm
Venue: Free Word Centre (map here)
Guest passes: Available through Eventbrite (register here – SOLD OUT)
Index and SAGE are proud to launch Free Speech Bites, a new podcast series stimulating debate on the biggest topics in freedom of expression. Hosted and edited by author and podcaster Nigel Warburton, the series features celebrated artists, writers and international campaigners, including:
Martin Rowson on Free Speech and Cartoons, Zargana on Free Speech and Burma, Stephanie Merritt on Giordano Bruno, Irshad Manji on Free Speech and Islam, Denis MacShane on Thomas Paine, Natalia Koliada on Free Speech and Belarus, Ma Jian on Free Speech and China, and Jonathan Dimbleby on Free Speech and Censorship
To celebrate, we’re inviting friends and supporters to join us for cocktails and tapas, by our neighbours Morito, at the Free Word Centre between 6-8pm on Tuesday 13 November.
More information about where to listen will be available shortly.
06 Sep 12 | Americas, News and features
Barack Obama’s administration cast free speech aside in its pursuit of file sharers and whistleblowers, says Mark Rumold
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21 Aug 12 | Uncategorized
When looking at freedom of expression globally, it is important to look at how access to it is limited — and who is being shut out. A global deficiency in gender equality goes hand in hand with a lack of free expression, as spelled out through trends in political representation, education, and political participation. A lack of freedom of expression is particularly illustrated in the disparity in literacy rates for women vs. men, as well as representation in national bodies.
Of the world’s estimated 796 million illiterate adults, 64 per cent are women — restricting access to information, education, and public debates taking place online or in newspapers. Women experience a much higher rate of illiteracy — as seen in India, where one in two women are illiterate versus a rate of one in four men.
Women only make up 20% of all national parliaments worldwide, meaning that they only account for 9,206 of 46,048 elected seats. Without representation in national bodies, women are being kept out of wider discussions on social, economic, and political issues. Even in developed nations, representation for women is a major problem. Women in the UK, for example, only hold 145 of the 650 seats in Parliament. With fewer women in decision-making roles across the board, there must be a discussion on how to promote and ensure free expression for all women.
While many well-established international initiatives exist to tackle gender inequality, many do not explicitly protect freedom of expression. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), for example, places importance on political participation, human rights and education for women. CEDAW, first ratified in 1979, has been ratified by 187 out of 193 countries worldwide, but it does not include direct support for free expression for women as a key right.
It is vital that countries actually implement key international measures to promote gender equality — including CEDAW — rather than merely paying lip service to such commitments. In addition, it would be a huge step forward if international bodies and declarations commit states directly to ensuring equal and full access to free expression for all women.
Sara Yasin is editorial assistant at Index on Censorship
06 Aug 12 | Middle East and North Africa, Tunisia
Tunisia’s ruling party, the Islamist Ennahdha movement, seek to criminalise blasphemy.
The Ennahdha party filed a blasphemy bill on 1 August in response to what their leaders describe as “a continuous increase in number of offences against the Sacred”. The bill aims to “providing legal protection to the Sacred”.
Ennahdha also complained about the absence of “a blasphemy legal basis” during the trial of Nessma TV boss Nabil Karoui, who in May was fined for “transgressing morality”, and “disturbing public order after broadcast the animated film Persepolis which shows depictions of God. Ennahdha believe he should have been convicted of “offending” religion.
The bill lists Allah, Prophets, the three Abrahamic books (the Quran, Bible, and Torah), Sunnah (the sayings and teachings of Prophet Muhammad), churches, synagogues, and the Kaaba (Muslims’ holiest shrine) as sacred.
“Cursing, insulting, mocking, undermining, and desecrating” any of these symbols could lead to a two-year jail term and a 2,000 TND fine (794 GBP). The proposed bill would also forbid the pictorial representation of God, and Prophets.
Hichem Snoussi, the Tunisian representative of the freedom of speech NGO Article 19, told Index:
In France, and Germany there is a law which prohibits the denial of the Holocaust. Such a law [a blasphemy act] could be passed … But, the “sacred” has to be defined in a very specific and detailed way. This definition should not be expanded, so that it would not stand in the way of art and creativity.
The move comes amid a fierce local debate about freedom of expression and religion, which culminated in the Tunis-based Printemps des Arts fair in June. The fair was accused by Islamists and the government of displaying artworks “offensive” to Islam. On 12 June, the Tunisian Ministry of Culture decided to temporarily close a gallery after ultra-conservative Islamists broke into the exhibition and destroyed three artworks.
“Today the debate on the “sacred” is part of electoral propaganda, and aims at diverting the public debate from its right direction,” Snoussi added. “We do not need chains. We need freedom to heal our past wounds.”
