|
World News
Archive - 2001
|
Pakistan's
military ruler has failed to combat the 'honour killings' of
women who resist forced marriages.
The
London Stock Exchange has announced the appointment of Mrs
Clara Furse as its first woman Chief Executive.
She will be one of the UK's most high-profile chief executives
in what is traditionally considered the toughest City
job.
Report
by
Vincent Boland and staff at FT.com
- click
here for the article
The
UK government is being asked to look at awarding contracts
only to companies which practise equality in their
business. The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC)
commissioned a report 'Sex Equality in the 21st Century' to
look at the UK situation on Equal Opportunities 25 years after
the introduction of the Sex Discrimination Act. Other
suggested measures include amending the law to allow special
measures in the selection of parliamentary candidates.
British
police forces hold first conference on the issue of forced
marriage. Baroness Scotland (Permanent Under
Secretary for the Foreign Office) drew attention to 3 common
misconceptions:
"Forced
marriage is not an Islamic issue...Islam is as unambiguous in
its opposition to forced marriage as any religion...
This
is not an attempt to introduce tighter immigration controls by
the back door...
It
it is not an attack on arranged marriages. We are not against
arranged marriages. We know them to be an important and
valuable part of many cultural traditions."
Women
in Germany are now being recruited to all military jobs
including potential combat positions. The move
follows a ruling by the European Court of Justice which found
the former constitutional policy to amount to sexual
discrimination. Women in the German military were
formerly restricted to medial and musical unit positions.