Equality and Non-discrimination

In 2001 Aberew Jemma Negussie abducted and raped 13-year-old Woineshet Zebene Negash, with the aid of several accomplices. Her abduction was reported to the police, who rescued her and arrested Mr. Negussie in Ethiopia. Evidence of the rape was documented in a medical report. Mr. Negussie was freed on bail and abducted Ms. Negash again, this time hiding her in his brother’s house for a month and forcing her to sign a marriage contract. She managed to escape. In 2003 Mr.

In 2004 Botswana’s Secretary of Health circulated an internal directive to public medical facilities informing them of a Presidential Directive authorizing “provision of free treatment to non-citizen prisoners suffering from ailments other than AIDS.” HIV-positive Zimbabwean prisoners filed lawsuits challenging this directive after being denied free Anti-Retroviral Therapy (ARV).

This case came before the Supreme Court of India, on appeal, against a Bombay High Court verdict striking down the Maharashtra government’s statewide ban on dance performances in bars. The ban dates back to August 2005, and prohibited ‘any type of dancing' in an "eating house, permit room or beer bar", but made an exception for dance performances in three stars hotels and above, and other elite establishments. The State justified the ban by asserting that bar dancing corrupts morals, fuels trafficking and prostitution, and causes exploitation of women bar dancers.

This case was initiated in 2008 when the Inclusive Communities Project (ICP), a non-profit group, sued the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) in relation to a federal tax credit program used by states and local governments to build affordable housing. ICP claimed that the TDHCA perpetuated segregation in violation of the Fair Housing Act (FHA) by granting too many tax credits to new housing developments in predominantly black inner city areas and too few in primarily white suburban neighborhoods.