The SIS Amnesty group has been active in world wide campaigns to protect human rights since the beginning of the school year. This group is made up of Diploma Programme students in grades 11  and we are doing this as part of CAS. Currently we are working on a campaign called: “My Body, My Rights.” In particular we are looking at the situation in Tunisia. Girls in Tunisia are often forced to  forced to marry the men who raped them. There is no law to protect them. They are often compelled to marry their rapists in order to protect their families’ honour. There is also no law to protect women who are raped within marriage. Amnesty believes that by sending a strong message to the government of Tunisia, it is possible to pressure it into changing the law to give women more protection. Governments sometimes change laws when they realise that the eyes of the world are on them.

Here, at SIS we have copies of the letter that will be sent to Tunisia.  A letter like this is powerful when signed by many people.  Alone we cannot make a big difference but together we can. Over the next 2 weeks members of the SIS Amnesty group will be around the school with the petition, collecting signatures. People who sign the petition not only get to feel that they might have contributed to improving women’s rights but can also get a really cool tattoo to show their commitment to the cause and further awareness of the this event.

You will see  Amnesty posters around the school and we will be collecting signatures right up until the Spring Break.  You can also follow the SIS Amnesty Group on Instagram: sisamnesty 

These petitions will be sent to the Tunisian government and we hope that they will make a difference. The aim of this campaign is to make the Tunisian government change it laws to improve women’s rights. Help us make a difference.

(Another version of this article appeared in the SIS Dispatch)