Thank you for being loyal readers of Solidaritas! I’ll be pausing the news letter for a few months as of this week; I’m expecting my first baby in April and I need to start slowing down.

I’ll also be pausing paid subscriptions. Thank you for your understanding!

Salam solidaritas / in solidarity,
Kate

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations (excluding Australia and NZ) can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,

Kate

Regional
When Pacific migrants settle in a new social and cultural context, their established gender norms may be challenged and renegotiated. Dev Policy examines whether gender disparities in labour market performance persist among Pacific communities in Australia following migration.

It has been billed as the most successful Women’s Asian Cup to date, but prize money at the upcoming tournament in Australia will not increase from what was offered at the last Cup four years ago.

Australia
Why are Australia’s top diplomatic jobs still for men only?

The Liberal Party waited eight decades to choose a woman to lead it. In the end, the party couldn’t even keep her in the role for a year, pushing her out in favour of a man this month.

Australian women and children with links to Islamic State fighters have been forced to turn around after leaving a camp in Syria to try to begin their journey home to Australia.

As Australia braces for a skills shortage, a lack of toilets on job sites is being called out as one example of broader gender inequality in trades.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations (excluding Australia and NZ) can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,

Kate

Regional
For activists and practitioners: UN Women have released a new ‘compendium of emerging practices’ on how to prevent and respond to technology-facilitated violence against women and girls.

Afghanistan
How women are defying the Taliban’s brutal crackdown on protest.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations (excluding Australia and NZ) can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

This is the last issue for 2025, so I will see you in mid-January 2026. Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and Happy New Year to all!

In solidarity,
- Kate

Regional
Alarming new research on links between extreme heat and complications in pregnancy and childbirth.

New research shows that there is a clear pattern across the Indo-Pacific: every type of crisis increases violence against women, whether domestic violence, intimate partner violence, sexual violence or other forms of gender-based violence.

Improving sexual and reproductive health and rights means confronting problems that are inherently social and political, write representatives of the WHO in the BMJ.

Women work longer and per hour earn a third of what men are paid, in figures that have changed little in 35 years, a new UN report shows.

China’s bachelor crisis is meeting Nepal’s poverty in a trade that blurs the lines between arranged marriage and coercion: international marriage brokers.

When workers from the Pacific come to Australia to work on the PALM scheme, they are tied to their employers. When they leave those employers, they end up in visa limbo:

Many have travelled to Australia’s fruit picking hubs, where they have been attracted by an abundance of work and a welcoming community — and where local leaders say they are crucial in helping growers harvest their crops.

But advocates say the labourers remain vulnerable as they try to resolve their immigration status, and many of them — including those who become pregnant — lack Medicare coverage and health insurance after leaving their employers.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations (excluding Australia and NZ) can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Regional
A first-ever regional analysis shows that over half of children in Oceania are victims of violence in the home. Over 1 in 10 adolescent girls and women (aged 15 and older) have been subjected to physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner in the past 12 months.

At least eight migrant domestic workers died in the Tai Po apartment complex fire. Many of those who survived, after saving children and others in their care, are worried about losing their jobs and being forced to leave:

Their stories reveal how foreign domestic workers, who help form the backbone of the city’s economy, also bore a significant share of the danger. There are almost 370,000 such workers in Hong Kong, the vast majority of whom are women, and they do the housework and provide child care for many of Hong Kong’s 7.5 million residents.

COP30 is over, but without enforceable finance and political will, the Gender Action Plan (GAP) adopted in Belém risks becoming another trophy text.

Thanks to a greater emphasis on women’s education in recent years, Tibetan Buddhist nuns are increasingly becoming teachers and abbesses. In monastic institutions and in Buddhist centers around the world, nuns are taking on leadership roles and being acknowledged for their religious scholarship.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations (excluding Australia and NZ) can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Regional
The theme of this year’s Women By Women photography exhibition, Rooted in Resistance, showcases images of women defending their land and communities from destruction – by powerful people and corporations or the climate crisis.

A serial rapist thought to be “one of the most prolific sex offenders of all time” who drugged, raped and secretly filmed his victims has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 14 years. Chao Xu, a Chinese national, pleaded guilty to 24 sexual offences against six women in the UK between November 2021 and June 2025.

Afghanistan
Taliban authorities have reportedly ordered female patients, caretakers and staff to wear a burqa if they want to enter public health facilities in the city of Herat.

How the Afghan Women United soccer team is helping refugees cope with trauma. The team is made up of players forced to flee their homeland following the Taliban takeover in 2021, players scattered across the world in Portugal, Australia, England and Italy.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations (excluding Australia and NZ) can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Regional
Fewer than 8 per cent of Pacific politicians are women, but more women are now putting their hands up (podcast).

How Pacific men and boys are joining the fight against gender-based violence (podcast).

Two members of the Australian Women’s World Cup cricket team have reportedly been groped by a man on the street while walking in India. In a statement, Cricket Australia said the duo were walking to a cafe in Indore when they were approached and touched inappropriately by someone on a motorcycle. While this type of occurrence won’t be a surprise to any woman who has ever spent time out of the house, the fact that two members of our women’s international cricket team have experienced this while in India is certainly going to add a lot of fire.

