Human Rights , Reality And Facts
Human rights watch is reporting that 178 out of 190 countries in the world guarantee paid maternity leave, by law. In nine countries the legal status of paid maternity leave was unclear. This leaves only three countries in the world that definitively offer no legal guarantee of paid maternity leave: Papua New Guinea, Swaziland—and the United States. Unbelievable. Where we stand? The flag bearer of human rights in the whole world, United States, stands with just two other countries in the world, Papua New Guinea and Swaziland! Shame, Shame, Shame, Shame, Shame! How dare we demand Qaddafi to step down for the violation of human rights?
International Labor Organization, ILO, in it’s report, has further broken down these statistics. It states that 120 countries provide maternity leave and related health benefits, by law, including most industrialized countries, with the exception of Australia, New Zealand and United States. Report also states, “The countries that provide the most paid maternity leave by law include: the Czech Republic – 28 weeks; Hungary – 24 weeks; Italy – 5 months; Canada – 17 weeks; Spain and Romania – 16 weeks each. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden all provide extensive paid leave which may be taken by either parent, although a portion is reserved for the mother.” In United States, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, provides a total of 12 weeks of unpaid leave in a twelve months period for the birth of a child and care of newborn. Above all, this very limited mandate is for the companies with 50 or more employees. Even the anti-discrimination laws in United States, that protect the pregnant women, women at childbirth and women effected by related conditions, from discrimination like firing from job or prohibiting breaks for breast milk pumping, are applied only to companies with 15 or more employees. While, Libya confirms to the ILO standards, except for the condition that the mother should be working for current employer for at least six months. Libya is also one of the 29 countries that have adopted the absolute prohibition on the dismissal of a worker during maternity leave for any reason. This means that our human rights situation, in some cases, is even worse then the world’s worst human rights violators. Cash and health benefits are also critical. A 1996 report to U.S. congress mentioned that 100% women who were eligible for maternity leave but did not take it, said that they could not afford it.
Tags: discrimination laws, family and medical leave act of 1993, human rights watch, ilo standards, international labor organization, legal guarantee, papua new guinea, shame shame shame, shame shame shame shame, violation of human rightsRelated posts
Why Is The Baloch Nation Defying Laws Of Pakistan And Iran?
Why Is The Baloch Nation Defying Laws Of Pakistan And Iran?
Baloch masses as tribes have been defying the unjust laws of Iran for the last 8o years and Pakistan for the last 62 years because in paper the laws of both states say equality for all their citizens. But in practical terms, history has the opposite exists on the ground for Baloch people. When the Black Americans were facing the segregated and unjust American laws, one of their outspoken civil rights activist and Black leader, H.Rap Brown, said “I consider myself neither legally nor morally bound to obey the laws made by a body in which I have no representation”.
Baloch people are going through a similar phase of their own history from the 19th century till 21st century. But their leaders and masses have been resisting till today because “justice doesn’t exist in Pakistan” as stated by a Baloch senior lawyer and a former opposition leader of Provincial Assembly of Balochistan, Kachkol Ali Baloch was in discussion with a foreign journalist, Karlos Zurutuza. “The control of the country is in the hands of the MI (Military Intelligence) and the ISI, the (Inter-Services Intelligence)” further he said “There’s no judge, no politician, no police officer who dares to stand up to them.” In parallel there is no difference in Iran for Baloch people because “Baloch national identity which is based on its own language, culture, and territory is different from the dominant (Persian) identity and majority of Baloch are Sunni” and they “are treated as third class citizens.” These were the very words of the President of the Baloch People Party of western Balochistan, Naseer Boladai, who is in exile.
Tags: balochistan, class citizens, inter services, language culture, military intelligence, naseer, opposition leader, provincial assembly, rap brown, unjust laws