DeboraSinger

‘Allocation of female-only programmed sessions’ is suggested as a ‘control measure’. We agree. Female-only swim sessions are a good way to encourage more women to swim. But… Sport England might like to address the fact that women-only sessions are in sharp decline. Our Freedom of Information survey of UK leisure centres revealed there are: - ZERO women-only sessions in Northern Ireland - in England, Wales and Scotland, only 28 of the 139 sessions advertised as women-only, actually excluded males Our message to Sport England - if you want to provide women-only sessions you’d better remind leisure centres to comply with the law. Women-only does not include males, however they dress. 3/6

It undermines the mission of @KingsTrust if it removes a service specifically for women and girls because it is forced to obey that law and exclude males. It’s also sexist.

#بيان_مشترك English Below مطالب حقوقية بإخلاء سبيل المحامية هدى عبد المنعم لحمايتها بعد تدهور حالتها الصحية واستمرار احتجازها المطول والمحاكمات المتعددة بنفس التهم - يُعرب التحالف الإقليمي للمدافعات عن حقوق الإنسان في جنوب غرب آسيا وشمال أفريقيا (WHRDMENA) والمنظمات الموقعة أدناه عن قلقهم واستنكارهم البالغ تجاه الحالة الصحية للمحامية والمدافعة عن حقوق الإنسان هدى عبد المنعم في محبسها والتي وصلت بها لطلب إعفائها من حضور جلسات المحاكمة والاكتفاء بتمثيل محاميها وزوجها السيد / خالد بدوي لها، نظرا للمشقة البالغة التي تخوضها في نقلها من مركز الإصلاح والتأهيل في مدينة العاشر من رمضان بمحافظة الشرقية إلى مكان انعقاد جلسات محاكمتها بمجمع بدر، وبالتحديد الدائرة الثانية إرهاب التابعة له، وهو الطلب الذي رفضته ذات المحكمة بمجمع بدر الأمني (1). تُعد هذه المرة الثالثة التي تُحاكم فيها المحامية هدى عبد المنعم بذات التهم وتتكبد عناء الذهاب الي المحكمة علي ذمة قضيتين في نفس الوقت وخلال احتجازها، تعاني هدى عبد المنعم من تدهور خطير في حالتها الصحية، إذ تعاني من أمراض مزمنة تشمل تجلط الأوردة العميقة، والانسداد الرئوي، وارتفاع ضغط الدم، والتهاب المفاصل الحاد، فضلًا عن إصابتها سابقًا بنوبة قلبية وفشل كامل في الكلية اليسرى (2). وقد تفاقمت حالتها مؤخرًا مع إصابتها بارتجاع في الكلية اليمنى، كما تحتاج بشكل عاجل إلى جراحة في الركبة، إلا أنها تتردد في الخضوع لها لعدم ضمان السماح لها بالبقاء في المستشفى للفترة اللازمة للتعافي. كما ذكر محامي المدافعة في آخر زيارة لها في مطلع مارس 2026 أن عبد المنعم طريحة الفراش لما يزيد عن 20 يوما بسبب ألالام الركبة واحتياجها لرعاية صحية عاجلة. (3). الجدير بالذكر أن عبد المنعم في الحبس منذ أكثر من سبعة أعوام تقريباً، بعد القبض عليها من منزلها في عام 2018، وظلت رهن الحبس الاحتياطي لأكثر من أربع سنوات قبل أن يٌحكم عليها في القضية رقم 1552 لعام 2018 بالسجن لمدة خمس سنوات بتهمة الانضمام إلى جماعة إرهابية، بينما تمت تبرئتها من تهمة التمويل. وبعد قضاء مدة عقوبتها كاملة، أعيد احتجازها من خلال "تدويرها" على القضية رقم 730 لعام 2020، ثم أُضيفت مرة أخرى إلى القضية رقم 800 لعام 2019، التي أحيلت إلى المحاكمة في ديسمبر/كانون الأول 2024. وهي تواجه الآن المحاكمة في قضيتين بناءً على نفس الاتهامات، في انتهاك لمبدأ عدم جواز المحاكمة على نفس الفعل مرتين (4). حصلت هدى عبد المنعم على عدة جوائز تقديرًا لعملها الحقوقي المشهود له دوليًا من بينها جائزة الدفاع عن حقوق الإنسان مجلس نقابات المحامين الأوروبيين 2020، وكانت آخرها جائزة نقابة المحامين الدولية (IBA) للإسهام المتميز من قبل ممارس قانوني في مجال حقوق الإنسان. يٌطالب التحالف الإقليمي للمدافعات عن حقوق الإنسان في جنوب غرب آسيا وشمال أفريقيا (WHRDMENA) والمنظمات الموقعة بإخلاء السبيل الفوري للمدافعة عن حقوق الإنسان والمحامية هدى عبد المنعم لإنقاذ حياتها، ووقف الإجراءات التعسفية ضدها، على الرغم من تعيينها سابقاً عضوة بالمجلس القومي لحقوق الإنسان. كما يدعو التحالف المجموعات والمنطمات الحقوقية والنسوية المحلية والإقليمية والدولية إلى التضامن الكامل مع عبد المنعم والمطالبة بإخلاء سبيلها الفوري، خاصة في ظل الاستهداف المتصاعد من قبل السلطات المصرية للمدافعات عن حقوق الإنسان في الفترة الأخيرة. المنظمات الموقعة: التحالف الإقليمي للمدافعات عن حقوق الإنسان في جنوب غرب آسيا وشمال أفريقيا (WHRDMENA) المنبر المصري لحقوق الإنسان مؤسسة دعم القانون والديمقراطية المفوضية المصرية للحقوق والحريات مؤسسة سيناء لحقوق الإنسان مؤسسة قضايا المرأة المصرية (سيولا) مركز النديم لتأهيل ضحايا العنف الجبهة المصرية لحقوق الإنسان منصة اللاجئين بمصر المبادرة المصرية للحقوق الشخصية مركز القاهرة لدراسات حقوق الإنسان إيجيبت وايد لحقوق الإنسان - Human rights groups demand the release of lawyer and WHRD Hoda Abdel Moneim to ensure her safety, following the deterioration of her