Stories from May, 2016
Uproar, Victim-Blaming on Brazilian Social Media After Gang Rape Video Shared on Twitter
"This reveals a society that is criminal and violent against women, which sees that a woman’s body as made for man's consumption."
In Afghanistan, Social Media Gives Rise to Hate Speech
"Pashtun zealots, water-carrying Tajiks, porter Hazaras and raw-brained Uzbeks, good morning!"
How a Single Blog Post Changed the Life of a Somali Single Mother of Eight
A fundraiser springing from the massive public response to the story raised over $4,000 in the space of a single day.
Some Moroccans Are Tired of Getting the Hollywood Treatment
Moroccan cities and desert locales have served as stand-ins for many movies set in other Middle East countries. Some in Morocco would like their country to play itself more often.
Publicly Humiliated, Sacked and Then Reinstated: The Tale of a Minority Headmaster in Bangladesh
"Let each human being live with proper honour and self respect. #SorrySir"
Pakistani University Tells Its Students ‘No More Hanky Panky’
Earlier this month, the students of University of Sargodha, Lahore Campus, were shocked to receive a bizarre notice from the school's administration: no more hanky panky.
How Beauty Trends Have Changed in Japan Over the Past 100 Years
From long hair to short, from heavy make-up to more subtle, beauty conventions in Japan have undergone a fascinating transformation over the past century.
Russian Officials Make Plans for an Autonomous, State-Controlled Internet
Although the bill is in its early stages, should it become law, all of the RuNet's critical infrastructure would fall under complete control of the Russian state.
Classism in Mexican Cinema: Entertainment or a Serious Issue?
Satire has always spiced up critiques about undesirable behaviors that we should try to overcome. In Mexico, classism is used as a sales hook that brings people to the cinema.
‘I Do Not Want Any Children to Develop Cancer Like Me’, a Fukushima Resident Says
An independent filmmaker interviewed a young woman from Fukushima Prefecture, ground zero of the March 2011 nuclear disaster, who has been diagnosed with thyroid cancer.
Netizen Report: Chilean Copyright Bill Could Eliminate Public Domain for Video, Music
Journalist Khadija Ismayilova wins court challenge in Azerbaijan, Vietnam censors Facebook and Instagram in the face of protests and the Nigerian Senate throws out ‘anti-social media bill’
Why Afghanistan's Hazara Won't Stop Marching
All Afghans are affected by the country's ongoing crisis of governance, but it is the long-suffering Hazara minority that has run out of patience fastest.
Russian Media and Internet Users Debate the Ethics of Reporting on Teenage Suicide
Russian censors have blocked dozens of communities on social network VKontakte after an ethically murky media investigation accused these communities of pressuring teenage users to take their own lives.
China’s Independent Journalists Face High Risks — And Are in High Demand
Outside the umbrella of the media institution, independent journalists face many risks, but their work is becoming increasingly influential in China's media ecology.
Now's Not a Good Time to Wear a Hammer and Sickle T-Shirt in Indonesia
"Fear of communism, fear of liberalism, fear of LGBT, fear of Chinese and foreign powers: personalities of those with inferiority complexes. Fearing their own stupidity."
Crimea's Government Cancels That ‘Putin Is a D*******’ Event
A curious event announcement appeared briefly on the website of the Crimean government on May 25. It concerned Vladimir Putin and the word “dickhead.”
Health Crisis Provokes Protests in Medellín, Colombia
Demonstrators gathered in front of hospitals and health centers in Medellín last week, trying to pressure the authorities into addressing persistent and pervasive shortcomings in the local healthcare system.
Bloggers Boggled Over Why Child Marriage Is Still on the Books in Trinidad & Tobago
"This is not just an issue of age and maturity, but once again, of power."
A Flurry of Poaching Cases Casts a Cloud Over Nepal's Tiger Conservation Efforts
"If the tiger is conserved, the forest will be conserved, the conserved forest will conserve the tiger. So, conserve humans on this planet by conserving the tiger and the forest."
A Novel About the ‘Anonymous People Who Every Day Live, Love, Resist and Struggle’ for Syria
"We hear little of those who resist, construct and reconstruct, in an increasingly difficult context," says activist, journalist, and Global Voices author Leila Nachawati Rego about her new novel.
A New Campaign Encourages Latin American Indigenous Communities to Create Their Own Media
"By creating our own media, we, the indigenous peoples, are protagonists of our own history..."