“It’s often seen as a cultural practice and not a crime. Women are considered as commodities – both by the husband who takes them and their own families who accept a deal.”
Category: Latest News
Welcome to our archive of news stories relevant to the project of fighting fashionable nonsense. The stories are drawn from the electronic pages of the world’s media. On this page, you’ll find links to those stories that have been featured on Butterflies and Wheels during the current year. At the bottom of the page, you’ll find links to separate archives of stories from previous years.
We’re always pleased to hear about news stories that you think should be featured on Butterflies and Wheels. Just send an email here, if you want to point one out to us.
A note about links
Inevitably links go out of date. We suggest, therefore, that you make hard-copies of the stories that particularly interest you.
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Child sacrifice in Uganda
The mutilated bodies of children have been discovered at roadsides, the victims of an apparently growing belief in the power of human sacrifice.
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UK Christians suffer extrapolation
“It is as if there is a systematic effort to extrapolate British society from its Christian heritage.”
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Ireland rejects UN HRC findings on abortion legislation
No abortion even “when pregnancy poses a risk to the health of the pregnant woman.”
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The Onion on progress for women in Saudi Arabia
They have been allowed to leave their homes under the guardianship of a male relative and celebrate the right to vote.
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Humanists, atheists drive for wider global impact
Switzerland, India, Uganda, Nigeria, Argentina, Brazil, Ireland, Malawi, Israel – even the US military.
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Terry Glavin on Afghanistan and Absurdistan
There’s a lot of crazy talk among pundits in the NATO capitals about how things haven’t changed for Afghan women.
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C Peter Wagner on Fresh Air
One of the biggest changes from traditional churches to the New Apostolic Reformation is the amount of spiritual authority delegated by the Holy Spirit to individuals.
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Haredi men throw shit, call little girls “sluts”
In September they staged a protest against the school and the “evil regime” that approved its founding. A female journalist was assaulted and spat on by a group of men.
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Israel: Haredi Jews “picket” girls on the way to school
They say their religious sense of modesty is offended by the sight of the girls and their families passing their homes on their way to school.
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Anti-clerical party in Poland enrages conservatives
The Janusz Palikot Movement wants crucifixes removed from public buildings, the Church taxed, gay rights promoted and Poland’s strict abortion law relaxed.
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Iran: actress sentenced to 90 lashes and year in prison
For appearing in “My Tehran for Sale,” which tells the story of a young actress whose theatre work is banned by the authorities.
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Rob Boston on Wallis and Pinsky and ‘kill the messenger’
Those of us who write about the Religious Right are not overreacting. Nor do we, as Wallis and Pinsky seem to think, believe that all evangelicals are theocrats.
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Christian bus ad: “There’s probably no Dawkins”
Sophisticated.
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Message before suicide attack: forget secular education
The suicide bomber who killed more than 100 people near Somalia’s education ministry was a school dropout who said young people should wage jihad instead.
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Hundreds of Israelis to declare themselves ‘without religion’
The move follows the recent District Court ruling granting author Yoram Kaniuk recognition as “without religion” by the Interior Ministry.
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Hitchens at Texas Freethought Convention
He was emphatic that though his “time” is rapidly approaching, he wouldn’t stop doing his best to shed light on the fraudulent claims made by religion.
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Funeral of Wangari Maathai in Uhuru National Park
Thousands of mourners lined the route.
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Kerala: Christian churches reward big families
Several Christian parishes in the Indian state of Kerala have begun offering incentives to couples who produce more children, officials say.
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Dawkins suggests schools should not teach nonsense
Such as “the world is 6,000 years old.” Just a thought.