The Week takes a look at the 4B movement, which originated in South Korea in response to gender inequality and violence against women and involves women swearing off sex, dating, marriage and babies.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (just click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Regional
Women journalists were reportedly denied entry to a press conference in India with Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister. The Indian government is denying they had anything to do with the decision, while the Editors Guild of India has “strongly condemned” the incident.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

As mentioned in the last three newsletters, Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. It’s just AU$5 a month or even cheaper at AU$50 a year:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations can receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (just click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Regional
Rates of gender-based violence in the Pacific are among the highest in the world. In this special video report by ABC Australia’s The Pacific, a team of all-female reporters embarked on a multi-country investigation and met with survivors, perpetrators, frontline workers, lawmakers and villagers to understand the causes and solutions:

Afghanistan
The Taliban’s latest edict bans all books authored by women from Afghanistan’s educational system, stripping them from classrooms, universities, and libraries:

A panel of Taliban clerics decreed that women’s writings are “anti-sharia and against Taliban policies.” This decision is not just another act of censorship or restriction on Afghan women and girls. It is a calculated act of cultural and gender annihilation, designed to erase women’s intellectual presence from the nation’s memory. It is also part of a broader pattern of cultural genocide that we have seen in other ethnic and religious conflicts.

In addition, after forcing women out of mainstream education institutions, the Taliban are now establishing a network of religious schools for women. Parents report feeling pressured to send their daughters to these schools, especially as the ‘teachers’ are mullahs who are paid extra for additional student enrolment.

Did the lack of women humanitarians and first responders impact the response to August 30’s 6.0 magnitude earthquake?

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

As mentioned in the last two newsletters, Solidaritas is now a paid-subscriber only newsletter. This means…

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

As of today, as mentioned in the last newsletter, Solidaritas is a paid only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe:

Subscribe now

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations will still be able to receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (just click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
The Taliban continue to restrict women’s rights: closing secret beauty salons, threatening women UN staff, and weaponising the judicial system.

Aotearoa New Zealand
More than 60% of women in New Zealand have experienced some form of interpersonal violence – an alarming statistic with serious implications for public health.

Read more

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

If you like Solidaritas, please support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just AU$5 a month!):

Subscribe now

As of 1 September, as mentioned in the last newsletter, Solidaritas will become a paid only newsletter. This means you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe.

However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations will still be able to receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (just click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
Since mid-July, the Taliban have arrested dozens of women and girls in Kabul for allegedly violating Taliban dress codes.

Are travel influencers legitimising the Taliban and their violations of women’s rights?

Aoterea New Zealand
What do young Kiwi women want? RNZ spoke to six young women about their experience with sex and relationships in a dating culture that is increasingly confusing and tainted with violence.

Australia
New Australian Bureau of Statistics data reveals that Australia’s gender pay gap is at the lowest ever level since records began, at 11.5 per cent.

Bangladesh
Rohingya refugee women living in overcrowded camps in Cox's Bazar face health hazards due to a lack of sanitary facilities. DW spoke with one woman who is working to improve the situation. (video)

China
After a Telegram channel with hundreds of thousands of subscribers was discovered last month was found to be sharing exploitative images of Chinese women, some women have taken it upon themselves to warn everyone they can.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong's privacy watchdog has launched a criminal investigation into an AI-generated porn scandal at Hong Kong University, after a student was accused of creating sexual images of his female classmates and teachers.

India
An anonymous whistleblower alleges that over decades, hundreds of men, women and children were murdered and buried in the sacred temple town of Dharmasthala.

Indonesia
An exhibition at the National Museum shows that marking the contribution of Indonesian women to the nation remains highly contentious.

Malaysia
Meet the all-women indigenous rangers team protecting Malaysia’s gibbons.

Nauru
Almost half of all women in Nauru have experienced physical or sexual violence. The country hosted the 6th annual meeting of the regional working group on the implementation of family protection and domestic violence legislation last week.

Pakistan
Women in Pakistan die every day for supposedly dishonoring their families, and arrests are rare. But Bano Bibi’s defiant last words were caught on video.

Papua New Guinea
A video has gone viral of a young woman being physically and verbally attacked on the Papua New Guinea University of Technology campus in Lae:

Video footage of the incident shows a woman walking at night with her hands covering her ears while a group of men surround her, shouting and jeering.

Despite being escorted by two security guards, she is physically attacked multiple times by men in the crowd, and attempts to fight them off.

Regional
Thirty years ago, the presence of women workers in the power plants in the Marshall Islands wasn't just unusual, it was rare. But now:

Fast-forward to 2025, and five women engineers from Fiji are working for the Marshall Islands Energy Company in Majuro across multiple departments, including the power plant, the system planning and engineering services division, and data analysis.

Do Australia and New Zealand have a gender-based extremism problem? A new study reveals the disturbing scale of gender-based violent extremism festering in online spaces like 4chan.

Samoa
Weaving is central to cultural life in Samoa, and is mostly performed by women. But climate change is disrupting conditions needed for the plants used to make the intricate mats.

Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands has committed to raise the legal marriage age to 18. At the moment, someone can legally marry at 15 with parental consent, and children can be married in accordance with customary law, which provides no minimum marriage age. Around one in five girls in Solomon Islands is married before the age of 18, and this increases to one in four in rural areas.

