Stories about Women & Gender from October, 2015
A Tale of Two Presidents, an Audacious Kidnap Attempt and Misogyny in Turkish Football
"If we will die, we will die like a man, we will not live like a woman. Nobody has the power to make us live like a woman."
How Poor Service Turned Into Slut Shaming in Trinidad & Tobago
"The victim (and yes, she is a victim) is a grown woman who has every right to use her personal property in any legal way she saw fit."
Red Dresses Keep the Memory of Canada’s Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women Alive
Installation art project the REDress Project seeks to draw attention to the injustice faced by Canada's Aboriginal women: about 1,200 Aboriginal women have been murdered or gone missing since 1980.
Transgender Activist's Death Shows That Argentina’s Fight Against Gender Violence Is Far From Over
Hate crimes and gender violence are once again in the spotlight after the death of a prominent fighter for transgender rights in Argentina.
The Story of an Ethiopian Girl Who Fought Abduction, and the Lawyers Who Saved Her Life
"Difret" means "courage" in the Amharic language. A new film by that name tells the story of an Ethiopian girl who was kidnapped by men to enforce a "traditional" marriage.
How Yarn Is Making a Difference in the Lives of Women in Nepal and India
"I think that Darn Good Yarn’s major value is the fact it managed to change the living for hundreds of women in Nepal and India."
Overturning Lower Court, Maldives Supreme Court Saves Convicted Adulteress From Being Stoned to Death
The Maldives' Supreme Court has acted swiftly to overturn an island court's decision to execute a woman for adultery. The woman had been sentenced to be stoned to death.
How Social Media Fuels China's Growing Love of Cosmetic Surgery
China's cosmetic surgery industry is using powerful social media marketing strategies to convince more and more young women that they need to go under the knife to be beautiful.
Sex Never Stops Selling. Even in Conservative Tajikistan
"To avoid arrest sex workers and their clients will look for remote places, which will in turn endanger these women."
No Arrests One Year After Acid Attacks Against Iranian Women
"“Whenever we try to follow up on our daughter’s case, they say they are working on it but so far they have not given any information."
Female Entrepreneurs Give a Major Boost to the Development of Francophone Africa
Increasingly, civil society—and especially women—are keen to partake in the boom by starting businesses and joining Africa's new entrepreneurial mobilisation.
Netizen Report: #TakeBacktheTech Campaign Stands Up to Online Misogyny (and Misinformation)
Trolls attack open Internet advocates, Egypt books a Facebook user for putting Mickey Mouse ears on President Sisi, and a Myanmar activist goes to trial for mocking the military wardrobe.
Outrage After Ugandan Police Strip a Female Opposition Official Naked in Public
"A regime that loses respect for women deserves no respect either"
Democratic Republic of Congo Bans Film on Renowned Doctor Who Treats Rape Survivors
The film "The Man Who Mends Women: The Wrath of Hippocrates” documents the work of Dr. Denis Mukwege, who specializes in the treatment of women who have been gang-raped.
In Brazil, Where Abortion Is Illegal, a Domestic Worker Faces Public Scrutiny After Abandoning Her Child
A woman working as a maid in São Paulo, who abandoned her infant child "out of desperation," has received public condemnation, media criticism, and sparked a discussion of women's rights.
A New Collection of Children's Books Intends to Subvert Your Ideas of Princesses
The heroines of these stories neither live in castles nor wait for their charming prince to come and rescue them.
Belarusian Author and Journalist Svetlana Alexievich Wins 2015 Nobel Prize in Literature
Alexievich is the 14th woman to win a Nobel Prize in Literature, and the first Russian-language author to be granted the honor since 1987, when Joseph Brodsky received the prize.
Murder and Abortion Cases Highlight Continuing Injustices Against Women in Colombia
A female journalist's brazen murder and the news of an actress facing criminal charges for an abortion reminds Colombians that justice is not carried out equally when it involves women.
Portrait of Nobel Literary Prize Winner Pablo Neruda Sparks Debate About Rape Culture in Chile
Chilean poet Pablo Neruda included an account of a rape in his memoir. Now, an artist reimagines the author's memoir with a new title, "I Confess That I Have Raped."
Why Young North Koreans Are Daring to Wear Skinny Jeans
Danbi is part of a generation of North Korean millennials who don't look to the country's leadership to provide for them in the same way their parents did.
