Stories about Women & Gender from March, 2009
Azerbaijan: Like a virgin (reprise)
Following on from earlier posts on the matter of virginity in Armenia, Scary Azeri in Suburbs recounts the situation in Azerbaijan. The blog concludes that medical techniques to restore a...
Saudi Arabia: Censoring Skin
From Saudi Arabia, Susie describes the ‘trouble’ censors go through to ‘cover up’ women's skin: “Certainly seeing all that tempting erotic skin, and coloring in all those feminine body parts...
Azerbaijan: Blogger Interview
Dotcom, an online project which has participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and the United States, has published an interview with Azerbaijani blogger Arzu Geybullayeva on blogging and citizen media. In particular,...
Mexico: Unsolved Feminicide Along the Border
Violence along the United States - Mexico border has reached staggering levels. The killings in border cities like Ciudad Juárez has already totaled 400 in the first two months of 2009. More than 370 women have been murdered in the cities of Juárez and Chihuahua “without the authorities taking proper measures to investigate and address the problem.” This crisis, often called feminicide, has been a cause for organizations and blogs to take to the internet to help raise awareness to the plight of the victims and their families.
Libya: From Funerals to Weddings
From the death of a cousin after a lethal penicillin injection to discussing why Libyan men prefer marrying 'stupid' women over those who are educated, Fozia Mohamed sifts through posts written by established and new bloggers in her country to bring us those stories and more.
Azerbaijan: Novruz in absentia
Scary Azeri in Suburbs recounts celebrating Novruz in London with her friends from Azerbaijan. The blog says that for a moment she felt as if she was in Baku and...
Trinidad & Tobago: Pompoms
“I thought for a second I was hallucinating. Like I think I’m hallucinating when I hear some wild rumour that Papa Patos wants to invoke the Terrorism Act during the...
Cuba: The Black Cuban Woman
Havana Times republishes a mainstream media news article on a black, female Cuban blogger who writes about gender, sexual diversity and racism.
Azerbaijan: Cultural Clash
Scary Azeri in Suburbs remembers a visit from her teenage years to the mountain village of Ismailli. The blog says the trips were always a welcome escape from the summer...
Ukraine: Women
Alina Rudya's Kyiv Post piece on Ukrainian women has generated 133 comments so far – as well as a discussion at Natalia Antonova's blog.
Jordan: 19-year-old woman killed by father and brothers
Kinzi reacts to news that a 19-year-old girl was killed in Jordan by her father and brothers for wearing make up and talking to men saying: “Better ban Maybelline from...
Jordan: Call to end Honour Killings
Jordanian Qwaider calls for an off and online campaign against the so called honour killings, in which women are killed by relatives for having relations with men. “Every year, over...
Egypt: Women turn to the Internet to fight taboos
Young middle and upper class Egyptian women resort to the internet to fight their battles against taboos. The BBC interviewed some of them and Mohamed Hamdy of Bloggers Times comments on the article.
Saudi Arabia: Ordeals Facing Single Mothers
From Saudi Arabia, Rasha writes about the ordeals divorced mothers face in her country.
India's Fritzl
Shantanu Dutta at Desicritics discusses about India's hidden incest crisis.
Russia: Demographics and Abortion
Russian Policy Daily translates from an interview on Russia's demographics, quoting and citing Svetlana Rudneva, head of the “Family and Childhood” foundation.
Jamaica: V-Day
Abeng News Magazine reports that Jamaica is an active part of the international V-Day 2009 campaign – “a global movement to stop violence against women and girls.”
Bahamas: To the Mothers…
Bahamian blogger Womanish Words missed International Women's Day and pays a late but meaningful tribute to the mothers of the world “who are most at risk globally, because of poverty,...
Angola: Celebrating Angolan Women's Day with poetry
March is a month of double celebration for Angolan woman: apart from International Woman's Day, Angolan Woman's Day is celebrated on March 2nd because of the bravery of four women who fought for Angola's Independence. Bloggers celebrate by publishing poems and paying homage to women who suffer, love and fight with a large smile on their lips and bold eyes.
Armenia: The virginity debate continues…
Following posts by the Frontline Club and Global Voices Online, Jezebel also comments on the tradition of the red apple in Armenia. In particular, the post has initiated further discussion...
Egypt: New Fatwa on Divorce
The Middle East Blog reports on the latest fatwa (religious edict) from Egypt saying: “According to an Egyptian Sheikh, neighbours now have have the right to demand the divorce of...