South Korea
Young women were at the forefront of the movement which led to Yoon Suk-yeol being impeached, but many have been disillusioned by unmet demands for justice, presenting an urgent challenge for Lee Jae Myung’s new administration.

Sri Lanka
Women can now purchase alcohol in Sri Lanka from any licensed outlet, after a previous regulation was overturned.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Thanks for your patience! I took a break last month while I went on holiday for two weeks.

If you like Solidaritas, please support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just AU$5 a month!):

Subscribe now

I’ve decided I’m going to be changing this newsletter into a paid only newsletter. This means, as of 1 September, you will only be able to read the full newsletter if you subscribe. However, citizens of Asian and Pacific nations will still be able to receive the newsletter for free - just respond to this newsletter via email (just click ‘reply’) and I’ll add you as a subscriber.

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
What does Afghanistan’s future look like without women?

With girls banned from high schools and universities, a free educational radio service called Radio Begum somehow continues thanks to a group of brave women and men.

More than 1.8 million Afghans have been forced to return to Afghanistan this year from Pakistan, Iran, and Turkiye.

Aotearoa New Zealand
A recent poll found that young women are significantly more likely to identify as ‘left-wing’ or ‘progressive’ than their male peers, and, compared to older cohorts, the gap between young men and women is significantly wider.

Australia
Australia has climbed from 24th to 13th place in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report. It’s the country’s highest-ever ranking.

A new study has found that Australia’s gender earnings gap could be halved if the long hours often worked by men were reined in.

A mass recruitment campaign has been launched by University of Sydney to encourage more women academics to engineering, where less than one in five of the faculty’s academics are women.

Australia’s 48th parliament has a record 112 women members. Ten of those women are independents.

Bangladesh
Five female activists talk about their lives since former PM Sheikh Hasina was ousted, and discuss how the country can secure lasting change for women’s rights.

In coastal Bangladesh, natural disasters take twice the toll on women.

US-imposed tariffs will significantly impact garment factory workers in South Asia, two-thirds of whom are women.

China
China's government will offer cash subsidies to parents with children under the age of three, following three years of population decline.

A Chinese Telegram group with hundreds of thousands of male members has been uncovered as sharing photos of women taken without their consent, including sexual photos.

India
Meet the community health workers protecting pregnant women from dangerous heat in Delhi.

Embedded in India’s economic success is an ongoing contradiction: persistent gender inequality that undermines both the sustainability and inclusiveness of growth.

Indonesia
Indonesian authorities have arrested 285 people for suspected drug trafficking, with investigators particularly warning women to be more vigilant when forming relationships "in the real world and in cyberspace".

Japan
A record 42 women have been elected to Japan’s upper house, representing an impressive one-third of all seats.

Are grandmothers-for-hire an answer to Japan’s loneliness epidemic?:

Grandmother-for-hire services allow people to experience what it is like to have an older woman care for them in a maternal way, for as little as $60 a visit. They also provide a work opportunity in a society that usually does not value the skills and experience of older women.

Ms Kaji said she wanted to find a job to keep her busy after her dog died. The only option she could find for a woman at her age was to be a cleaner.

That was until her daughter came across a company that hired older women to play the role of grandmother for strangers.

Laos
Japan’s embassy in Laos and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a rare and unusually direct advisory, warning Japanese men against “buying sex from children” in Laos.

Malaysia
Systemic challenges continue to face women in accessing menstrual care in Malaysia, including inadequate education, social discrimination, and even misdiagnoses at health facilities. One academic says it’s so bad, that:

… some girls in rural areas would rather get pregnant than deal with menstruation due to the cost and stigma.

Myanmar
Myanmar military courts have sentenced a dozen individuals — including five Chinese nationals — to life in prison for multiple cases of trafficking Myanmar women into forced marriages in China.

Pakistan
Nine men, including the victim’s father and ex-husband, have been arrested for the murder of an 18-year-old woman in Rawalpindi after a council of elders ordered her death.

Papua New Guinea
A new archaelogical study about PNG sea trade discovered a fascinating gender difference: while men traded wares, women traded knowledge.

South Korea
South Korea has a new president, and many women were hopeful that he would help the country finally tackle gender inequality. Two months into his leadership, however, huge structural issues remain.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

Subscribe now

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
Afghan fathers, brothers and husbands are under pressure to ensure the women in their families observe the country’s repressive laws. The BBC talks to men and women across the country to explain how it is affecting family bonds.

Read the story of Marjan, a young girl who was married off at 12 to a Taliban fighter.

Aotearoa New Zealand
The government is confronting a backlash from women after cancelling dozens of gender-based pay claims to make savings ahead of the budget.

Australia
The former Abbott government has been revealed to have sought advice to obstruct asylum seekers detained on Nauru from accessing abortions in Australia.

Sussan Ley, the new leader of the Liberal Party, is the first woman to lead the party. But she’s still hesitant about gender quotas for the party, even though only 20% of federal Liberal MPs are women (compared to Labor’s 50%+).

Bangladesh
A video of a Hindu woman being sexually assaulted by a local politician has caused nationwide uproar in Bangladesh, after the clip was shared widely online.

Cambodia
Technology-facilitated gender-based violence is driving women out of leadership positions and public advocacy in Cambodia.