health and her prolonged detention and multiple trials on the same charges - The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in South West Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) and the undersigned organizations express their deep concern and strong condemnation regarding the health condition of lawyer and woman human rights defender (WHRD) Hoda Abdel Moneim in detention, which has led her to request exemption from attending court sessions and to be represented solely by her lawyer and her husband, Mr. Khaled Badawi, due to the extreme hardship she faces in being transported from the Correctional and Rehabilitation Center in 10th of Ramadan City, Sharqia Governorate, to the venue of her trial at the Badr Complex, specifically the Second Terrorism Circuit, a request that was rejected by the same court at the Badr Security Complex (1). This is the third time that lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim has been tried on the same charges and has had to endure the ordeal of appearing in court for two cases simultaneously. While in detention, Hoda Abdel Moneim has suffered a serious deterioration in her health, as she suffers from chronic conditions including deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, high blood pressure, and severe arthritis, in addition to having previously suffered a heart attack and complete failure of her left kidney (2). Her condition has recently worsened with the onset of right kidney failure, and she urgently needs knee surgery; however, she is reluctant to undergo the procedure because there is no guarantee she will be allowed to remain in the hospital for the necessary recovery period. During his last visit in early March 2026, the defendant’s lawyer also noted that Abdel Moneim has been bedridden for over 20 days due to knee pain and her need for urgent medical care (3). It is worth noting that Abdel Moneim has been in detention for nearly seven years, after being arrested at her home in 2018; she remained in pretrial detention for more than four years before being sentenced in Case No. 1552 of 2018 to five years in prison on charges of joining a terrorist group, while she was acquitted of the financing charge. After serving her full sentence, she was re-detained by being “rotated” in Case No. 730 of 2020, and then added again to Case No. 800 of 2019, which was referred to trial in December 2024. She is now facing trial in two cases based on the same charges, in violation of the principle of ne bis in idem (4). Hoda Abdel Moneim has received several awards in recognition of her internationally acclaimed human rights work, including the 2020 Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe Award, and most recently the International Bar Association (IBA) Award for Outstanding Contribution by a Legal Practitioner in the Field of Human Rights. The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in Southwest Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) and the undersigned organizations call on the Egyptian authorities to immediately release woman human rights defender and lawyer Hoda Abdel Moneim to save her life, and to stop arbitrary measures against her, despite her previous appointment as a member of the National Council for Human Rights. The coalition also calls on local, regional, and international human rights and feminist groups and organizations to stand in full solidarity with Abdel Moneim and demand her immediate release, particularly in light of the Egyptian authorities’ escalating targeting of women human rights defenders recently. Undersigned organisations: 1. The Regional Coalition for Women Human Rights Defenders in Southwest Asia and North Africa (WHRDMENA) 2. Egyptian Human Rights Forum (EHRF) 3. Law and Democracy Support Foundation (LDSF) 4. Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms (ECRF) 5. Sinai Foundation for Human Rights 6. The Center for Egyptian Women’s Legal Assistance (CEWLA) 7. El Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence 8. The Egyptian Front for Human Rights (EFHR) 9. The Refugee Platform Egypt (RPE) 10. The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights (EIPR) 11. Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) 12. Egyptwide for Human Rights #المفوضية_المصرية_للحقوق_والحريات

