Write For Rights 2019

Nasu Abdulaziz: 25 years old youth from Nigeria

SHOT WHILE DEFENDING HIS HOME

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When he was 23 and should have been enjoying life, but it turns out that he had to face violence from Lagos state were evicted without warning from their century-old settlement. Homes have been burned down, families have been shot at, tear gas has been used and livelihoods destroyed and Nasu is the one of people who was shot. Nine people are believed to have been killed, another 15 are still missing

30,000 people have been left homeless, forced to live in canoes, under bridges or with friends and family. Nasu, too, lost his home but he still has hope.

Today, Nasu has joined the Nigerian Slum/Informal Settlement Federation, a mass movement of people like him who won’t rest until they secure their right to a home. 

Yasaman Aryani: Young actor from Iran

16 – YEAR PRISON TERM FOR PROTESTING FORCED VEILING

Yasaman Aryani and her mother, Monireh Arabshahi walked through a women-only train carriage, hair boldly uncovered as she handed out white flowers. She spoke of her hopes for a future when all women would have the freedom to choose what to wear so that one day they could walk together “me without the hijab and you with the hijab”. These moments, captured on video, went viral in March 2019.

On 10 April, Iran’s authorities arrested Yasaman, holding her alone in a cell for days while interrogations questioned her. Yasaman’s cruel punishment is part of a wider crackdown on women campaigning against forced veiling laws in Iran. Since 2018, dozens of women, including Yasaman’s mother, Monireh Arabsha, have been arrested.

The Iranian authorities must not be allowed to rob Yasaman of the best years of her life – simply because she believes women should have the right to choose what they wear.

Yiliyasijiang Reheman: Father of two daughters and predominantly Muslim ethnic group from China’s Xinjiang region

TORN FROM HIS FAMILY

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Yiliyasijiang Reheman and his wife Mairinisha Abuduaini were expecting their second baby when Yiliyisijiang disappeared. Both were studying in Egypt while looking after their growing family.

But their lives were shattered in July 2017 when China ordered the Egyptian government to round up hundreds of Uyghur people in the country. Yiliyasijiang was among them. The government rounded up to about 200 Uyghurs – a predominantly Muslim ethnic group from China’s Xinjiang region – forcing some back to China. Mairinisha believes her husband is now among up to 1 million mainly Muslim people locked up in secret camps in China.

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Our call

Dear H.E. Babajide Olusola Sanwo-Olu, Governor of Lagos State.

Nasu Abdulaziz was 23 when men with guns and in bulldozers descended without warning on his community of Otodo Gbame, Lagos. Government must investigate this act of violence which resulted in the loss of numerous homes in the century-old community. Homes have been burned down, families have been shot at, tear gas has been used and livelihoods destroyed. Nine people are believed to have been killed, another 15 are still missing and 30,000 people have been left homeless.

Ensure a full investigation into the forced eviction of Nasu’s community, and make sure that everyone is resettled and given full compensation.

Yours Sincerely,

Dear Mr Raisi, Head of the Judiciary

Yasaman Aryani and her mother, Monireh Arabshahi, were sentenced to a shocking 16 years in prison for campaigning against discriminatory forced veiling laws. They were arrested in April 2019 in relation to a video that showed them without headscarves on a women-only train handing out flowers on International Women’s Day. This brave act, where Yasaman spoke of her hope for a future when all women in Iran would have the freedom to choose what to wear, was shared in a video that went viral on social media.

I urge you to release Yasaman Aryani and her mother Monireh Arabshahi, immediately and unconditionally as they are prisoners of conscience, jailed solely for their human rights work. Until they are released, please ensure they have regular contact with a lawyer of their choosing. I also urge you to stop criminalizing the work of women’s rights defenders and abolish forced veiling laws.

Yours Sincerely,

Dear President Xi,

In 2017, Yiliyasijiang Reheman was studying at a university in Egypt and looking after his growing family. Then, in July of that year, people from your government pressured the Egyptian government to round up hundreds of Uyghur people in Egypt. Yiliyasijiang was among them. It is likely that Yiliyasijiang is now in one of your country’s secret internment camps, where numerous human rights violations are taking place.

It is shocking and not right that up to one million mainly Muslim people have been taken away from their families and locked up in these camps since 2017. Please release Yiliyasijiang Reheman immediately and unconditionally and return him to his family –he has done nothing wrong.