Archive for the 'Asia' Category
Afghanistan’s Justice Ministry released a revision of the controversial Shia law that legalized rape within marriage, among other provisions. The Associated Press reports that the new version omits original provisions that allowed men to demand sex from their wives and that required women to ask their husbands’ permission to leave their home.
The law sparked international [...]
Rapists in Afghanistan too often get away with their crime, whilst rape victims lack access to justice and experience stigma and shame, according to a report by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
“In some areas, alleged or convicted rapists are, or have links to, powerful commanders, members of illegal armed [...]
In keeping with increasing instances of sexual misconduct by men in uniform and in positions of authority, the National Commission for Women (NCW) is pushing for a radical overhaul of laws on crimes against women, including the anti-rape law, to make punishment more stringent.
The NCW is seeking higher punishment for policemen, public servants and [...]
A court ruled Thursday to decriminalize homosexuality in the Indian capital, a groundbreaking decision that could bring more freedom to gays in this deeply conservative country.
The Delhi High Court ruled that treating consensual gay sex as a crime is a violation of fundamental rights protected by India’s constitution. The ruling, the first of its kind [...]
Bhakti Shah is challenging her dismissal from the Nepal Army for “immoral activities”
Two years ago, 23-year-old Bhakti Shah, a cadet in the Nepal Army, was dismissed because she was seen to spend most of her free time with a fellow female cadet.
“They sacked me and my friend just because they thought we were having an [...]
Growing up in her native Viet Nam, Phan Thi Phuong Loan never gave a second’s thought to the rights her citizenship conferred. Not, that is, until she married abroad, lost her citizenship, came back home and entered the twilight world of the stateless.
Loan, 40, is one of thousands of Vietnamese women who became stateless in [...]
More women judges in the subordinate judiciary and women magistrates will be recruited under Access to Justice Programme (AJP) as a step to control domestic violence in the country. According to sources, the government has also decided to recruit more women police officials and women prosecutors besides women judges and women magistrates aimed at achieving [...]
Hoping for the early passage of the long-pending Women’s Reservation Bill, women’s groups have expressed concern over the delay in submitting recommendations by the Parliamentary Standing Committee.
“It is necessary to overcome all possible impediments that may arise to sabotage the Bill, a joint press statement issued by women’s organisations said here on Thursday while asking [...]
About 1,000 Afghan Shi’ite Muslims rallied in Kabul last week to demand the ratification of a controversial law which contains harsh provisions on women some critics have called a step back towards Taliban-era rules.
The Shi’ite Personal Status Law applies to Shi’ites who make up about 15 percent of Afghanistan’s roughly 30 million people. It requires [...]
Debate over this has heated up in Japan, after dozens of British lawmakers in February called on their government to halt sales of video games involving sexual violence, targeting by name the Japanese computer game “Rapelay.”
The software lets players try to rape and impregnate a virtual woman and her two daughters, who arguably look like [...]
Two Burmese women’s organizations in the Indo-Burmese border town of Moreh were forced to cancel a planned protest rally to be held on Friday after authorities pressured the officer who had issued permission for the rally to cancel the authorization.
The Kuki Women’s Human Rights Organisation (KWHRO) and the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) sought permission [...]
Joint Statement By Malaysian Civil Society On PAS Resolution To Ban Sisters In Islam
We the undersigned are deeply disturbed by the call on the part of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to have Sisters in Islam (SIS) banned and its members rehabilitated should its activities be determined to be contrary to the Islamic shariah. [...]
Hong Kong will still not recognise gay marriages or relationships
The Domestic Violence Ordinance will have an amendment to include same sex couples, the Hong Kong Government have announced. However, the Government has been keen to stress that this will not mean the government will legally recognise same sex marriages or relationships in any other respect.
Following [...]
The Indian parliament has elected its first ever female speaker, the daughter of a former deputy prime minister and a member of the Dalit caste, once known as an Untouchables.
MPs thumped their desks to cheer Meira Kumar, 64, as she was congratulated by the prime minister, Manmohan Singh, and LK Advani, the leader of the [...]
Foreigners married to Malaysians should be treated equally as locals and be recognised as a part of our society, said Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun.
“It is ridiculous for pregnant foreign wives to pay double the medical fees when they are giving birth to Malaysian children,” she said after [...]
