Stories about Women & Gender from June, 2011
Jamaica: Child Labour
When it comes to Child Labour, says Jamaica Woman Tongue, “traditional practices often clash with the law”, adding that “one of the most violent forms of abuse of children is enforced transactional sex in the home, a hush-hush subject in Jamaica.”
Republic of Congo: Widows Demand Their Rights
minguabiango [fr] writes on congo-liberty about the cruel treatments and deprivation of their rights suffered by some widows in the Republic of Congo: “In Congo-Brazzaville, some widows are daring to prosecute their in‑laws and obtain compensation, sometimes with help from NGOs. They set a good example for all those women...
Hijablogging: “Hijab Undecided”
The topics discussed and debated in the "hijablogosphere" are always wide-ranging, but a succession of recent blog posts delve into one particularly tricky topic: what happens when a woman decides to take off her hijab.
Haiti: Helping to Stop Human Trafficking
Stanley Lucas blogs about how the effects of 2010's earthquake have affected Haiti's “significant child trafficking problem” and offers a few suggestions to “guide government officials and organizations working on anti-trafficking initiatives.”
Cuba: Women in the Cuban Blogosphere
Yasmín S. Portales has been posting her research [es] on women's voices in the Cuban blogosphere.
Bermuda: Position on Same-Sex Unions
Politics.bm looks at “some interesting scenarios [that] could play out…[if] Bermuda Immigration faces the question of a non-Bermudian worker coming to the island with a same sex spouse.”
Armenia: LGBT Persons Still Facing Discrimination
LGBT persons are still facing discrimination in Armenia and much of the rest of the South Caucasus, a new groundbreaking two-year study by the Council of Europe (CoE) has found.
Slut Walk is Besharmi Morcha in India
Slut Walk, a fresh feminist movement that originated from Toronto Canada, and had been taking rounds of various western cities, is now coming to New Delhi, the Indian capital. Amidst criticism of the use of the word slut, which is uncommon in India, the event organizers attempted to contextualize the movement by renaming it 'Slut Walk Delhi Besharmi Morcha'.
Armenia: Rapping controversy
Ianyan says that a photoshoot for an Armenian singer is drawing controversy in Armenia. Featuring photographs of Sako Balasanyan (Super Sako) in a “series of photographs featuring violent, misogynistic imagery of a faceless woman and him in various settings,” it also includes a picture of the singer in front of...
South Korea: Slut Walk in Seoul, Protesting Against Sexual Violence
Several students have staged one-person “SlutWalk” protests at Korea University’s front gate, demanding the school expel three male students from its medical school on charges of sexually assaulting a drunken female student during a school trip. South Korea's Wiki Tree site posted photos [ko] of the protests.
China: The first successful lawsuit on sexual harassment in Guangzhou
Olivia from ChinaHush translates a local news story about the first successful lawsuit on sexual harassment in Guangzhou.
Bangladesh: Rumana Manzur – A Grim Reminder of Domestic Violence
On 5 June, 2011, Rumana Manzur, an Assistant Professor at the Dhaka University, became the victim of a horrific case of domestic violence when she was brutally attacked by her husband Hassan Syed. This incident has shocked the Bangladeshi society and bloggers too have lent their voice in this demand for justice, expressing anger, outrage and shock.
Puerto Rico: C-Sections Too Prevalent
“48% of Our births are by cesarean section, the highest rate in the world”: Gil the Jenius says that “Our future children–and their mothers–absolutely deserve that We strive for their greatest welfare, rather than settling to merely serve the system.”
North Korea: Women Forced into Prostitution
A Seoul-based aid organization, Good Friends, released an English version of its weekly report. According to North Korean defectors’ testimonies, not a few North Korean women are forced into prostitution in order to make ends meet.
Indonesia: Prostitution in a cemetery
EngageMedia uploads a video by Ucu Agustin who features the lives of women workers living near Mount Bolo in East Java, Indonesia. Many of them are also working as sex workers in the evening.
Saudi Arabia: Women Behind the Wheel
Several Saudi women took the wheel yesterday to break the siege on driving in Saudi Arabia, where women are banned from driving cars. The campaign to drive was announced on Facebook, and fueled by conversations on other social media platforms, such as micro-blogging site Twitter. Laila Sindi, from Jeddah, shares her experience in a series of tweets.
Cuba: To Reach Havana
“Havana is a sort of forbidden city for people from deep inside Cuba”: Iván's File Cabinet blogs about Cubans who are unwelcome in their own capital city.
Senegal: University women's group helps the needy
On the blog dakar.bondyblog.fr, Mamadou Sané presented the initiative of a group of female students from the University Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar. “The association called ‘Regard de femme [A Woman's Look]’ is aiming to collect as many foodstuffs as possible to distribute to those in greatest need through a...
China: Leftover women, do not get married!
Jing Gao from Ministry of Tofu translates an article on feminist debate about a Beijing erotica artist set of painting on “Leftover women, do not get married! Let’s enjoy ruining men!”
Mexico City's Female Cab Drivers
“It’s frustrating that there aren’t more women cab drivers in a city that’s supposedly so cosmopolitan, and in a city where women desperately need jobs. And in the larger scheme of things, it’s sad that women here need female cabbies to feel safe” writes Lesley Téllez in a post where...
Lebanon: New All-Male Government Formed Amidst Continued Wrangling
After almost five months of protracted negotiations and political bickering, Lebanon's Hezballah-led March 8 alliance finally announced a new exclusively male, 30-minister government to be headed by Sunni billionaire Najib Mikati.
