Stories about Women & Gender from September, 2012
India: Husbands to Pay Wives for Doing Household Chores?
The Union Women and Child Development Ministry in India is considering a draft bill which, if passed by parliament, would make it legally compulsory for husbands to pay out a portion of their monthly income to their homemaker wives, for doing household chores.
China: Guangzhou Students Protest University Gender Quotas
Ewan Christie from Nanfang.com reports about university students’ protest against the university gender quotas. Female students have to obtain a much higher score than the male counter part in the public examination to enter the same university.
Nepal: Crowning Of Miss UK Nepal 2012
Lex Limbu comments on the Miss UK Nepal 2012 crowning ceremony: What a show : Miss UK Nepal 2012. Management and organisation was very poor. The show was quite a bore, too many performances, hosts getting the names wrong. Too many speeches.
Egypt: Women on Hunger Strike for Syria
Egyptian blogger Zeinobia visits Syrian women activists on hunger strike in Cairo to draw attention to the plight of their people back home. She blogs her observations and interviews in two parts – here and here.
United Kingdom: Helen Grant, the First Black Female Conservative Cabinet Minister
Afro Europe wrote a post on the appointment of a black female in UK Prime Minister David Cameron's new cabinet and gave a list of black female cabinet members in Europe [Erratum: The blog post was amended to show that Mrs Grant was the first black female Conservative member of parliament and cabinet...
France, Yemen: Vanishing Women
Eloïse Lagrenée [fr] has posted on her Facebook page a picture by Yemeni photographer Bushra Almutawakel, illustrating how women could vanish into darkness and invisibility, step by step, under fundamentalist pressure and the full niqab. It has been shared over 1,500 times.
Australia: Web Wet Nurses Share Breast Milk Via Social Media
Sharing breast milk via social media, in Australia and other parts of the world, has prompted surprise in some sections of the mainstream media. But are web wet nurses just the kind of evolution to be expected in the digital age?
Mujeres Mundi, “What is the Role of Women in Your Society?”
In the first part of this interview, Xaviera Medina told us about her blog, Mujeres Mundi, where she publishes interviews with women around the world. In this second part, Xaviera talks about the importance of sharing these interviews with people that speak other languages. She also talks about a project entitled "What is the role of women in your society?"
Malaysia: Discrimination Against Women Workers
We want the guarantee of equality and non-discrimination on the basis of gender, etc for everyone in Malaysia. It must be a guarantee enjoyed by all workers, both in public and private sector. Gender discrimination still persists in Malaysia, according to blogger Charles Hector.
Japan: Fukushima Women Gather Against Nuclear Power
Former United Nations worker Kaori Izumi called for a “Vote for Solidarity” [ja] in order to change Japan's policies around nuclear energy at a gathering of Fukushima women on August 29, 2012.
Iranian Women – Saying ‘No’ to Compulsory Hijabs Since 1979
More than 26,000 people have joined a Facebook campaign by Iranian students calling for an end to mandatory headscarves (hijabs) in Iran. Iranian women have protested for three decades, but are still subjected to harassment by security forces in public.
Mujeres Mundi, Interviews with Extraordinary Women
Peruvian blogger Xaviera Medina de Albrand is the brains and energy behind the blog Mujeres Mundi, a space where she publishes her interviews with women from around the world. Xaviera talks to us about her life and her blog in this first part of a two-part interview.
Mexico: Learning from Macedonian Experiences
Mexican blogger Pepe Flores considers [es] the Macedonian platform for disclosing violence against women in public spaces React! “a fantastic idea,” applicable to Latin America.
#OccupyGuyana ‘Inspired’ by Linden Protesters
The #OccupyGuyana movement was launched after the shooting of peaceful protesters in Linden on July 18. Global Voices spoke with activist Sherlina Nageer to learn more about the movement's formation, the reaction it has been getting from the authorities, and its future.
United States: Radio Marti Features Cuban Porn Star
Miami-based, US government-funded radio station Radio Martí recently aired an interview with adult Cuban film star Angelina Castro. Bloggers on both sides of the Florida Straits reacted to the program.
Bahrain: “Our Women are Iron Women”
Bahraini Twitter users took a break from politics and had some fun this morning on the microblogging social network. Artist Anas Al Shaikh read a news article which said that an Iraqi woman had killed herself in protest against her husband watching dubbed Turkish soap operas. Bahraini women respond they will not do such a thing because ... they are iron women.
El Salvador: A Homage for a Salvadoran Heroine
Blogger Mariposa in the blog Hunnapuh [es] writes about María Guardado (also known as “Lenchita”), a Salvadoran woman who was tortured in 1980, during the Salvadoran Civil War. Lenchita was recently diagnosed with colon cancer.
Yemen: Safe Streets Campaign First Book
Yemeni anti-street harassment campaign Safe Streets posted on its Facebook page the launch of a new book to combat sexual harassment in the country.
