Gita Sahgal - forced out of Human Rights NGO Amnesty International for speaking up about Islamism

We first commented on this story back in February, when Gita Saghal, then Head of Amnesty International’s Gender Unit, was suspended from her post for speaking out against the organisation’s work with former Guantanamo detainee, Moazzam Begg and his Islamist ‘Cageprisoners’ charity. It appears that AI have now made it clear where their loyalties lie in this matter and it looks very much as though Ms Saghal has been forced out:

A senior official at Amnesty International who was suspended after she complained that the human rights organisation was too closely linked to a “pro-jihadi group” has left her job.

Gita Sahgal claimed that the charity’s links with Moazzam Begg, the former inmate at Guantánamo Bay, and his organisation Cageprisoners were undermining its campaigns.

She was suspended as interim head of Amnesty’s gender unit in February after an e-mail that she sent to her bosses criticising the links with Mr Begg was made public.

Ms Sahgal, 53, said yesterday that she felt that her seven years’ campaigning for women’s rights had been a waste of time because of the charity’s continuing work with the former prison-camp detainee and his group. “Their continued link to Moazzam Begg and Cageprisoners undermines Amnesty’s claims to stand against gender-based violence and religious discrimination,” she said. “He supports Islamic states where women are second- class citizens.”
Mr Begg, 42, is part of an Amnesty-hosted tour that is urging countries to offer a haven to former Guantánamo detainees.

A statement circulated internally within Amnesty said: “Due to irreconcilable differences of view over policy between Gita Sahgal and Amnesty International regarding Amnesty International’s relationship with Moazzam Begg and Cageprisoners, it has been agreed that Gita will leave Amnesty International on 9 April 2010.

“Gita has most recently held the position of Interim Head of the Gender, Sexuality and Identity Unit, and was in a period of consultation over possible redeployment following a redundancy process. Accordingly, Gita will leave receiving a payment based on Amnesty International’s redundancy policy.”

The nature of Ms Sahgal’s departure says far more about Amnesty’s conflicted politics than it does about her ability to carry out her duties. They have chosen to stand for a group that promotes Jihad and Sharia law, doctrines which oppress and brutalise women; making a mockery of their supposed mission to stand up for the oppressed and voiceless.

They have done this while continually and vehemently attacking Israel, (based largely on the tesimony of Islamic Jihadists) – a country where Arab women enjoy rights their sisters in other Middle Eastern states and elsewhere can only dream about. How can they expect to be regarded with any degree of credibility, when they display such hypocrisy and inverted morals?

Shame on them.

[Source: The Times]

Please consider supporting Un:dhimmi by making a small donation to the site, in order to show your support and help us with our work.

Get Your Copy of The Documentary the Iranian Régime Doesn’t Want You to See

Comments are closed.