What’s Current: Pakistan court sentences woman to death over ‘blasphemous’ WhatsApp activity

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  • A woman in Pakistan has been sentenced to death for messages sent via WhatsApp and Facebook deemed to be “blasphemous.” Aneeqa Ateeq, 26, told the court she believed the complainant intentionally pulled her into religious conversations in order to exact revenge after she rejected him.
  • French lawmakers have backtracked on a bill that would have extended the legal abortion deadline beyond 12 weeks, forcing women to travel to Spain to receive reproductive healthcare.
  • England’s longest-serving trans-identified criminal has stated his intention to run for public office in a bid to become the first transgender Member of Parliament. Sarah Baker, born Alan Baker, spent 30 years in prison for violent crimes.
  • Sexual violence against women, including gang rape, is common in Cambodia and used as a tool for male bonding, according to a report by Independent Australia. A United Nations report released in 2013 revealed that one in five men in Cambodia had admitted that they had raped a woman.
  • Female journalists and human rights activists in Bahrain and Jordan have been targeted by authorities using Pegasus Spyware. The “military grade” spyware provides intimate and identifying information to the government.
Genevieve Gluck

Genevieve Gluck is a writer and advocate for women's sex-based rights and creator of Women's Voices, an audio library dedicated to bringing awareness to feminist texts and speeches.