Mixed-sex changing rooms are a predator’s paradise. Our FOI investigations revealed that in one year there were 16 rapes, 80 sexual assaults and 65 acts of voyeurism across 257 leisure centres in England and Wales. We have data from Northern Ireland (just in) that reveals more than 80% of sexual crimes perpetrated in changing rooms occur in mixed-sex facilities. This confirms previous research that shows mixed-sex changing is a crime scene waiting to happen. This is a national scandal. Sport England has doggedly stuck to its ‘moving to inclusion’ mantra even though time and again this has proved to be ‘moving to inclusion of sexual predators’. Delegates at One Swim - ask the questions, and report back to us… Links to our leisure centre reports in the next post. 5/6

In Conversation with Akua Reindorf youtu.be/KiLgWEZqCXw?si… via @YouTube

If @BBCWomansHour wants to interview someone about misogyny, I'm available. In the old days, when it was a programme for women, they devoted a whole edition to my book Misogynies.

We are grateful to Baroness Cash for her proposed amendment for the police to record sex accurately. @Fox_Claire outlined the case superbly👇, including WRN's own communications with the NPCC @PoliceChiefs, who, like the Government, have their feet set firmly in treacle. The need for correct sex data has been clearly demonstrated by @ProfAliceS in her excellent report. Meanwhile, as demonstrated by WRN's own FOIs to police forces, including that of @ASPolice (referenced below by @CforWomenUK), sex is either not being recorded at all, or is being conflated with 'gender', and is entirely based on self ID. Some of the perverse consequences of this wholesale corruption of data are large numbers of 'female rapists' recorded. As a result, no one can rely on the integrity or credibility of police data with regard to sex. This is unacceptable.

The U.K. has just shut down one of the only safe routes out of Afghanistan for women by removing visa access to prevent asylum claims. The U.K. does not stand with the women & girls of Afghanistan. We’ve abandoned them. The gaslighting is off the scale.

I’m at the UN for the Commission on the Status of Women, where every representative is obsessed with using the word ‘gender.’ Women don’t suffer from ‘gender-based violence.’ It is sex-based violence. And you cannot appropriately protect women from sex-based violence while simultaneously pushing the idea that men can have a female ‘gender.’ There are two sexes, zero genders, and infinite personalities. Stop using the word gender when you mean sex.

The nasty attacks on @KBtheYoungOG after her appearance on @GMB reveal why the trans lobby push the idea of children's 'autonomy & agency.' Then they can say it's your own fault for 'decisions you made.' On #DetransAwarenessDay we salute all brave detransitioners like Keira.

Women across the UK are STILL waiting for the Supreme Court ruling to be fully implemented and adhered to. The EHRC Code of Practice is STILL gathering dust in @bphillipsonMP's in-box. We simply do not agree with the assertion by @SeemaMalhotra1 that suggestions of delay are 'completely wrong'. Feet are being dragged, and this has been kicked into the long grass. Prove us wrong! Thank you for your question @ClaireCoutinho

In the run up to the publication of my next book, Sex, Gender Identity and the Law, Keble College and the Faculty of Law at the University of Oxford have put together some short videos addressing some of the key themes of the book. The first one was published today:

It will be seen as a medical scandal that so many children and young people were sterilised, and had their health compromised with un-evidenced and ideological "medical" treatments. Gay, unhappy or autistic boys are not girls Gay, unhappy or autistic girls are not boys. No child is "born in the wrong body".

Thread of all of the speeches from our gathering in the pub after today's Parliamentary Lobby Day We start with Emma Hartley's introduction & the first speaker Rosie Duffield: MP for Canterbury @hartleythinking @RosieDuffield1 #StopTheTrial #LobbyDay

This was such a great day. So many MPs came to talk to constituents convinced that medicalising gender distress is wrong

Well said Julie Bindel on the Puberty blockers trial: “How can we do that to children? We absolutely can’t!” youtube.com/watch?v=BGCZem… “Well, it’s bonkers, isn’t it? Scientists believe in science, they believe in biological reality. You can’t trial medicine where there is not only no evidence that it is not harmful, but where there is evidence that it is harmful. You can’t trial a drug that is totally unnecessary and cause harm on a socio-political level. Because socially transitioning children is not a benign or harmless act. And we also know from very helpful and irrefutable stats that 98% of those children who gone on to puberty blockers will end up on cross-sex hormones that are irreversible. How can we do that to children? We absolutely can’t.”

Two terfs terfing! @MForstater @DerryBanShee after the #WomenLobby to #StopTheTrial #NotoPubertyBlockers #GayTeensArentSick @SexMattersOrg @WRNBarnet @AllianceLGB @WomensRightsNet

📢 My long read about the epoch-shaping Sex Discrimination Act - and the women including a bunch feminist journalists who fought like hell for it (published in December to mark 50th anniversary)- is now a podcast! 🎉(link follows - also on Apple podcasts/ Spotify etc)