Solidaritas #035
Domestic violence spikes due to COVID-19 lockdowns, plus fundraising initiatives
Hello! This is a repost. I’m moving Solidaritas from Mailchimp to Substack.
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Love and solidaritas,
Kate
Afghanistan
The Afghan Girls Robotics Team made headlines when they were denied entry to the US in 2017 – now they're supporting the pandemic fight by making ventilators from old Toyota parts.
The Taliban doesn't care about women's rights, and neither does the Afghan government.
Australia
The University of Melbourne has paid $700,000 in compensation to a former PhD student who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a professor.
There has been a huge increase in the number of men calling domestic violence prevention helplines since COVID-19 lockdowns were implemented in Australia.
A new DC comics superhero is a Pilbara woman called Thylacine. Pretty cool.
China
Women's advocate Guo Jing was confined to her home in Wuhan for 43 days. She tells the story of her first two hours of freedom.
Hong Kong
Domestic violence rose dramatically during HK's COVID-19 lockdown. Some women were brave enough to tell their story to SCMP.
India
India's massive lockdowns will hit women and migrant workers the hardest.
Indonesia
I love this story about the Environmental Care Women's Group in Bengkulu who look after traditional lands and harvest foods like torch ginger and ferntips from them. (via Asia Undercovered)
As in many cities, Jakarta has seen an increase in domestic violence reports.
Kiribati
The Kiribati Social Development Indicator Survey for 2018-19 was just released. It shows that two in three i-Kiribati women aged 15–49 who were ever married or partnered have experienced intimate partner violence, more than half in the last 12 months. More details here.
Malaysia
While stuck at home during COVID-19, Malaysia's Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development advised women to keep up personal grooming, adopt a cutesy Doraemon-like tone of voice, and giggle coyly instead of nagging their husbands. Predictably, people were (rightly!) outraged. The government has now apologised.
The Malaysian Movement Control Order (MCO) is also affecting women because the regulation states that only 'household heads' (i.e., men) are allowed to go out to buy groceries. Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin even dared to say that "Mothers now have more time at home and they can try all sorts of new recipes to cook for the family." Obviously, this isn't going down well with many women.
Domestic violence is also spiking in Malaysia during the MCO.
The Philippines
Rappler is under fire again - now it's being charged with 'cyber libel'. Co-founder and CEO Maria Ressa would rather talk about the bigger picture of indepedent media under threat.
Regional
Lots of articles about the increased risk domestic violence during lockdown: this one from the NYT summarises the situation globally, and this piece takes a look at the Asian organisations responding to it. Plus: the Asia Foundation argues that we need an urgent shift in thinking about how we implement lockdowns when homes may not be the safest place for some people.
Being a woman doesn’t make you better at handling a global pandemic – but women generally have to be better in order to become leaders, argues Arwa Mahdawi.
Solomon Islands
Meet some of the young Solomon Islands women fighting for climate justice and gender justice.
Thailand
Tuenjai Deetes has dedicated her life to eliminating statelessness in Thailand, fighting for the citizenship rights of the country's remote northern hill tribes. (via Asia Undercovered)
Fundraising
Undocumented Migrants Solidarty and Anticolonial Asian Alliance (Kulin Nation) are raising funds for undocumented migrants affected by COVID-19 in Australia. Undocumented migrants and even most migrants on temporary visas are not eligible for Australian government support.
Justice for Sisters and SEED are raising funds for transgender folk affected by COVID-19 in Malaysia.
Sanggar Swara are raising funds for transgender folk affected by COVID-19 in Greater Jakarta. Email me if you'd like to donate from overseas and I can arrange to transfer the money to them.
My own organisation, Jakarta Feminist Discussion Group, is raising funds for single mothers, widows/divorcees, domestic workers, online ojek drivers, massage therapists, and cleaners affected by COVID-19 in Greater Jakarta. You can email me if you want to transfer funds by Australian bank transfer or through PayPal.
Did I miss something?
Think I overlooked a great article, or want to promote your own work/an upcoming event? Hit me up on Twitter or via email: katewalton.au@gmail.com
Thanks for reading!