Stories about Women & Gender from April, 2015
‘Nappies in Adolescence': Alarming Number of Pregnant Teens in Venezuela
Desireé Lozano, blogging for Voces Visibles, urges attention be paid to the extremely high rate of teenage pregnancies in Venezuela, where 25% of the pregnancies are among young people, and the lack of an appropriate public policy to counter this phenomenon and its repercussions. Venezuelan statistics are the highest in South America...
Southeast Asian Activists Unite in ‘People’s Walk’ Ahead of Regional Leaders’ Summit
More than 1,000 activists and leaders from various civil society organizations across Southeast Asia declared their position on human rights and growing economic inequality.
Guyana's Health Minister Assails Women's Activist, Says He Would ‘Slap Her Ass’
The Minister of Health's tirade against a women's rights activist raises questions about gender equality, human rights and the political status quo in Guyana.
Were Turkmen Dissidents Wrong to Publish a Video of Schoolgirls ‘Turning Up the Love’ on Their YouTube Channel?
In deeply traditional, highly repressive Turkmenistan, schoolgirls dancing along to Western songs is akin to a crime against the state.
Hong Kong Politician Wants More Headlines About Filipina Maids Seducing Their Bosses
The Philippine Consulate General responded, saying "discrimination should have no place in any society, most especially Hong Kong." Migrant domestic workers protested outside Regina Ip's office.
In Taiwan and on Facebook, the Nipple is Not Yet Free
"Before we label it as "indecent" and "obscene", a body is just a body, a part of the human self." Taiwanese women speak up for the #FreeTheNipple campaign.
Japanese Women Push Back Against Leaning In
The Japanese government wants more women in the workforce, but some women, stretched thin between childcare, running a household and caring for aging parents, feel the support system isn't there.
What Do Africans Think of the Film ‘Timbuktu’ About Life Under Islamic Militants?
In Africa, opinions are divided on the Mauritanian film "Timbuktu." Some love it, others think external factors are the reason for its success.
Bangladeshis Stand Up to Sexual Violence Following New Year's Assaults
Netizens have used social media to try to identify the assailants, who were captured on film in the act. Meanwhile, social media is brimming with protests against sexual violence.
The ‘Beauty’ of Russian Homophobia
Titled "Beautiful People and What They Say to Me," LGBT rights activist Lena Klimova posted photos of individuals in their everyday lives, and the threatening messages they’ve sent her online.
Lesbian Fleeing Persecution in Cameroon Finally Receives Asylum in Spain
Although Spain is one of the world's more tolerant countries in regards to LGBT rights, its governmental institutions are not as inclined to granting asylum.
Mexican Women Are Being Called on to Help Transform Their Portrayal in Mexican Media
WACC, SocialTIC, WITNESS, La Sandía Digital, and Subversiones have called on women interested in telling the stories of strong women in their communities with the purpose of changing the way women are represented in the media. As one of the representatives of the project told Global Voices, in Mexican media there...
Japan's ‘Vagina Artist’ Denies Obscenity Charges
Japanese artist Megumi Igarashi, nicknamed "The Vagina Artist" by the Western media, says there's nothing obscene about artwork based on her genitalia.
A Filipina Woman Shares How She Ended Up on Indonesia's Death Row for Drug Trafficking
"We believe that Mary Jane was a victim of large drug syndicates who take advantage of the unawareness, vulnerability and desperation of our people."
There’s Already a Rap Song Dedicated to Russia’s Twerking Bee-Costumed Teens
Young people in Orenburg are changing their profile pictures on VKontakte, Russia’s most popular social network, to a banner that reads, “We don’t want to fight, we want to dance.”
China Finally Releases Five Detained Feminist Activists
But they are not free yet. The five will be under police surveillance for a year.
Ecuador's Creeping Criminalization of Abortion
Marita Seara, blogging for Voces Visibles, warns about the growing criminalization of abortion in Ecuador, one of the most difficult countries in Latin America for women to obtain an abortion, second only to Venezuela. Hay dos únicos casos en los cuales es permitido el aborto: cuando corre peligro la vida...
Egypt's Nationality Laws Are Sexist: Men Can Pass on Nationality to Their Wives, While Women Can't
While Egyptian men could pass on their nationality to their wives, Egyptian women don't have the same right. One Twitter user, Salma El-Daly, vows to fight this law.
Mexican Beauty Pageant Contestant’s Baffling ‘Chimpanzee’ Answer
It's well known that every aspiring beauty queen must answer a difficult question in the interview portion of the contest. Also well known are some of the answers that contestants have given, answers that earned them more publicity than their good looks ever did. The most recent of those answers was given...
Bloggers Get Bad Rap in Trinidad & Tobago as Paid Political Trolls Do Online Damage
As political groups allegedly pay internet trolls to spew racial slurs and cyber-bully, netizens express their disgust over the depths to which politics in Trinidad and Tobago have plunged.
Meet One of the Few American Women Married to a Japanese Man
Among "international marriages" in Japan, US husbands outnumber US wives 6 to 1. Tracy Slater, who left Boston to marry a Japanese man, is one of those wives.