China
China is cracking down on women who write gay erotic fiction, with over 30 women arrested since the beginning of the year.

Former PhD student Zhenhao Zou has been jailed for at least 24 years for the rape of 10 women in London and China.

India
The High Court of Andhra Pradesh has ruled that trans women are ‘legally entitled’ to recognition as women.

Japan
Two primary school teachers have been arrested for taking and sharing indecent photos of girls with online paedophile groups.

Takahiro Shiraishi has been executed for killing and dismembering eight women and one man with whom he made contact with on social media. It is the first use of capital punishment in Japan in nearly three years.

Malaysia
In 2014, the Fatwa Committee for the State of Selangor issued a fatwa against SIS, declaring them to be ‘deviant’ for subscribing to liberalism and religious pluralism, and instructed them to repent and return to Islam. Now, on 19 June, the Federal Court has partially overturned an earlier decision of the Court of Appeal, ruling that the Selangor religious authorities were unlawful to issue the fatwa.

Myanmar
How women are trying to reshape Myanmar’s future:

Amid Myanmar's unrelenting crisis, it is women who are quietly reshaping the nation's future. As the country reels from military violence, institutional collapse, and humanitarian catastrophe, women have stepped forward -- not just as survivors, but as leaders. Their courage is grounded in daily acts of resistance, care, and community-building that keep society intact.

Pakistan
As more women in Pakistan embrace self-expression on social media, they're often met with harassment, privacy violations, and violence.

Just 23% of Pakistani women are employed. DW explores the links between women’s education and formal employment in the country. (video)

Regional
The Global Taiwan Institute takes a look at differences in how World War II sex slaves are remembered and considered in Taiwan and South Korea.

Joanna Pascua, a paralegal in the Philippines working remotely for an Australian business, was fired but challenged her dismissal in the Australian Fair Work Commission. The commission has now found she was entitled to Australian workplace protections, meaning that Australian companies could face legal claims, including class actions, from offshore workers.

Taiwan
The number of women in Taiwan living near or below the poverty line has increased by 20,000 over the past 10 years, with about one-third of those being single mothers, a new report shows.

Thailand
Around 1.6 million Thai people now identify as gender-diverse, according to Thailand's first LGBTI census.

Timor-Leste
How is climate change exacerbating gender-based violence in Timor-Leste? (audio)

Vanuatu
Women soccer players are fighting for equality in Vanuatu in the face of misogyny and cultural history.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

Subscribe now

In solidarity,
- Kate

Aotearoa New Zealand
Former PM Jacinda Ardern on kind leadership, public rage and life in Trump’s America.

Australia
Dollars, distance and political power: inside the barriers to abortion access.

How Australia's housing crisis is keeping victim-survivors in unsafe situations.

The federal government will make it illegal for employers to cancel paid parental leave after a stillbirth or early infant death. The change follows advocacy from the parents of a baby who died at just six weeks old.

Bangladesh
Bangladesh has made the HPV vaccine routine following a successful launch campaign in which 5.6 million girls were vaccinated.

From young athletes to photojournalists, Bangladeshi women chasing their dreams say Islamist groups are trying to tell them what they can and can't do. (video)

Cambodia
The Cambodian government has announced a new policy to provide financial support to incarcerated women who are pregnant or have children under two living with them in prison.

China
Female writers have been summoned by police for posting and sharing homosexual romance stories online, in a widespread crackdown on the ‘boys love’ genre in China. If convicted, they could be subjected to detention, financial penalties or prison sentences.

India
Women working in sugar cane fields are still being pushed to undergo hysterectomies to enable them to work longer hours without periods, activists in Maharashtra say.

In India, Operation Sindoor (the brief war between India and Pakistan last month) used women’s bodies and symbols to cloak an old patriarchal script:

When two female officers of the Indian armed forces – one Hindu, one Muslim – took centre stage to announce Operation Sindoor, the government celebrated it as a landmark moment for gender inclusion. The image of uniformed women addressing the media from the front lines, avenging the deaths of 26 civilians, all men, and symbolically restoring the sindoor (vermilion) of widowhood, was widely praised as feminist iconography in service of the nation. …

But can women leading war be inherently feminist? Nation-building, as feminist scholars have long warned, is not a gender-neutral project. It reconfigures women into roles that serve its ends: sacrificial mothers, grieving widows, or militant daughters of the nation. … Therefore, the mere presence of women in public or political spheres does not automatically equate to gender justice. Representation must also be interrogated for its objectifying function.

Indonesia
How worker-led programs are tackling gender-based violence in workplaces.

Women on the Balinese islands of Nusa Penida and Nusa Lembongan have long farmed seaweed as a key income generating activity; Mongabay explores.

Despite significant strides in recent decades, Indonesia continues to face one of Southeast Asia’s higher maternal mortality rates.

Japan
Meet the women in Okinawa trying to save the disappearing Ryukyu Kingdom cuisine.

Myanmar
Myanmar’s women are challenging patriarchal norms as well as the junta.

Pakistan
A man has been arrested for the murder of 17-year-old TikTok content creator Sana Yousaf:

Authorities say they believe Umar Hayat murdered Ms Yousaf at her home in Islamabad on Monday after she rejected what they called his "offers of friendship". He allegedly also repeatedly tried, and failed, to meet her.

