By Tanyalak Thongyoojaroen
NEW YORK, Aug 3 2023 – In Asia, freedom of the press continues to erode, especially in authoritarian regimes where journalists are often targeted in broad daylight.

More and more, journalists are put behind bars or face strategic lawsuits against public participation, otherwise known as SLAPP, for reporting what’s actually happening on the ground.

Over the past three years, not only have several independent media outlets had their licenses revoked, but autocratic regimes across the region continue using a variety of tactics to prevent journalists from doing their job.

Social media is often used to humiliate, harass, and discredit journalists. Between May 2022 and April 2023, the International Federation of Journalists documented at least 19 online attacks and eight gender-based instances of violence against journalists in South Asia.

In China, the regime uses surveillance and other forms of intimidation to prevent journalists from reporting issues deemed critical of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

To silence journalists and discredit their work, China has orchestrated a digital repression campaign, largely playing out on Twitter. The Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) reported hundreds of spurious Twitter accounts — likely linked with the pro-CCP network — created with the sole purpose of targeting Asian female journalists and activists, including those living or working abroad.

Female journalists, in particular, experienced constant sexual harassment and misogynistic trolling. They have been accused of being liars, traitors, or betrayers of their homeland.

In Burma, journalists are treated as criminals. “If you are covering human rights violations, [the regime] considers you like an enemy. And also, they consider journalism like committing a crime against the state,” Burmese writer Kyaw Hsan Hlaing told the Human Rights Foundation (HRF).

“There are so many online threats journalists face, including through Messenger, Facebook, and also Telegram. I received threats online and also direct phone calls, threatening that I will be arrested. This is after the military coup. That’s why I had to sleep in many locations in Yangon. I had to move to other places.”

Vietnam, one of the most repressive countries in Asia for journalism, implemented stricter online censorship, requiring big tech companies like Facebook and Google to remove articles and videos criticizing the regime.

Reporters and citizen journalists using social media often see their accounts blocked or posts removed if they cover issues deemed sensitive by the regime. Moreover, Vietnam established Force 47, a virtual army with thousands of netizens tasked with “defending the ruling party” and attacking dissidents — including activists and journalists.

Last year, four Asian countries made it on Reporters Without Borders’ Top Five worst jailers of journalists list. Unsurprisingly, China came in first place, Burma second, then Iran, Vietnam, and Belarus. More than half of the world’s imprisoned journalists were held in these five countries.

China, the biggest user of propaganda and systematic repression of the media, was ranked second to last on the World Press Freedom Index, only behind one of its closest allies, North Korea.

Last year, the CCP regime imprisoned at least 110 journalists, including Huang Xueqin, who reported on corruption and environmental pollution. Many imprisoned journalists are ethnic Uyghurs from the Uyghur Region. In some cases, Chinese officials held journalists in pretrial detention.

For example, Cheng Lei, a former TV anchor with CCP’s state-run channel based in Beijing, CGTN, has been detained for more than two years. To date, Chinese officials have revealed neither the details of the charges against her nor whether she has been sentenced.

In Burma, the regime’s attempt to silence journalists has resulted in an alarming number of arrests of journalists, activists, and public figures. Since the military junta seized power in a coup in February 2021, at least 176 journalists have been arrested and four killed.

Many journalists were charged under Section 505(A) of the country’s Penal Code, which criminalizes “causing fear, spreading false news, or agitating directly or indirectly criminal offenses against a Government employee.” The law is vaguely defined and arbitrarily interpreted by the courts.

Like its neighbor, Vietnam uses vague laws to suppress journalists. The regime implemented heavy bans on reporting “sensitive topics,” particularly issues related to human rights, the environment, and democracy.

In recent years, many activists and journalists have been charged under Article 117, which criminalizes “making, storing, distributing, or disseminating information, documents, and items against the State,” and Article 331, which prohibits “abusing democratic freedoms to infringe on the interests of the State.”

Among those detained was an independent journalist, Do Cong Duong, who reported on corruption-related issues and land seizures by the regime. Duong was charged under Article 331 and was originally sentenced to 48 months in prison, where he suffered from various illnesses.

Despite his family’s repeated protests, officials refused to grant him the necessary care and medical assistance. When Duong finally received medical treatment, it was too late. He died in prison last year.

Dictators will stop at nothing to silence the most outspoken critics.

Tanyalak Thongyoojaroen is a legal and policy intern with the Human Rights Foundation (HRF).

Journalism is one of the world’s most dangerous professions. Under authoritarian regimes, dictators ceaselessly attempt to silence the media with violence, harassment, and arbitrary detention. And still, journalists continue to risk their lives to uncover and report the truth. HRF stands in solidarity with journalists who write truth to power.

IPS UN Bureau

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By Promise Eze
SOKOTO, NIGERIA, Aug 3 2023 – In February this year, Chichi Okonkwo not only lost her husband but was stripped of everything they owned together. Her husband was severely injured in a car accident about a month earlier. Despite being rushed to a hospital in Enugu, where they resided, he succumbed to his injuries weeks later. To compound her grief, Okonkwo’s late husband’s male siblings forcibly entered her home in the city a few hours after his passing, confiscating her husband’s land documents, car, money, clothes, and marriage certificate.

In the wake of these heart-wrenching events, Okonkwo was left with nothing but her six children. The eldest is just 18.

