· July, 2014

Stories about South Asia from July, 2014

Sri Lanka Plans to Deport 1,500 Pakistani and Afghan Refugees

  23 July 2014

Facing persecution in Pakistan, many Ahmadiyya Muslims and Christians have taken refuge in Sri Lanka. These refugees are mostly held in Boossa and Mirihana detention centers and have to live on government-provided rations as they are not eligible for work. According to the media, the Sri Lankan government is preparing to...

Indians Say Goodbye To Orkut, Reluctantly

  12 July 2014

Indian users are reacting to the impending demise of Google's Orkut social networking platform. Orkut is the oldest citizen media site Indians used and around 20% of Orkut’s users today are from India. Vinaya Naidu at Lighthouse Insights compiles some of the users’ comments on the end of Orkut: Priya...

Bangladeshi Sex Workers Take Cow Steroids To Mask Their Real Age

  10 July 2014

ActionAid, a British charity, mentioned in a recent report that 90% of commercial sex workers in Bangladesh are addicted to Oradexon, a steroid meant for cattle. Diaspora Bangladeshi blogger Anushay Hossain explains why they use this drug: This medicine meant to fatten cows has become the preferred drug among the...

Yes, I Wear a Bra, and It's Visible. So?

  8 July 2014

Nivedita N Kumar, a journalist, posts an emotional Facebook note which has gone viral. Here is an excerpt from the powerful essay that lashes at the notion of the Indian patriarchal society that clothes provoke rapists: Why? Why do you do that? Stare at my breasts like they are cute...

Mobile Phones Drive Social And Economic Changes In Pakistan

  7 July 2014

From a slow start in the late Nineteen Nineties mobile phone penetration in Pakistan has jumped up in recent years to 77% nationally and amongst urban class people to almost 100%. Dr. Tahir Rauf at Pak Tea House reports that the ubiquitous mobile phone use in Pakistan has brought a...

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