Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
Latest editorial
Women in Turkey in fight of their lives against ‘marry-your-rapist’ laws
As sisters in Turkey battle against child abuse and torture, SARAH-JANE McDONOUGH reports on how TSSA Women in Focus is raising awareness of their struggle and building solidarity here in Britain
Women of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) at a rally in Turkey
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
“THEY electrocuted me in the police station. They smashed my head on the ground. I can’t feel my hands and feet. My ribs hurt. I was tortured for several days. I was raped and sexually assaulted.”
Ruken Deniz was speaking to a court following her arrest in which police accused her of protecting members of the PKK, who Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan brands as terrorists, by hiding them in her home, an allegation she denies.
After her release, she described to the Mesopotamia News Agency how police had been frustrated that she didn’t seem to be affected by the electricity. She heard them say: “She is like a pig … Let’s give her 200 volts.”
Similar stories
ANNA FISHER explores what would it mean for women’s equality and public safety if Britain embraces full commercialisation of the sex trade
Half a century after transformative laws reshaped Britain, women’s rights are again contested. This International Women’s Day is a call to remember how change was won, and to organise to defend it, says KATE RAMSDEN
VIJAY PRASHAD details how US support for Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa allowed him to break the resistance of the autonomous Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)
Women are a vital part of the labour movement and have much to contribute, but there’s far more to be done to make sure that our sisters’ voices are truly heard, says PHILIPA HARVEY