They say he broke into her home, fired two shots, stole her phone and fled.

Papua New Guinea
The Haus Meri is an important space for women, and there's a growing movement to see it gain a political voice both at the community and the national level. (audio)

How public-private partnership Bel Isi is responding to family and sexual violence in PNG.

Singapore
The Ah Ma Flippa Ball team for older women is one example of how Singapore is encouraging its growing population of seniors to stay active.

South Korea
Liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung won South Korea’s snap presidential election earlier this month. Lee won almost 50% of the vote and takes over a country that is deeply divided along gender lines.

Taiwan
The law remains confused and contradictory on abortion in Taiwan, making the practice both legal and illegal.

Vietnam
In response to falling birth rates, Vietnam has dropped its two-child policy.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

This week’s header photo was taken in Indonesia: it says ‘Ratify the Draft Law on the Elimination of Sexual Violence’.

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

Subscribe now

In solidarity,
- Kate

Australia
The re-elected Labor Party government has achieved a striking gender equality milestone following its election for a second term: for the first time in Australian history, there will be more women than men in federal cabinet. So, is the job done?

New research based on interviews with 80 female prisoners in Western Australia reveals most of these women were ‘criminalised’ by circumstances outside their control - including family violence - before they became offenders. Researchers describe this as a vicious cycle pushing women into prison.

Bangladesh
China’s embassy in Bangladesh has warned its citizens to avoid the “misguided notion” of “buying a foreign wife” through online matchmaking scams. It said that individuals involved in illegal marriages risked being arrested for human trafficking.

India
Banu Mushtaq’s book ‘Heart Lamp’ is a collection of short stories, translated by Deepa Bhasthi, that shines a light on the lives of Muslim women in rural India. It has now won the Booker Prize. It is the first time that the prize has been won by a book translated from Kannada, a language of south India spoken by between 50 and 80 million people.

How the Women’s Premier League cricket is powering India’s sporting revolution.

Japan
Impact’s ‘The Evidence’ newsletter takes a look at who gets to flourish, with a focus on Japan, where women report flourishing significantly more than men:

The countries with the largest gender gaps in reported wellbeing are Brazil and Japan. In Japan, women report flourishing significantly more than men. In Brazil, the opposite is true. So what might explain the striking gender differences in Brazil and Japan?

I spoke to researchers based in each country to try to understand the roots of these differences – are they due to cultural norms, psychological factors, economic inequality, or something else?

Malaysia
ASEAN’s first Women’s Economic Empowerment Centre (AWES) will be established in Kuala Lumpur.

Myanmar
Myanmar’s junta has intensified restrictions on free expression since the military coup in 2021. Last year, the junta jailed at least 10 writers for their expression, but, for many, despite the risks, writing remains a tool to resist the violence of the dictatorship. In Women’s Voices from the Revolution—an anthology published by ALTSEAN-Burma that features 40 pieces by participants of their Women Writers Workshops—Myanmar women showcase how literature can be harnessed as a powerful tool for restoration and healing.

The Philippines
Despite lingering taboos, more Filipina women are choosing to be child-free.

South Korea
South Korea heads to the polls on 3 June, and gender equality is a major issue. But although women took the lead in the protests against South Korea’s last president, the men running to replace him are saying little about the discrimination women face:

Young South Korean women are often dismissed by men as apolitical, but they were prominent in the movement to impeach former President Yoon Suk Yeol, whom they accused of encouraging contempt and even hatred for them. They were among the first to take to the streets to condemn ​Mr. Yoon’s short-lived imposition of martial law in December​, enlivening large rallies with K-pop ​songs and glow sticks.

​But as South Korea prepares to elect Mr. Yoon’s replacement on June 3, many women say their priorities — making the country safer and fairer for them — are taking a back seat, and not for the first time​.

Vanuatu
Motarilavoa Hilda Lini, a pioneering Ni-Vanuatu politician, has died. Lini was the first woman to be elected to parliament in 1987 and went on to become the country's first female minister in 1991.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

This week’s header photo was taken on a trek in the Mustang area of Nepal, in 2011.

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
While the ICC has sought arrest warrants for Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Hibatullah Akhundzada and Chief Justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani to hold them accountable for gender-based crimes in Afghanistan, women say this is a “far cry from on-the-ground justice”:

To counter the Taliban’s institutionalised gender persecution, political mobilisation is essential — mirroring the global response to the racial apartheid in South Africa. Then, the world came together through coordinated economic sanctions, cultural and sports boycotts and grassroots activism, providing tangible power to international law and political pressure. Equivalent collective action is urgently required today.

Governments, multilateral bodies, non-governmental organisations, civil society and influential sectors like the media, arts and academia must form a united front to isolate the Taliban. This pressure is essential to delegitimise the regime and amplify the forms of resistance that Afghan women have been organising over the past years.

Australia
Australia held a federal election on 3 May, and for the first time, the country will have reached gender parity across the two houses of parliament. Helen Dalley-Fisher calculates that 45.7% of seats in the House of Representatives and 58% of seats in the Senate will held by women. In the House of Representatives alone, the Labor Party - who were returned to government - will be 53% women.

