Stories about Women & Gender from September, 2014
‘Love Jihad’ in India: Reality, Myth or Simply a Case of Political Rabble-Rousing?
'Love Jihad,' when Muslim men allegedly lure non-Muslim girls by feigning love and then forcibly convert them to Islam, has once again raised its head in India. Does it exist?
Philippine Mall Apologizes For Selling Shirts that Say Rape is a ‘Snuggle with a Struggle’
This week Internet users were also enraged after a female model on a leash was pulled by a man, while she was on all fours, at a fashion show.
#WithSyria Wants to End the Indiscriminate Bombing of Syrian Civilians
#withSyria campaign wants the world leaders to hear and act through 100K signatures to effectively stop the indiscriminate attacks of Syrians civilians. Help us by spreading the word.
Newspapers Predict Spain's Conservative Party Will Shelve Their Restrictive Abortion Bill to Save Face in Elections
Spain's abortion bill has met with pushback not only from parties in the opposition but also from within the current governing party's rank and file.
Using Mobile Phones to Connect Pregnant Women and Midwives in Timor Leste
Liga Inan is using mobile phones to connect pregnant women and health workers in Timor Leste. The innovative program provides mothers with vital information and health advice to ensure the safe delivery of babies. Since its launch, almost 2,000 mothers have been already enrolled in the program.
Trinidadian Diaspora Blogger Appeals to Domestic Violence Victims After Seeing Rice Viral Video
Once the video of Ray Rice (the American football player for the Baltimore Ravens) hitting his wife went viral, Trinidadian diaspora blogger Afrobella couldn't get the incident out of her mind. “The video where he spits and hits the woman who would go on to be his wife, where he...
How Entrepreneurship Helped a Bangladeshi Girl Avoid Child Marriage
Bangladeshi blogger Raad Rahman tells the story of a girl in rural Bangladesh who avoided a forced child marriage after she started a grocery shop using a small grant from a local non-government organisation. She was going to be married off to her neighbour's son because her family could no...
Queer Tango Instructor Murdered in St. Petersburg, Throat Slashed
St. Petersburg’s LGBT community is certain Katya Khomenko’s career as a gay tango instructor played a role in her murder.
Oscar Pistorius’ Verdict Ends the Biggest Social Media Event in South African History
According to Data Drive Insights, the trial is the biggest social media event in South Africa's history, producing an estimated 3.5 million tweets since Reeva Steenkamp's murder in February 2013.
Shortly Before Her Death, Lebanese Student Sara Khatib Gave an Inspiring Tedx Talk About Her Battle With Cancer
"I chose not to be Sara Khatib, the cancer patient and amputee, but to continue being Sara Khatib, the fourth-year pharmacy student who [...] just happens to have cancer"
The Politics of “Pretty” in Jamaica
As Laurie-Ann Chin is crowned this year's Miss Jamaica World – apparently despite the live audience's disapproval – Carolyn Joy Cooper, who blogs at Jamaica Woman Tongue, takes on the ugly underbelly of the country's beauty contests. “If you follow these beauty contests, it’s easy to predict the outcome,” she...
‘You Will Do Anything for Ratings': More Outrage over the Wife Killer ‘Star’ of Turkish Daytime TV
With homicides against women increasing in Turkey, a female chat show host is taking heat for giving more air time to an overnight wife killer celebrity.
Men Convicted in Afghanistan's #Paghman Gang Rape Case Receive Death Sentences
In a powerful display of civic solidarity, Afghan society has finally spoken out against rape crimes. But could it not have done so without demanding the death penalty?
Domestic Violence Victims in Bermuda No Longer Have a Shelter to Turn to for Help
The safe house shut its doors because it didn't have enough funding to continue. The closure comes at a time when data suggests domestic violence is increasing.
The ‘Nuh Guh Deh’ Campaign Wants to Make Jamaica a Place Where Sexual Abuse of Girls Is Never Okay
Some Jamaicans, especially men, think it's acceptable for girls to be sexually initiated at a young age. The campaign will coincide with the International Day of the Girl Child.
