· April, 2008

Stories about Women & Gender from April, 2008

Bangladesh: women's equality vs. religion

  30 April 2008

Tahmina Shafique writes on the recently announced women’s development policy in Bangladesh which has triggered religious protests by Islamist groups and forced a retreat by the government on rights issued by the constitution.

Armenia: Fashion Zombies

  29 April 2008

Life Around Me is puzzled by the apparent obsession displayed by many Armenian girls and women in changing their appearance to match foreign ideas of fashion and beauty. In particular, the blog says that the current trend of wearing artificial-looking and colored contact lenses has turned many of them into...

Iran:Gender apartheid and sexual harassment

Sahel reports[Fa] that “students in Sahand University in Tabriz,in Iran, protested against “gender aparthied” and cultural and social pressure.” It seems that male and female students can not attend same classes together. It is said some girls have been victims of sexual and moral harassment by employees. Watch photos here.

U.S. Papal Visit: The World Reacts

  22 April 2008

As Pope Benedict XVI makes his first papal visit to the United States, the media and blogosphere are in a frenzy - primarily due to the sexual abuse scandal that shook the foundation of the American Catholic church six years ago. The Pope addressed the issue in Washington D.C. on Thursday, speaking with victims of sexual abuses, which pleased some bloggers but for others was too little too late.

Cuba: Damas de Blanco

  22 April 2008

As “a group of Cuban women peacefully demonstrating for the release of their jailed husbands were roughed up by a mob and arrested”, Cuban bloggers speak out…Babalu: “The regime still fears free thinkers and political opposition”; Uncommon Sense: “Freedom in Cuba — for the brave men on whose behalf these...

Kyrgyzstan: Time to Solve Problems

  21 April 2008

The first week of April started with the ambiguous opinions of Kyrgyz bloggers about the Marie Claire magazine article by American journalist Erin Finnerty with photography by Rena Effendi and the provocative headline “Kyrgyzstan: From Silk to Heroin” about the problems of women in Osh in southern Kyrgyzstan. For instance,...

Iran: Save a Mother from Execution

Kamangir reports that Akram Mahdavi, 32 year old mother of a girl in her early teens is facing imminent execution for conspiracy to murder.The complaintaints in Akram's case have agreed to stop her upcoming execution in exchange for $60,000.

Hyejin Kim: A praised young novelist among GVO authors

  20 April 2008

Global Voices celebrates, this month, Hyejin Kim's first anniversary as the GVO Korean Language editor. She is also a celebrated young novelist: her debut book, 'Jia: A Novel of North Korea', has been highly praised as a very vivid and moving novel set in 1990’s North Korea. Is this story just fiction? Hyejin lets us know in this interview.

Azerbaijan: Peace Corps FAQ

  17 April 2008

Carolyn & Jesse's Azerbaijan Peace Corps Blog posts an entry answering the most common questions received from readers ranging from inquiries about computer access to attitudes towards single and married women. Intriguingly, concerns about the availability of can openers in Azerbaijan also makes the list.

Iran: Woman activist is released on bail

According to[Fa] Change4equality, Khadijeh Moghadam, an Iranian woman activist for equal rights,has been released on bail after 9 days in Tehran. She has been accused of activities against “national security.” Several people waited for her outside of the prison.Watch the photos here.

Brunei: Miss Bimbo

  16 April 2008

Emma Good Egg checks out a popular internet game called Miss Bimbo which is receiving some adverse publicity online.

Israel: Jail for Iranian Police Chief

“You may recall the case of the Iranian police chief who was on the other side of an arrest after being found nude in a local brothel with six naked prostitutes. Well, now it looks like the next time he will be in the same room as 6 naked people,...