Watchdog

The websites of two Kazakh opposition newspapers became inaccessible to Internet users in Kazakhstan today, RFE/RL's Kazakh Service reports.

"Respublika" chief editor Anastasiya Novikova and "Golos Respubliki" editor Tatyana Trubacheva told journalists in Almaty that their sites are available only through proxy servers. They said people using the state KazakhTeleCom as their Internet service provider are unable to access them.

The editors said the disruption of accessibility to their websites is politically motivated. The two newspapers have since started placing all of their online content on the social networking website Facebook.

Tamara Kaleeva is the chairwoman of the Almaty-based nongovernmental organization Adil Soz, which monitors the media and journalists rights in Kazakhstan. She said that although KazakhTeleCom is trying to convince rights activists and journalists that the lack of access to the two websites is a technical problem, "it is clear that the whole situation is connected to the content that is published in the newspapers."

The two publications are known for publishing articles critical of the government.

A group of women's rights activists in Iran and worldwide has written an open letter to the United Nations opposing the Iranian government's bid for membership on the UN's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), RFE/RL's Radio Farda reports.

The letter refers to Iranian laws that gender-equality groups say discriminate against women. These include statutes relating to such matters as divorce, child custody, education, and the ability to choose a husband.

Women have been "arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for peacefully seeking change of such laws," the letter says. "The Iranian government will certainly use [CSW membership] to curtail the progress and advancement of women."

Radio Farda spoke to Shadi Sadr, a women's rights activist and one of the letter's signatories. Sadr explained that for years the UN has asked Iran to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Iran, however, has refused to do so.

"Under such conditions, Iran's attempt to join such an institution [as the CSW] is doomed to fail," Sadr said.

Iran announced its candidacy for membership in the commission after it withdrew from its bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council last week.

The UN describes the commission as being dedicated exclusively to gender equality and advancement of women.