Location-sharing apps are linked to an increased risk of digital coercive control, a new report from the eSafety Commission research finds.

Women living with HIV are no longer a priority group under the Ninth National HIV Strategy, despite higher risks of late diagnosis and lack of specialised support.

Bangladesh
Nearly 20,000 Islamists gathered in Dhaka to protest against the newly-instated Women’s Affairs Reform Commission, established by the interim government to ensure equal rights for women.

China
A private hospital in eastern China is under investigation for offering illegal in IVF services specifically for single women, allowing them to meet and choose sperm donors.

An interesting article on gender trolling in China, exploring the tension between feminist activism, digital platforms, and state ideologies

Fiji
Women’s NGOs are proposing a mandatory 30% quota for women in parliament, but the Minister for Education (who is also leader of the Social Democratic Liberal Party, SODELPA) doesn’t support the idea.

India
How conducting ‘draw a scientist’ experiments in numerous classrooms inspired a documentary project on girls in STEM.

Indonesia
A government cash transfer social assistance package in Indonesia has been found to successfully reduce child marriage rates among girls living in rural communities.

Japan
Japan’s decision to withdraw funding from CEDAW in January has renewed scrutiny of its fraught relationship with global gender equality norms.

Extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, with the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women nearly doubling in the past five years.

Marshall Islands
Meet six Marshallese women activists who are changing the world.

Myanmar
Unable to return to Myanmar, exiled women have built remote digital activism movements, exposing mass sexual violence against women, extrajudicial killings of young people, and violence towards other marginalised communities, such as LGBTQ+ groups.

Nepal
Nepal’s Supreme Court passed a verdict in mid-2023 allowing same-sex marriage. Yet a lesbian couple’s request to have their marriage register failed this month, after local officials claimed they didn’t know how to process it. The police then became involved, resulting in the forced separation of the women by their families.

Reusable cloth menstrual pads are becoming more popular in Nepal; this factory is dedicated to producing them.

Papua New Guinea
The maternity ward at Port Moresby General Hospital is struggling to cope with the number of patients, with women left to recover on the floor after giving birth:

Frustrated with the conditions, Dr Mola and his team began documenting the state of care in the maternity ward last year.

In 2024, they found more than 7,000 women — about one in four — who visited the hospital to give birth received at least some of their care on the floor.

Regional
A new survey shows half of women’s organizations aiding women in crises may shut down in six months due to global aid cuts.

Related: Can we imagine what sexual and reproductive health services around the world without US financial support?

What about women? An overlooked solution to Pacific labour shortages.

Samoa
Samoa NRL have invited an Indigenous women's rugby league team from Australia to visit the Pacific nation to play rugby league and exchange cultural ties. (audio)

South Korea
Gender equality has been largely absent from the policy proposals of Korea’s all-male presidential contenders, drawing criticism that the demands and interests of young women voters — who played a prominent role in the protests for the impeachment of former President Yoon Suk Yeol — are being overlooked.

Sri Lanka
Online violence against female political candidates in local government elections is rife in Sri Lanka.

Feminist activists are at the center of a decades-long battle to reform the country’s Muslim Marriage and Divorce Act.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

This week’s header photo was taken in Melaka, Malaysia, about 10 years ago (!).

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

Subscribe now

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
The Taliban have followed through on decrees aimed at erasing women from public life in the country and restricting their freedom of movement, the UN mission to the country said in its latest human rights report covering the first quarter of 2025.

Aotearoa/New Zealand
A populist party in New Zealand’s governing coalition has introduced a bill to parliament that if enacted would define women and men by their biology, preventing trans women and men being recognised by law.

Australia
Tomorrow is election day in Australia, so the two major parties have been talking up their plans to combat gender-based violence. While it’s great to see this level of attention, how do their commitments actually stack up? The Conservation and ABC both have analysis, with the following from GBV experts Kate Fitz-Gibbon and Hayley Boxall writing for The Conversation:

Neither represent a commitment to ending gender-based violence. They both propose a patchwork of largely reactive initiatives. These will fail to deliver holistic reform to prevent violence and to intervene early enough to meaningfully reduce it.

A new report shows two-thirds of young men in Australia are turning to masculinity influencers, and it's having an impact on their mental health. Of those who regularly engage, 27% feel "worthlessness" while watching the content.

Meanwhile, a Brisbane couple could face prosecution after they admitted to using a commercial surrogacy service to have a baby abroad. Commercial surrogacy arrangements are illegal in Australia, with Queensland residents also banned from doing it overseas.

The Australia Strategic Policy Institute discusses how Australia is advancing gender equality in the Indo-Pacific.

China
At China’s 2025 Two Sessions, women’s rights received minimal attention despite the government announcing a global summit on gender equality later in the year. While female representation in the National People’s Congress has increased slightly, actual advocacy is declining, with fewer gender-focused proposals and little in the way of new commitments.

The ever-growing list of government pro-natalist initiatives at local and national levels has so far failed to slow China’s demographic changes. For many men and women, marriage and child bearing remain too costly, despite new financial incentives.

Fiji
A call for action into the ongoing issue of domestic violence in Fiji has prompted an investigation after three people died and one woman was admitted to hospital. The ABC also has an audio discussion with Shamima Ali, the Coordinator for Fiji Women's Crisis Centre, here.

