Stories about Women & Gender from November, 2010
El Salvador: New Law Targets Violence Against Women
“On Thursday, November 25, El Salvador's National Assembly unanimously passed the Law for A Life Free From Violence for Women. For the first time, the law creates a separate crime of femicide for the murder of a woman on account of her gender. The law also imposes stiffer penalties on...
Zimbabwe: Peaceful March to Mark International Women Human Rights Defenders Day
Approximately 900 members of Women and Men of Zimbabwe Arise marked International Women Human Rights Defenders Day with a peaceful procession to the offices of the state-owned Chronicle newspaper in Bulawayo.
Take Back the Tech to Eliminate Violence Against Women
The global campaign Take Back the Tech! started on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. This year it is focused on developing actions that defend women's right to freedom and expression and information. Global Voices interviews Erika Smith, the Association of Progressive Communications Women's Networking Support Program communications coordinator.
Ghana: The trial of Amina Mohammed
Stephen Kwearing writes about the case of Amina Mohammed, the lady at the centre of an alleged robbery and mass rape on a bus in Ghana.
India: The Sexual Harassment Bill (2010)
Naina Kapur takes a critical look at the Sexual Harassment Bill (2010) which was recently introduced in India.
Thailand: Two Thousand Dead Fetuses in Buddhist Temple
More than 2,000 illegally aborted fetuses were discovered in a Buddhist temple in Thailand and this has reinvigorated the debate on whether it is already time to update the country’s abortion laws. Netizens share their opinion
Brazil: five days of cyber-activism to end violence against women
To mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (November 25th), a group of Brazilian feminist bloggers will take part in five days of cyber activism [pt]. Those involved will post interviews with activists and lawyers to raise awareness of causes, consequences and prevention of the practice. Meanwhile, online collectives have...
Bulgaria: Reactions to Hate Speech Against Arabs and Islam
Kapka Siderova, the wife of a far-right nationalist politician in Bulgaria, made some controversial statements about Arab women on a popular talk show yesterday, sparking outrage and allegations of racism and bigotry. Ruslan Trad reviews the reactions of Bulgarian Facebook users.
Bhutan: Khuru And The Rise Of Feminist Movements
Bhutanese women may have, unintentionally, created the stirrings of their first feminist movements of sorts when they recently started to encroach upon a traditionally male dominated sport Khuru (game of darts).
Dominican Republic: Girls Must Be Protected
Blogger María Isabel Soldevila [es] writes:”In a country in which gender violence is still considered a ‘passion’ crime, where the body and sexuality are being regulated without considering that girls suffer the worst abuses and neglect, the Millennium Objectives will never be reached. We have to wake up. It's urgent”.
USA: Hunger Strike of Border Women at White House Ends
Eleven women from the organization La Mujer Obrera (Working Women) who advocate for community-led economic development along the United States-Mexico border, ended a ten-day hunger strike in front of the White House in Washington, D.C today.
Australia: Same-Sex Marriage a Step Closer?
Australia’s parliament is currently debating a private members bill about gay marriage. This one is not to change the law, merely to consult with the public about the issue. Many in the Oz blogosphere have strong views.
Africa: Why fair skin is the hope for African women
Is fair skin the hope for African women?: A friend once said to me. “Whites want to be black by tanning and Blacks and Browns want to be light by bleaching. Nobody wants to be in their own skin”.
Africa: On the status of African women
Gregory Simpkins discusses the status of African women: “The status of women in Africa is a series of paradoxes. On the one hand, women have an exalted role as mothers and nurturers of their families. On the other hand, they are not accorded many of the economic rights women have...
Puerto Rico: Feminist Activist and Lawyer Awarded in US
Verónica RT celebrates the award [es] that Puerto Rican feminist activist and lawyer Josefina Pantoja just received from the National Legal Aid and Defender Association in the US for a life dedicated to defending the poor.
Mexico: Data on Femicides, 2006-2008
Diego Valle-Jones provides data on femicides in Mexico from 2006 to 2008, pointing out that “As a consequence of the drug war Chihuahua has the highest levels of femicides.”
Iran: Female political prisoners under pressure
Jahnezan (means woman's world) and several reformist sites reported [fa] that most of female political prisoners moved to a small cell where they have no contact with outside world. According to [fa] some reports 17 of them are moved to a 28 square meter cell.
Japan: I now pronounce you friend and friend
For those who take note of social categories a new one has been created: that of ‘marriage mates’. The tomo-fuhfu (where literally tomo means ‘mates or friends’ and fuhfu ‘married couple’) is the new term coined by writer Megumi Ushikubo to indicate those couples who have grown apart from each...
Ukraine: FEMEN Activists Protest Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani's Death Sentence
A group of female activists from FEMEN protested the death sentence given to Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani in front of the Iranian Embassy in Kyiv on Nov. 3 (a YouTube video) and at the opening ceremony for an event promoting Iranian culture on Thursday (photos of the topless protesters by Sergei Svetlitsky,...
D.R. of Congo: Letter from the capital of rape
I am writing these words from the world capital of rape. I’m not the one who named it that way, but Margot Wallström, Special Rapporteur of the United Nations, with regard to violence against women. So you understand, I am in the Democratic Republic of Congo, a country where women...
Africa: What drives unsafe abortion in Africa?
What drives unsafe abortion in Africa?: “In our view two key factors ultimately sustain the persistence of unsafe abortion in Africa: the first is criminalisation of abortionwhich was inherited from colonial times, despite the fact that abortion has since been decriminalised in the “mother countries”, beginning with the United Kingdom...
