Stories about Women & Gender from February, 2007
Ukraine: Corruption
Ukrainian journalist Yuri Zushchik spent this Valentine's Day in the company of his wife and her close friend, Sveta, who is dating a “mid-level employee” of the National Bank of Ukraine. On his blog at Korrespondent.net news site, Zushchik shares (RUS) what Sveta has revealed about the origins of her...
China: Sexologist shuts up
Renowned Chinese sociologist Li Yinhe announced last week that she had been told in no uncertain terms, by people whose identity she declined to identify, to shut up. A longtime fixture of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Li is known mostly for her liberal attitudes towards a whole range...
Bahrain: Qaradawi's Advice to Women.
Islamic clergyman Yousif Al Qaradawi is urging women to refrain from masterbating in this link provided by Bahraini blogger Mahmood Al Yousif.
Japan: cross dressing
Ampontan blogs about the tradition of cross-dressing show business in japan.
Egypt: The Rehymenisation Fatwa
The merits of rehymenisation (yes! you read it right: restoring the hymen in females) are being discussed by Egyptian blogger Sandmonkey here.
Haiti, India: The Perils of Having Girls
India-based Haitian blogger NatifNatal writes (Fr): ”For certain families in rural parts of India, doom can hit in many ways: natural disasters, financial difficulty or simply the birth of a girl.” She then posts an article from the India Times to that effect.
South Korea: artificial beauty
Michael Hurt from Scribblings of the Metropolitician maps the changing notion of beauty with the development of plastic surgery in South Korea.
China and Hong Kong: Ai Xiao-ming
An interview with mainland China independent film maker Ai Xiao-ming on the Vagina Monologue at interlocals.net.
Valentine Special: Is Love in the Air in the Middle East?
If a picture says a thousand words, this is the image Cece, who is based between Bahrain and Kuwait, has posted to sum up how she feels about Valentine's Day. Although she isn't alone in shunning the tradition, which is fairly new to the region, for others it is a...
Saudi Arabia: Muslim Swimsuit?
Saudi blogger Khloud tells us about an Islamic swimsuit developed in Australia for Muslim life guards.
Caught On Camera: Human Rights Video on GV
It has been a bumper few weeks on GV for human rights video, so let's get straight into it… Bandh of brothers… [via Neha] This footage, filmed by Dinesh Wagle, of United We Blog!, shows motorcycle riders being turned backed by members of the National Federation of Nepal Transport Entrepreneurs...
South Korea: Selective Abortions
Asiapages discusses about the practice of selective abortions in favor of male babies in South Korea.
South Korea: Android to Get Plastic Surgery
Matt comments on the news “Android to Get Plastic Surgery”, relating the plastic surgery culture to the suicide of an actress Jeong Da-bin.
Kuwait: Men Scared of Strong Women
Kuwaiti blogger Desert Girl tells us how men are afraid of her because of her strong personality, her sense of loss at the death of Anna Nicole Smith and her favourite holiday – Valentine.
India: Conservativeness and Kerala
Dog's Own Country on conservativeness and Kerala. “The picture the media in Kerala, which I guess reflects the mentality of the people and what they like to read, gave any corruptible youth in Kerala (oh yeah they are so corruptible in Kerala, especially after their training in school and college...
Nepal: On anon blogging
Nepali Voices on anonymity in the Nepali blogosphere. “For SNS, anonymity provides sincerity. When Zade began blogging, she was afraid of revealing identity in the internet because she was a ‘girl’ but nevertheless for her also being anonymity gave the ‘total freedom’ in ‘expressing herself’.”
Martinique: Babe in Total Control of Herself
Le Blog de [Moi] writes (Fr): “If being a witch is being a woman who is able to say ‘no’ but also to say ‘yes’ sometimes … than yes I am a witch. And I spend my life running into nothing but witches because this definition perfectly fits the majority...
Pakistan: Ulema and Family Planning
Metroblogging Islamabad on a seminar on Ulema's views on family planning. “The research showed that many Ulema did not support family planning as it meant to them limiting the number of children one can have, which is not permissible in Islam. However, majority of them believed that Islam permits birth...
Arabisc: Egyptian Women a Cut Above the Rest
Prostitution, female circumcision and lesbianism aren't vices restricted to Egyptian woman, says Egyptian blogger Tamr Heneh, in an open letter to Egyptian talk show hostess Dr Hala Sarhan. According to the blogger, the Arab world has much more problems which Dr Sarhan could focus on, instead of continuing to drag...
Jordan: Are Women Worse Drivers?
The Black Iris is wondering whether Jordanian women are worse drivers. To take part in the debate, click here.
