· May, 2013

Stories about South Asia from May, 2013

35,000 Child Prostitutes in Bangladesh

  29 May 2013

Amader Kotha, a site dedicated to women's issues in Bangladesh reports that at least 35,000 children are being exploited sexually on a commercial basis in the country. More than half of them live in the official red light districts of the country and are often forced to enter the profession that...

Indian Ruling on Vedanta Mining Plans Favours Tribal Rights

  25 May 2013

India's Supreme Court recently ruled that village councils should make the final decision as to whether controversial British company Vedanta Resources can mine for bauxite in the eastern state of Odisha. Vedanta wants to mine on land that the local Dongria Kondh people hold sacred.

India's Media Giant Takes on Student Blogger

  25 May 2013

Sans Serif reports about a legal battle between Indian media giant Times Publishing House and Aparajita Lath, a student of the National Institute of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) for her 669-word blog post in February 2013 capturing the Times group’s trademark tussle with the Financial Times of London.

Promises of Social Justice for India's Landless

  22 May 2013

As rapid industrialization and development in India snatches up land and livelihoods, activist groups such as Ekta Parishad have loudly campaigned on behalf of the landless and homeless and pressured the government into reform.

Indian Army is now on Facebook

  20 May 2013

Prasant Naidu at Lighthouse Insights reports that after a successful start on Twitter, the Indian Army has recently joined Facebook. This is a welcome move as last year the Indian Army had issued orders asking all personnel — both officers and other ranks — to stop using social networking sites...

Are Indian Companies “Land Grabbing” in Africa?

  20 May 2013

As foreign companies and governments buy or lease land in countries across Africa, the debate continues as to whether this will encourage development or is simply land grabbing. The Hindu's Addis Ababa correspondent Aman Sethi has taken part in a Q&A session on Facebook on the issue of Indian "land grabs" in African countries.

No Women In Pubs In Andhra After 10 PM

  19 May 2013

Does the absence of women in public spaces makes these spaces safer for women? The above comment is made by the blogger at The Life and Times of an Indian Homemaker, who is outraged by the decision of the government of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, to ban women...

Online Journalism In Nepal To Be Regulated

  15 May 2013

Online journalism and news portals are gaining popularity in Nepal as evident in Surath Giri's list of 20 online newspapers. However, according to reports, the Ministry of Information and Communications of Nepal has recently formed a five-member committee to register, regulate and manage online news.

Woman Rescued from Bangladesh Factory Rubble After 17 Days

  11 May 2013

The same day that the death toll of a nine-story factory collapse in Savar in the outskirts of Bangladesh's capital city of Dhaka rose to 1,055, now the deadliest building collapse since the 9/11 terrorist attacks, a female worker named Reshma Begum was found alive after being trapped in the rubble for 17 days.

A Sad Story of a Nepali Migrant Worker

  9 May 2013

Ujjwal Acharya tells a sad story of a Nepali migrant worker who was denied to board onwards by Air Arabia at Delhi airport because she did not have a return ticket. They did not offer any food or accommodation for 72 hours until she managed her fare back home from...

Watchdog Social Media Monitor Pakistan's Historic Elections

  9 May 2013

As Pakistan nears its first democratic transition of power with the country's historic elections only days away, social media is empowering Pakistanis to take a more active role in the vote. We take a look at two new platforms that are monitoring elections and raising awareness through social media: Pak Votes and Pak Voter.

Politically Divided Pakistan Rallies Around Injured Imran Khan

  8 May 2013

Popular cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan, whose hopeful campaign promise of a "New Pakistan" has drawn large crowds of young people and urban voters to his rallies, fractured three vertebrae and a rib after falling off a 15-feet high forklift just before a scheduled speech. The incident has appeared to united the bitterly divided country ahead of elections this week.

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Rezwan
Rezwan is the South Asia editor. Email him story ideas or volunteer to write.