Hong Kong
In the past, women were not allowed to become lion dancers. The lion and dragon costumes were holy items. All-female troupe Kwok’s Girls are challenging the norm.

India
As climate change intensifies, millions of India’s home-based women workers face worsening heat, unsafe homes, and policy neglect—pushing their fragile livelihoods to the edge.

As India continues to evolve economically, the role of women in the workforce becomes more crucial than ever. But are its labour laws catching up to the reality of working women’s lives?

Indian startups continue to show significant gender disparity, with women holding only 7% of top executive roles across 121 unicorns.

Indonesia
How the revised Armed Forces Law could harm civic and women's rights.

Japan
Japanese law requires married couples to share a surname. But there are signs that things could be changing: a new survey found that a rising percentage of lawmakers – about 44% – back a system that would allow for dual surnames.

Professor Mari Miura compares gender gaps at the global level, and discusses efforts to address Japan’s gender gap in politics.

Malaysia
How night markets are a vital economic lifeline for women across Malaysia.

Pakistan
Women-only tours have become a runaway hit. (video)

The Philippines
The Philippines has achieved high levels of female representation in its national legislature, largely driven by dynastic succession of term-limited male politicians by wives, daughters and sisters. Research suggests women lawmakers are much more likely than male counterparts to back progressive legislation on gender issues, regardless of their dynastic status.

Regional
In India’s Jammu and Kashmir, police have begun deporting Pakistani nationals, many of whom have lived in India for over three decades — with homes, families, and no place to return to across the border. Many of them are Pakistani women who married Indian men but never applied for Indian citizenship.

Singapore
Women’s participation in the 2025 General Election has reached a new high, with 53 women candidates contesting, up from 40 in 2020.

South Korea
A South Korean court has ordered the Japanese government to pay compensation to the son of a former World War II sex slave over her treatment in military brothels.

Sri Lanka
Proposals to revise Sri Lanka’s abortion law fail to meet human rights:

The proposed amendment is far too narrow. Limiting access to abortion solely on the grounds of fatal fetal abnormalities does not address the broader reality of why women seek abortions, including cases of rape, incest, lack of access to contraception, economic hardship or simply the choice not to continue a pregnancy.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

Subscribe now

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
The International Cricket Council has finally agreed to support the Afghan women’s cricket team, providing them with much needed recognition and assistance.

The BBC speaks to girls and women forced to turn to low-paying income generating activities like carpet weaving after the Taliban banned them from going to school.

Australia
Australia is in the middle of a federal election campaign. ANU’s Global Women in Leadership puts forward its analysis of women and the election here, concluding that “The 2025 federal election sees some progress in gender and diversity representation compared to last election, but the ‘glass cliff’ effect remains a significant barrier for female candidates.”

What are federal politicians promising for domestic violence prevention this election?

According to research to be published later this week by the ANU, the views of women and men in Australia are becoming more divided. Researchers found the number of people who believe Australia has gone "too far" in promoting equality has doubled to 19 per cent. Intifar Chowdhury responds, arguing (probably correctly) that young men simply feel short-changed and we need to support them better.

Health practitioners will now have proven findings of sexual misconduct permanently listed on their public registration, giving patients the ability to make more informed choices about who they seek care from.

Bangladesh
Bangladesh's influential Islamist coalition has demanded the abolition of a government Women's Commission.

Indonesia
In West Java’s coastal villages, once-dry land is being flooded by the tides due to rising sea levels. Mongabay meets local women to see how they are adapting.

India
Kashmir has launched free bus services for women.

Women's cricket is booming in India but why are all the coaches still male?

India's unicorns are scaling rapidly, but less than 10% of C-suite roles are held by women.

Japan
A same-sex couple in Japan is seeking legal change due to their daughter not gaining Japanese citizenship because her birth mother is American by citizenship.

Malaysia
Sex education in Malaysia must be given more serious attention through a comprehensive approach that involves schools, parents, and various government agencies, says the Minister for Women, Family and Community Development:

She stressed that sex education should no longer be treated as a taboo subject, but rather recognised as a crucial element in shaping values and protecting children and adolescents, particularly in today’s increasingly digital world.

Myanmar
For Myanmar’s LGBTQIA+ community, the fight for dignity and survival has turned into a major crisis:

The 2024 Conscription Law, implemented amid increasing political instability, has forced queer individuals into a cycle of fear, discrimination, and oppression. What was once a struggle for equality has now become a desperate attempt to escape a system designed to erase their existence.

UNFPA on women’s and girls’ needs following the huge earthquake earlier this month.

Regional
How are women resisting authoritarianism in Afghanistan, Iran, and Myanmar? ABC Radio National takes a look.

Solomon Islands
ABC meets one of the first women to qualify as a surf instructor in the Solomon Islands as she and her team use their passion for surfing to empower girls by challenging stereotypes about men and women.

South Korea
As more South Korean men perceive marriage as unattainable, their politics disfavour gender equality and reinforce sexism. These attitudes likely make marriage less appealing to women, which in turn fuels backlash among men:

Economic and status anxiety play a crucial role in shaping attitudes toward gender equality, but not always in expected ways. Improving a young man’s status or removing his financial struggles does not necessarily translate to greater support for gender-equality policies. Improvements in his economic position could translate to gender backlash if his perceived status fails to keep pace with his aspirations. The status aspiration gap—the distance between where young men see themselves and where they believe they should be—emerges as a powerful predictor of resistance to gender-equality initiatives. Those with a wider gap are significantly less supportive of gender-equity policies and show substantially higher levels of both hostile and modern sexism.

