Jean Sloan – Volunteer Extraordinaire!
This month’s special volunteer honoree is Jean Sloan. Jean has been an integral part of the Next Door family since 2009. As a Next Door Neighbor, Next Door’s most valued volunteer group, Jean has helped Next Door provide the physical items that Shelter victims and their children need after fleeing sudden and sometimes life-threatening abuse. By collecting items for which Next Door doesn’t have direct funding, such as socks, underwear, diapers, and other much needed toiletries and personal care items, Jean helps Next Door clients make a smoother transition from abuse to freedom. While these items are often taken for granted, they are important in boosting client self-esteem and bringing normalcy and dignity back to a very difficult situation.
In addition to securing items for shelter residents and domestic violence victims and their children, Jean supports fundraising functions within the organization. Jean, along with other Next Door Neighbors, has been an integral supporter and participant in the Vino & Vistas Fundraiser, the Shelter Open House, and the Holiday Boutique. By volunteering at these events and securing auction items, Jean has helped Next Door raise funding that helps us end domestic violence in the moment and for all time.
Jean has also helped spread awareness of Next Door’s mission to end domestic violence by introducing our agency to other individuals and corporations like Xilinx, her employer, which share a common desire to provide safety and life resources for victims of domestic violence and their children. By extending her network, Next Door is able to share its mission with others and provide greater support for those in need—and we couldn’t do this without Jean’s support and energy.
Jean balances her enthusiasm for volunteerism at Next Door with her successful career as the Global Purchasing and Travel Manager for Xilinx, a corporation at the forefront of the semiconductor industry.
Jean, for all that you have done to further the goals of Next Door and to help victims and their children who need help, we are eternally grateful to you!
Iran Still Stoning Women for Adultery?
As of this writing, Sakineh Mohammadie Ashtiani, age 43 and mother of two children, was slated to be buried up to her chest so Iranian men could throw medium sized rocks at her as a punishment for alleged adultery, a ritual act called stoning. After international pressure, the Iranian government has decided not to stone her to death. They have, however, said that she still may be executed by hanging.
Sakineh’s story is unique and then again common. Sakineh has been in prison since May 2006, when she was convicted of adultery. She was sentenced to a punishment of 99 lashes, which has already been carried out. She was forced to confess to adultery after receiving the 99 lashes, which she received in front of her children. She later retracted that confession. Later that year she was accused of murdering her husband. Those charges were dropped, but an inquiry into the adultery charge was reopened. Two of the five judges found absolutely no evidence of adultery but the other three judges used a legal loophole called “judicial knowledge,” which permits judges to make decisions based on their personal feelings, regardless of actual evidence. Sakineh also may have suffered from a language barrier, since she speaks Turkish, not Farsi.
According to Amnesty International, the majority of individuals put to death by stoning are women. Under Sharia law in Iran, a woman’s death by stoning involves being buried up to the neck and having stones hurled at her head. The law even specifies the size of the stones: not so big that the victim dies quickly, but not so small that death takes an inordinately long time. For Adultery to be proven, Iranian law dictates that two men or four women must witness that act of adultery. Moreover, if one is able to free themselves during the stoning, that person may go free; however, while a woman is buried up to her chest, a man is only buried up to his waist, obviously making it easier for a man to avoid death after committing adultery.
Human rights activists have been pushing the Islamic government to abolish stoning, arguing that women are not treated equally before the law in Iran and are especially vulnerable in the judicial system. Activists also say that in the past when pressure is put on the Iranian government to choose not to stone women to death, they have commuted the death sentence. Sakineh’s son and daughter, despite having written to the court pleading for their mother’s life, up until July 9 had received little if any hope that their mother’s life will be saved. On July 9, the Iranian government said they would not stone her to death, though they still might execute her by hanging. In response, we ask that everyone raise your voice. Sign the petition. Post on Facebook and Twitter. Call our elected leaders. We can not tolerate inequality and we can not tolerate the unjust execution of women.
Here is a letter from her children, asking the people of the world to protest this horror.
You can also learn more and sign the petition to stop her barbaric execution.
Also, you can join the Facebook Page dedicated to this issue.