· April, 2013

Stories about Women & Gender from April, 2013

Cartoon: Girls Prevented from Leaving Kyrgyzstan

  30 April 2013

A father had a bad dream which now troubles him. So, he decides that his daughter will not travel anywhere. He takes away her passport and air tickets while she is sleeping, but the daughter takes the documents back. Finally, the father decides to lock his daughter at home to prevent her from leaving.

Do All Miss Korea Contestants Look Alike?

  29 April 2013

The web was abuzz over the photo of 20 of South Korean pageant contestants who all look uncannily alike, and jeering comments were made against South Korean women's beauty standards. However, some Korean net users, pointing out some media coverage can be misleading, posted another photos of contestants which people can...

Was Kyrgyzstan Ready for ‘The Vagina Monologues'?

  27 April 2013

Amid vocal protests from the Kyrgyz Ministry of Culture, a local activist group performed the play 'The Vagina Monologues' in the capital of Kyrgyzstan in March and April. The play by an American playwright and feminist about female sexuality and experiences earned mixed reactions from the Bishkek audience.

Red Cross’ China Scandal – This Time About Sex

  27 April 2013

While Chinese people still remember Red Cross China's corruption scandal during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, a new scandal has exposed, this time it also involves Guo Meimei, a then “manager at China Red Cross”, showed off her fancy sports cars and luxury handbags on Sina Weibo in 2011. This time...

Indonesia: Reflections on Women's Emancipation Day

  22 April 2013

Kartini Day or Women's Emancipation Day is celebrated every year on April 21 in Indonesia to honor Raden Ajeng Kartini, a champion of women's rights. For many Indonesians, Kartini's vision of gender equality has yet to be realized

South Korean Spy Agency's Political Meddling

  22 April 2013

The latest police investigation found that at least two agents from the South Korean National Intelligence Service have illegally posted online comments to influence the presidential election. An online petition was posted [ko] on Daum Agora site in support of one police woman who bravely revealed that she has been pressured...

The Russian Opposition “Snake Pit”

RuNet Echo  20 April 2013

The Russian opposition is at war with itself, and it’s thanks to more than the usual ideological tectonics. The various fault lines that infamously allow the Kremlin to “divide and conquer” Russia’s would-be saviors are indeed political, but the divisions are every bit as much about idiosyncrasies and shady dealings. Just look at May 6.

Raped? Take Money, And Shut Up! Says Indian Police

  19 April 2013

A steady out-pour of dismay is being expressed on social media against Indian police and the governmental apathy since the news came out that Delhi police offered money to a five-year old rape victim's father as a price for not going public and filing the complaint.

Bahamas: Limericks for Thatcher

  11 April 2013

She has to be admired for her ability to transform her country…as a middle-class woman in the conservative party. But I remember apartheid, and…how she almost destroyed the British university system, and…made Britain unwelcoming. Blogworld writes limericks in commemoration of the Iron Lady.

Putin Unfazed by Topless Protest in Hannover

RuNet Echo  11 April 2013

On Monday, 8 April 2013, Putin's tour of a trade fair in Hannover with German Chancellor Angela Merkel took an unexpected turn when three members of the controversial Ukrainian feminist and self-described “sextremist” organization FEMEN [en] staged a half-naked protest [photo gallery] aimed at the Russian president. Their bodies painted with anti-Putin slogans in...