“They took everything my husband and I owned and forcibly evicted me and my children from our home,” laments Okonkwo. “They heartlessly claimed that, as a widow, I had no rights to any of my late husband’s possessions.”

Okonkwo’s children are now out of school because she was a housewife who depended on her husband’s income and is now left with nothing. She revealed that her late husband’s siblings, who seized and were aware of his bank PIN, callously left her with a mere 1 000 naira (approximately USD 2) out of the 2 million naira ($2,600) he had in his account.

Okonkwo said her husband’s relatives swore to drag her to court to challenge her rights, but she cannot afford a lawyer due to her financial situation.

In Nigeria, there are around 15 million widows.

Unfortunately, widows in the country often face the denial of their basic human rights due to traditional and cultural practices rooted in patriarchal beliefs.

According to The World Bank, “In much of Africa, marriage is the sole basis for women’s access to social and economic rights, and these are lost upon divorce or widowhood.”

In a country like Nigeria, where men dominate the economic and political systems, women are often expected to be submissive. The challenges women face are particularly amplified when they become widows, creating a doubly marginalized subgroup. Moreover, this vulnerable position sometimes exposes widows to dehumanizing rituals and harmful practices.

These harmful practices include mourning rites that involve widows sleeping with their deceased husbands’ corpses, shaving of widows’ heads, seclusion, wearing black or white clothes, and being forced to sleep and sit on the floor or mat. Additionally, some widows are coerced into marrying other members of the deceased husband’s family.

Despite laws granting women the right to inherit their husbands’ assets, many widows can still not claim their rightful share of land and property.

Efforts to combat these practices, such as the Violence Against Persons Prohibition Act (VAPP) enacted in 2015, have faced challenges in implementation and adoption by all states. According to the law, offenders are subject to a 500,000 naira ($648) fine or two years in prison. But arrests and prosecution of offenders are rare. And gender-based violence has persisted, which includes violence towards widows.

The enforcement of laws against offenders has been hindered by religious and cultural norms that promote silence and suppression of victimization cases. Victims often face threats or pressure from family members, community, or religious leaders whenever they try to report incidents to law enforcement.

Like Okonkwo, Sarah Temidayo’s life took a tragic turn when she lost her husband of four years to lung cancer in 2019. However, her grief was compounded by the actions of her husband’s relatives, who invaded her home in Lagos mere hours after his passing, intent on claiming everything that belonged to him. They even went so far as to take her wedding gown, certificates, and her then-five-year-old daughter’s clothes. Devastated and without recourse, Temitope sought justice through the legal system, but her efforts have yielded no results.

“I did not pick a pin out of my house. I had to start my life all over again,” she says.

Unfortunately, the nightmare did not end there for Temidayo. She was subjected to constant threats from her husband’s mother, who continued to torment her and accuse her of killing her son through witchcraft. These threats escalated to a terrifying climax when assassins attacked her at a bus stop in March 2021. She managed to survive, albeit with six bullets lodged in her leg. Despite reporting the incident to the police, no investigation was conducted, leaving her feeling abandoned by the system meant to protect her.

According to Ifeoma Oguejiofor, a legal practitioner in Southeast Nigeria, widows face challenges in seeking justice due to the understaffed courts, which can cause delays in the resolution of cases. Additionally, the financial burden of hiring a lawyer becomes a significant obstacle for many widows, making it difficult to access proper legal representation to handle their cases.

“There is a significant difference between the laws written in books and the actual pursuit of justice. According to the law, a surviving spouse, whether in a traditional marriage, a long period of cohabitation, or a marriage registered under the act, is entitled to inherit the estate of their deceased spouse. However, achieving justice through the legal system is often a prolonged and costly process, particularly for widows who have already lost a substantial portion of their assets to their husband’s relatives,” she explains.

“It’s high time the government, traditional rulers, and religious clerics enforce laws to protect widows in Nigeria. No woman should be discriminated against because she lost her husband,” says Hope Nwakwesi, the founder of Almanah Hope Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on supporting Nigerian widows.

Nwakwesi, a widow who lost her police husband in 1994, endured distressing cultural rites, including having her hair shaved and wearing a mourning dress for a year. She faced further hardships as her relatives forcibly took her property, and she was expelled from her workplace and home in the police barracks. Despite seeking help, many, including police officers who offered assistance, demanded sexual favors in return.

Now, Nwakwesi is advocating for a bill in Nigeria’s legislative chamber. The bill aims to eradicate repressive cultural practices against widows and safeguard their fundamental human rights.

“My goal is to get the bill I’m fighting for approved and signed into law by the Senate. The current Violence Against Persons Prohibition Law is too vague and lacks specific clauses for protecting the rights of widows. Once the new bill becomes law, those who discriminate against widows will face arrest and prosecution by law enforcement agencies,” says Nwakwesi.

Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi, a civil rights activist and founding director of Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre, noted that “For the government to protect widows effectively, they should review and update existing laws related to widows’ rights to ensure they are comprehensive, enforceable, and in line with international human rights standards.”

“Merely having laws in place is not enough; the government must ensure their effective implementation at all levels of the justice system. This requires training and sensitizing law enforcement officials, judges, and legal practitioners on the rights of widows and the importance of protecting them,” she adds.

IPS UN Bureau Report

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