Pregnant women and new mothers displaced by fighting in North West Pakistan are facing a potential health crisis, warn Islamic Relief’s medical teams in the region. A lack of appropriate healthcare, poor diet and the stress of the conflict and displacement are putting the lives of pregnant women and their babies at risk.
“Many of the [...]
Teenage pregnancy is on the rise in the Philippines and women’s groups said it is time to introduce sex education in government schools.
But their proposal has met with stiff resistance from the country’s influential Catholic Church.
According to the World Bank, the Philippines is among the top ten countries where there is an increasing [...]
Has the move toward online resources had an effect on source material for the study of black feminist theory? The last forty years have witnessed a critical mass of literary and theoretical writings on the black feminist movement. This article evaluates the coverage of writings by a select group of forty “second wave” (1963–75) and [...]
Police urged to show more empathy
As many as half of women who have moved from Thailand to Finland are believed to be living “underground”, beyond the reach of social safety nets, according to a fresh report on how Thai women have adapted to Finnish reality.
A large proportion of the 800-1200 Thai women living in [...]
Recent postings- Murder of human rights activist Natalia Estemirova condemned
- Three publications from AWID’s Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms
- Rabbanit? Rabbah? Maybe just plain Rabbi? What should be the title of an Orthodox woman who happens to also be a rabbi?
- Inquiry urged after Sudan women flogged for wearing trousers
- Accountability To Women Could Upset Business As Usual
- Fight Sexism to Help Young Mothers – South Africa
- Soldiers Who Rape, Commanders Who Condone: Sexual Violence and Military Reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo
- Worrying increase in gang rape say police in Angola
- Repatriation of Rwandan Women Refugees in Uganda could increase hardships
- HRW condemns Rwanda’s draft law on HIV tests and sterilisation
- Gender Wire
- Q&A: Defending Women's Rights Under New Land Policy
- RIGHTS-UGANDA : Women Press for Domestic Violence Bill
- AFRICA: Organic Farming Could be Answer to Food Insecurity
- EDUCATION: Mother Tongue Absent in Thousands of Classrooms
- Q&A: 'Farmers Can Gain From Crisis'
- DR-CONGO: Rape by Regular Army a Growing Problem, HRW Says
- PERU: Going to School Still a Feat for Rural Girls
- CUBA: What Schools Can and Cannot Do for Equality
- FILM: Graphically Condemning a "Barbaric and Horrific Punishment"
- ECONOMY: Accountability To Women Could Upset Business-As-Usual
- new on womensgrid
- Sense of Self – A weekly support group for women focusing on enhancing self-esteem and self-confidence! 20th July 2009
- Dogs Trust seeks dog foster carers to help women fleeing domestic violence
- Soroptimists give £500,000 and three houses to charity in Gravesend
- A report into the death of Baby P has revealed that only half of NHS staff have the required levels of training in child protection
- One in four in custody in Glasgow held for domestic abuse
- Royal Assent for Sexual Offences Bill Scotland
- Unionists and nationalists have joined forces to round on English politicians who called for abortion laws to be extended to Northern Ireland
- Human rights court will hear Irish abortion ban case
- Teenagers who are raped leave school at earlier age study in Ireland finds
- Two boys who raped a 14-year-old for insulting their gang leader’s partner have had their sentences upheld
- new on women in london
- 4 vacancies - Refuge - 28th July 2009
- Female Community Outreach Officer - Kiran - 14th August 2009
- Volunteer Co-ordinator - Jewish Women’s Aid - 10th August 2009
- 2 vacancies - Eaves - 17th and 22nd July 2009
- Public investment in childcare : who cares, who pays? - Daycare Trust - 17th November 2009
- Feminism in London - conference organised by London Feminist Network - 10th October 2009
- GLDVP Newsletter - July 2009
- GLDVP Stella Project advanced training for experienced workers - 6th August and 8th September 2009
- Being a mum has ‘devastating’ impact on earnings - new report - Fawcett
- The GLDVP response to: The Way Forward – A call for action to end violence against women
Stabbing of local officials triggers massive outpouring over women’s rights in China — Deng Yujiao’s case highlights official corruption and violence against women
6 July 2009 in Asia, Opinion Comment, Violence Against Women
The legal drama in Hubei province after a young pedicurist stabbed two government officials, killing one, has generated an unprecedented groundswell of sympathy for the arrested woman among netizens and Chinese youth. Deng Yujiao, 21, was arrested after she stabbed the two men with a fruit knife on May 10 in a hotel in Badong, [...]