· July, 2012

Stories about Women & Gender from July, 2012

Costa Rica: Video Love Note Gets Vice-Minister Dismissed

The Costa Rican Vice-Minister of Youth Karina Bolaños was removed from her post by the Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla after a video showing an underwear clad vice minister sending a love note to a lover was made public and spread through the web.  Reactions to this news are quite varied: from censure to the Vice-Minister for making a video and not taking care to erase it, to rejection of all those who continued to spread the video and finally, repudiation to the President for removing the vice-minister from her post as  if she were not the victim of this whole affair.

31 July 2012

Guyana: Olympic Dreams

Guyana-Gyal explains how the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in London “remind[ed] [her] to stay true to [her] dreams, no matter how mad they might sound to them people...

31 July 2012

Caucasus: Olympic Women

Ianyan introduces its readers to the female athletes representing the three countries of the South Caucasus in the Olympic games in London.

30 July 2012

Argentina: Evita's Face on New Banknote

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the death of Eva Duarte de Perón (Evita), President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner unveiled a new banknote with Evita's image, replacing Julio Roca on $100 bills. On social networks, some defend the change and others criticize it.

30 July 2012

Kenya: Schoolgirl Skirts-How Short is Too Short?

Kenyan Education Minister Mutula Kilonzo defense of schoolgirls who want the length of their skirts reduced has sparked a debate about culture, modernity and morality in Kenya. Kenyan media quoted the minister saying, "These girls do not want to be nuns; they want to be modern like Mutula!"

26 July 2012

India: Female Gendercide in Western Countries

Rita Banerji interviews Indo-Canadian and feminist artist Soraya Nulliah, who comments that everything the campaign against female gendercide in India addresses is happening to Indian women in Western countries as...

22 July 2012

Jordan: Women's Rights Demonstrators Face Barrage of Criticism

On June 25, 2012, more than 200 people created a human chain in the streets of Amman to raise awareness for some of the most controversial women's rights issues in Jordan. The reaction by readers of news websites in the following days reflected how unprepared Jordan was for this type of protest.

19 July 2012

Africa: African Women on Fire

Rumbidzai Dube explains why 2012 is the year for African women: “2012 has been a progressive year for African women in global politics. In April Joyce Banda of Malawi became...

18 July 2012

Kyrgyzstan: Patriarchal Society as Seen by Artists

The Kyrgyzstani art group ‘705′ describes itself as a 'nomadic theater'. It is best known for hand-drawn animation films that criticize the conventions and norms of a patriarchal society, particularly its treatment of women. The group's head talks to Global Voices Online.

18 July 2012

Maldives: Activist's Arrest During Protest Caught on Video

Two videos showing the July 13 arrest of activist Shauna Aminath in the Maldives during a peaceful protest calling for early elections have generated reactions all the way to Chile. While Shauna was released the following day after a court hearing, the Maldives Democracy Movement believes it is part of targeted arrests and intimidation of female protesters.

17 July 2012