Stories about Women & Gender from August, 2007
Bahrain: Online Prostitution
Bahraini Esra'a draws attention to a new campaign to uncover those responsible for online prostitution rackets in Bahrain.
India: Food names and sexual harassment
Blank Noise Project has a list of food names that women get called by street harassers.
India: Wedding Rituals
Doing Jalsa and Showing Jilpa has a wonderfully flippant and thought provoking post – on challenging rituals and traditions that go into a wedding.
Indonesia: Beauty
Fatih Sayud in Indonesia writes how his perception of beauty has changed as he has grown older. The blogger asks readers for their criteria of how they would define a person pretty or charming.
Indonesia: Teen Virginity Tests
Indonesia Matters reports on a unsuccessful plan by a local government to give virginity tests to teenagers after several sex videos that had high school students in them started surfacing.
El Salvador: Female Stereotypes in Media
Qué Joder [ES] is upset at the female stereotypes portrayed in La Prensa Gráfica newspaper and provides examples of other alternative female profiles that might be used instead.
Iran:Too Sexy Photos?
Kamangir says that Fars News site removed a set of pictures taken at a women’s sports event. Apparently, they were too sexy for them.Recently Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,Iranian president, said Fars News is his favorite site.You can watch photos here.
Libya: First Woman Rally Driver
Highlander from Libya writes about the first Libyan female rally driver here.
Jordan: Sex Tape Spreads
The Observer from Jordan writes about a young couple, caught having sex on a phone camera which was later distributed, in a conservative society which shuns pre-marital sex.
Liberia: Iron Ladies of Liberia – a documentary
A documentary about Liberia, Iron Ladies of Liberia, has made into the Toronto Film Festival: “Did you hear that the film “Iron Ladies of Liberia” made it into the Toronto Film Festival? Heard there is a big screening at the opening of the UN General Counsel this fall as well…will...
Afghanistan: Debunking myths
Afghan President Karzai criticised the kidnapping of women (of the Korean hostage group) as un-Islamic and un-Afghan. Blogger Mohammad Fahim Khairy disagrees and says that during most of Afghanistan's recent history, women were treated badly and also got kidnapped.
Saudi Arabia: Women's Support Society
Women's rights activists in Saudi Arabia are hoping to establish an independent society which aims to support women, reports Saudi Jeans.
Jordan: E-Cheating
Jordanian Palestinian Shaden Abdul Rahman discusses e-cheating in this post.
Japan: Contraception
Neomarxisme blogs about the use of contraception in Japan: Japan is the one of the only countries on Earth where condom use declined in the 1990s and 70% of Japanese women would never even consider trying oral contraceptives.
Ukraine: Immoral Politicians
Taras Kuzio comments on the immorality of some Ukrainian politicians: “Anatoliy Kinakh, Oleksandr Lavrynovych, Ivan Bilas, Taras Chornovil, Moroz, Holovatiy and many others all have one thing in common: they are male and have bruised ego’s, injured male pride and immaturity.”
Barbados: Chocolate Controversy
Following the firing of Barbados’ Banks Beer calendar girl after a controversial display, Gallimaufry writes: “I find it kind of gross that people would eat chocolate that a half-naked woman with whom they are not intimately acquainted has been sitting down in”, while Cheese-on-Bread says: “Our ancestral women, black white...
Kyrgyzstan: Legalise prostitution?
Asel discusses whether one should legalise or ban prostitution in Kyrgyzstan. On his blog, Mirsulzhan argues for legalisation, and on Genderstan, Anna compares the situation in Kyrgyzstan with examples from Western countries.
Japan: Tokyo Pride Parade
On August 11, 2007, the 6th Tokyo Pride Parade with nearly 3,000 participants hit the streets of downtown Tokyo under the blazing August sun. The TPP is becoming an annual event, one in which members of Japan's sexual minority community embrace and celebrate their sexuality and promote sexual diversity to the larger society. Bloggers who participated in the parade offer their impressions.
Jordan: Honour Killings Against the Wrong Sex
Honour killings are directed towards the wrong gender, writes Jordanian Hareega, who narrates a touching story about how a woman contracted a sexually transmitted disease from her husband.
Lebanon: Fatwa to Ban Honor Killings
From rules on how to handle men in Lebanon to the meaning of the name Lamia, we end this round up of Lebanese blogs to a fatwa (religious edict) by a top Shia clergyman which bans honor killings, which he describes as a "repulsive act."
Malaysia: Human Trafickers Friends With Authorities
KTEMOC comments on the complicity of Malysian officials with human traffickers as reported by NBC and highlighted by another online news site.