Several incidents of male university students posting videos of themselves running after female students at night – presented as a supposedly comedic attempt to help them get home safely – have sparked public outrage in South Korea, with critics arguing that they trivialise women’s fear of being followed by strangers.

Taiwan
A student advocacy group has found that all 17 of Taiwan’s universities are falling short in areas such as support for LGBTQ students and the functioning of legally required gender equity committees.

Tuvalu
Tuvalu's Prime Minister Feleti Teo says discriminatory laws and cultural norms continue to be obstacles to full gender equality in the nation.

Vietnam
An increasing number of Vietnamese women are choosing to freeze their eggs as knowledge of the process becomes more widespread.

Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.

Happy Eid al-Fitr to those who celebrate! Safe travels and eat well. Mohon maaf lahir dan batin.

In case you missed it, there has been a 7.7 magnitude earthquake in Myanmar, with thousands killed there and at least 18 in Thailand. Donate to MSF’s response here.

If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):

Subscribe now

In solidarity,
- Kate

Afghanistan
More than 50 prominent female Afghan women’s rights activists sheltering in Pakistan are facing deportation, where they fear they will be imprisoned or killed under Taliban rule.

For more than 1,200 days, Afghan girls have been banned from attending school beyond Year 6.

In Impact, Zan Times takes a look at the Afghan women abandoned by the Trump administration.

Australia
A new report has revealed the level of violence and abuse women in politics face across the Asia-Pacific region, including in Australia. Women have told the Inter-Parliamentary Union report that they have been sexually assaulted, spat on and abused online at alarming rates.

Gina Rineheart is Australia’s richest person. She is now pushing US-style ‘MAGA’ messages in Australia.

Bangladesh
Women’s rights activists are saying that religiously conservative elements are exploiting Bangladesh’s unstable law and order situation to morally police women in public by questioning their choice of clothing and lifestyle.

China
A Chinese woman and content creator has been deported from Taiwan after she stated on social media that she supported Chinese military intervention to unify the country with Taiwan. It has led to further debates around ‘mainland spouses’ in Taiwan:

China views marriages between Chinese and Taiwanese as the perfect metaphor for national unification. In Taiwan, their status is more ambiguous. An explosion in numbers during the 1990s led to fears of Chinese colonisation by stealth. Although tighter regulations introduced in 2004 led to a rapid fall, the legacy of that period is a large number of mixed-marriage households in Taiwan, mostly of Chinese women married to Taiwanese men. Alternatively referred to as “mainland spouses” (lupei) or, increasingly frequently, simply as “Chinese spouses” (Zhongpei), they are periodically at the centre of public debate over national security.

Fiji
Tourism brings in about 40% of Fiji’s GDP. Meet a group of women in the highlands of the country who are working to get more involved.

India
Chhattisgarh High Court ruled that forcing a woman to undergo a virginity test violates Article 21 of the Constitution, which safeguards her right to life, liberty, and dignity. The court emphasised that such tests breach fundamental rights, natural justice, and a woman's modesty.

Indonesia
Indonesia's maternal and child welfare programs have had bumpy implementation and redirected resources away from other programs that aim to improve gender balance. Unfortunately, some have also reinforced women's roles as primary caregivers.

Japan
The Government of Japan has cut funding to the CEDAW Commission.

Regional
ABC Australia explores the problem of online gender-based violence against journalists in the Indo-Pacific in a two-part series. Part two can be found here.

Malaysia
Malaysian women thrive in classrooms, but struggle to find seats in parliament, according to the country's latest gender equality scores.

Nepal
KALAM Weekly explores an advocacy campaign encouraging more women to run for political office.

Allegations of sexual harassment, misogyny, bullying, homophobia, and discrimination have emerged against Nepal’s former Attorney General Yubaraj Sangroula and other faculty members of the Kathmandu School of Law, where Sangroula serves as the executive director.

Pakistan
Meet four women comedians changing Pakistan’s male-dominated scene.

The Philippines
Haydee Ong is the former head coach of the Philippines women's national basketball team. She was recently made commissioner of the inaugural Women's Maharlika Pilipinas Basketball League (WMPBL), the development of which means players are now able to progress beyond the university league.

Regional
Female entrepreneurs in South Asia have been described as “silent contributors”, as their input to the economy and society is still not properly understood. And when their contributions go unrecognised, women can be denied access to education and career development:

I identified a three-pillar effect that discourages women from entrepreneurship. These are socio-cultural barriers, which include traditional gender roles and societal expectations; economic and financial constraints such as limited access to funding; and regulatory and institutional challenges like legal obstacles and a lack of support systems. These three pillars create significant hurdles for women who are trying to build their businesses.

Taiwan
The gender pay gap in Taiwan has increased to 15.8 percent last year, up 0.7 percentage points from 2023.

Timor-Leste
The Timor-Leste Ministry of Health has announced the launch of the first same day HPV screen-and-treat clinic using self-collection in the country.