Good afternoon!
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 issue’s header image is of a house in Jiwaka Province, in the Highlands of PNG, taken late last year.
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In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
While international leaders neglect to take meaningful, coordinated action, women and girls in Afghanistan and in exile remain on the frontlines of resistance.
What might await Afghan women refugees who are being forcibly expelled from Pakistan:
When the Pakistani government abruptly announced all foreigners illegally living in the country had to leave, hundreds of thousands of Afghans packed up and headed to the border.
But Zahra and Paavaana, whose names have been changed for their safety, are staying put.
Both women worked with international NGOs in Afghanistan but fled to Pakistan after the Taliban returned to power. They say the fear of retribution if they go back is worse than the risk of going to prison if they remain where they are.
Australia
The murder of a young woman at an elite private school, and the reaction from a former principal, has highlighted a broader culture of privilege in which young boys are protected from consequence or culpability.
Labour induction is increasingly common in childbirth, but some new mums wish they had been better informed.
The Australian government does not have a legal obligation to repatriate 31 Australian women and children who have been forcibly held in a Syrian detention camp for four years, a court has ruled. The Australians are the wives, widows and children of slain or jailed Islamic State fighters.
With the rapid growth of professional women’s sport in Australia, there has been an explosion in the number of women experiencing serious ACL injuries, with ACL injury risk for women possibly up to eight times higher than that of men.
Barriers to women fully participating in the workforce are costing the Australian economy $128 billion, it is now estimated. Could creating more part-time management roles be part of the answer?
Bangladesh
A woman was shot dead on Wednesday after police in Dhaka opened fire during a protest held by garment workers demanding a wage increase. Anjuara Khatun, a 26-year-old machine operator, was on her way home after the factory closed suddenly as a large group of protesters gathered nearby. She is the third garment worker to be killed in the past two weeks. Garment workers have been protesting for several weeks, arguing that government plans to increase their wages are insufficient.
China
As the country faces a looming demographic crisis and falling birth rates, the Chinese government is pushing women back into the home.
India
While India has made significant strides in enacting laws to protect women, the effective implementation of these laws remains a challenge.
How MP Mahua Moitra shook up the misogyny and hypocrisy of Indian politics.
The story of girl’s refusal to be shamed by her gang-rape and a father’s fight for justice, defying a village’s hostility and the dead weight of patriarchy, is told in Nisha Pahuja’s new documentary film To Kill a Tiger.
Indonesia
The Lengger Lanang dance tradition involves men dressing up as Javanese princesses, and despite its long history, it is increasingly frowned upon by conservative elements:
Lengger was once a highly revered folk art. Performers were idolised and respected as they were able to embody both genders.
But it is being challenged as prejudice grows against anything perceived as queer.
Dr Lailatul Fitriyah on how gender and religion shape the lived experiences of Indonesian women working overseas. (podcast)
Andi Misbahul Pratiwi on how the climate crisis is worsening gender inequality.
Japan
Many women imprisoned in Japan suffer serious human rights abuse and mistreatment, says Human Rights Watch in a new report. The Japanese government should urgently adopt reforms to improve prison conditions, decriminalize simple possession and use of drugs, and provide alternatives to imprisonment.
Marshall Islands
Podcast Sistas, Let’s Talk learns about the customs and history when it comes to the kemem (a baby’s first birth) as well as post-partum practices of Marshallese women.
Myanmar
Meet the non-combatant women functionaries of Myanmar’s Spring Revolution:
They are more in number than their counterparts in active combat roles against the regime troops. They are performing varied roles inside and outside the camps of the resistance groups, inside the country and abroad, and engaged in perilous activities in a quiet and camouflaged manner to escape detection.
New Zealand
Mixed-gender rooms are increasingly common in New Zealand’s hospitals, but new research demonstrates that placing men and women in the same hospital room is unsafe and unethical.
Regional
'Simone' was the worker behind The Nauru Files — the largest leak inside Australia's system of offshore detention. She's never spoken out, until now.
A complicated story: A Malaysian policeman convicted of the murder of a Mongolian woman has been released from detention in Australia where he had been held for nearly nine years. Sirul Azhar Umar and another police officer, Azilah Hadri, were sentenced to death after being found guilty in Malaysia of the murder of 28-year-old Altantuya Shaariibuu, an interpreter to a former associate of ex-Prime Minister Najib Razak. Under Australian law, a person cannot be deported if they face the death penalty. Azilah, Sirul’s co-accused, remains on death row in Malaysia.
Taiwan
A France 24 podcast episode on how the #MeToo movement has been felt in Taiwan.
Thailand
Ten Burmese women have been rescued from a textile factory in Bangkok. The women say they were held against their will for months and forced to pay “fees” that would have kept them perpetually indebted to their employers.
Tonga
The 2023 Pacific Games are about to begin in the Solomon Islands, and Tonga’s women’s rugby 9s team is poised to win, competing for the first time.
Vanuatu
How 2015’s Cyclone Pam helped ni-Vanuatu women raise their voices.