· March, 2008

Stories about Women & Gender from March, 2008

Pakistan: Women and Honour

  31 March 2008

Five Rupees on the case of a woman who is trying to escape being killed for her family's honour – bringing to light issues of women's status in a society and the idea of lost honour.

Trinidad & Tobago: A Woman Scorned

  31 March 2008

“WOMAN's son is murdered by her husband and the first thing that springs to the Trinbagonian mind is that she must have been horning him”: Trinidad and Tobago's latest murder/suicide spurs Andre Bagoo to write a thoughtful post on gender issues, double standards and sexual stereotypes.

Middle East and North Africa: Client Number Nine

Eliot Spitzer's fall from grace grabbed the headlines as soon as newsmen caught wind of the scandal. Bloggers followed closely on their heel, including those from the Middle East and North Africa, whose attention was turned to the humiliation his wife must have suffered from and indignation of having her to stand by him as he announced his resignation.

Libya: Wedding Blues

“Libyan weddings are BORING. They are all the same – the same food is served, the same music is played, the brides all look the same. BORING… sigh,” writes Khadija Teri, who had to attend two ceremonies.

Barbados: Archaic Laws

  27 March 2008

Barbados Free Press has heard of a woman “who was recently raped by her estranged husband – and our police say they are unable to lay charges because our laws are reflect a time when wives were owned by their husbands.”

Cape Verde: Woman's day

  27 March 2008

Eurídice Monteiro [pt] takes the opportunity of the Cape Verde Woman's Day today to reflect on gender equality in the country. “The point is that we try to understand the current situation and demand that, regardless of gender, people are treated with respect and have the necessary means to live...

Burkina Faso: Home of black bags, baobabs and cute kids?

  27 March 2008

This roundup will begin with some old business. From Stephen Davis of Voice in the Desert: His book Sophie and the Albino Camel is up for the Norfolk Shorts shortlist of books under 150 pages. While he won’t know the outcome until April 16, he did expound on why he loves writing short fiction.

Jamaica: Beauty and Race

  24 March 2008

“What beauty contests say about women is still an open and now tired debate, but what it says about race, particularly in a country like Jamaica is still up for grabs”: Marlon James explains.

Czech Republic, Slovakia: Whipping Girls and Other Easter Traditions

  23 March 2008

Easter is a very important celebration both in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, called Velikonoce - from Veliké noci or Great Nights. Although the religious connotations of Easter were suppressed under the communist regime, nowadays Czechs and Slovaks are again aware of the strong Christian background of Easter, although they regard it as mostly fun times. Many traditions are still observed, especially in villages. Several bloggers have been describing some of them.

Yemen: No Women Abuse

Omar Barsawad discusses reports on abuse and violence against women in Yemen and asks: “I visit relatives and friends in other parts of Yemen – I do not see or notice the kind of general abuse that those articles reported. … I wonder, which parts of Yemen those articles were...