Solidaritas #112
Pakistan elects its first female provincial chief minister - but she's part of a dynasty
Good morning!
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 from Bangkok, where I was last week for the 2024 Abortion and Reproductive Justice Conference (ARJC). Apologies for the lack of newsletter! This one is a bumper to make up for it.
If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support the newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber for just US$5 a month:
In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
Upon reclaiming power, the Taliban banned girls from schools above year six and women from work, with few exceptions, such as in the health sector. DevPolicy examines the economic consequences of the exclusion of women from work and education in Afghanistan:
If the world can learn to live with the Taliban’s abuses—Afghan women being largely confined to their homes, losing their voice, their personhood, their education, their dreams, and contributions to their communities—then this is a brutal demonstration of how fragile the rights of women and girls are everywhere.
Despite the terrible erosion of women’s rights, Human Rights Watch argues that “The response of the international community has been tepid and seems to lack an appreciation of how the situation in Afghanistan has grave implications for the rights of women and girls globally.” HRW positions this as part of the global backlash against women’s rights.
How nut and dried fruit company Ziba manages to have 85% of its factories staffed by women, despite the restrictions enforced by the Taliban.
Australia
Dozens of Australian companies have gender pay gaps of more than 50%, according to landmark data released for the first time by the government’s Workplace Gender Equality Agency:
The data paints a stark picture, with some of the country’s biggest and most recognisable employers posting gender pay gaps of 30-40% in favour of male employees.
The publication of this data comes after the government passed the Workplace Gender Equality Amendment (Closing the Gender Pay Gap) bill 2023. Nationally, the gender pay gap sits at 19%, meaning that over the course of a year, the median that a woman is paid is $18,461 less than the median of what a man is paid.
Freebirth — when a woman chooses to birth completely outside the medical system — is on the rise. But when things go wrong, the outcomes can be catastrophic.
New data shows that young women are drinking and using drugs more than before, but the ‘why?’ remains unanswered.
Cambodia
Women remain a minority in Cambodia’s foreign policy sector.
China
Inside North Korea’s forced labour camp in China: workers sent to Chinese factories describe enduring physical and sexual abuse, having their wages taken by the state, and being told that if they try to escape they will be “killed without a trace.”
The CCP has rejected the idea of single women freezing their eggs, saying it will be “explored an at appropriate time”. Whenever that is.
Fiji
A significant shift is occurring in Fiji as more women are making remarkable strides in the traditionally male-dominated field of sports commentary.
Women and Children's Minister Lynda Tabuya says Pacific island countries need to "strengthen our laws" on online harassment.
India
Far-right Hindu nationalists are giving women prominence to mobilise others, but regressive patriarchal systems are embedded in their ideology. “It’s a trick”, writes Pragya Agarwal.
While men take center stage in the fresh round of Indian farmers' protests, the difficulties experienced by female agriculture workers are still largely overlooked.
Indonesia
Even with a 30% quota in place, Indonesian women face an uphill battle running for office.
Fires are a major threat to Indonesia's people, forests and wildlife. This all-female crew is combating them while changing attitudes towards women.
A profile of Maria Catarina Sumarsih, who has been striving for justice for her murdered son since 1998:
Every Thursday for the past 17 years, in searing heat and pouring rain, Maria Catarina Sumarsih has stood outside the Indonesian presidential palace, demanding justice for her son. He was shot dead in 1998, when authorities opened fire on student protesters as they called for an end to the rule of dictator Suharto.
Soon, it is assumed, the palace behind her will be inhabited by Prabowo Subianto – a former son-in-law of Suharto and a special commander under his 32-year regime, one of the most brutal and corrupt of the 20th century. He is accused of involvement in a series of rights abuses, including enforced disappearances and torture during the Suharto era, which ended in the same year that Sumarsih’s son died.
On Wawonii Island, Southeast Sulawesi (very near where I lived for a year in Kendari), women farmers are leading the fight against a nickel mining company destroying their land and water.
Above: Muddy water flowing in the house of Saharia, a resident of Dompo-Dompo Jaya Village in Southeast Sulawesi, on May 20, 2023. (Project M/Riza Salman)
Japan
Women have joined the Hadaka Matsuri - or Naked Festival - for the first time. But they didn’t go naked, in the end - purple happi coats were worn instead.
Laos
A hotel official has apologised for a ring-toss game captured on video in which Chinese guests tossed hoops around Lao female hotel employees, sparking public outrage.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s female labour force participation still lags behind men’s, ranking eighth among ASEAN nations, and the gap is widening.
The Marshall Islands
Hilda Heine has been elected as the new President of the Marshall Islands. She was previously president from 2016 to 2020.
Myanmar
A new wave of people are leaving Myanmar, worried about an upcoming mandatory conscription law announced by the military junta two weeks ago. The law would come into force for all genders and age groups from mid-April, although the junta has now announced that women will be exempted, likely in response to the public backlash.
Nepal
Human Rights Watch has released a new report documenting the challenges transgender people face in obtaining legal recognition.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s fertility rate slumped to a record low in 2023, official data shows, as the total number of births also dropped. The fertility rate is now at just 1.56 births per woman.
North Korea
North Korea women's football team, long a propaganda tool, was hoping to qualify for the Olympics. Unfortunately for them, they were beaten by Japan last night, 2-1.
Pakistan
Maryam Sharif, the daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, has been elected as Pakistan’s first female provincial chief minister. She’s part of a dynasty, though - her father, brother, and nephew have all held the Punjab Chief Minister post before her.
France24 examines why some Pakistani women are barred from voting in elections by their husbands:
"Several years ago, during a period of low literacy rates, a council chairman decreed that if men went out to vote, and women followed suit, who would manage the household and childcare responsibilities?" said Malik Muhammad, a member of the village council.
"This disruption, just for one vote, was deemed unnecessary," he concluded.
Papua New Guinea
Polygamy is spreading in PNG, including into regions where the practice was previously rare.
Women's rights advocates are calling for peace and for the men in Parliament to act on the violence the country, following tribal fighting in Enga Province which has so far claimed more than 60 lives.
A statistical analysis of the interactions between women’s empowerment, gender norms, and intimate partner violence.
Solomon Islands
When Solomon Islands signed a secret security pact with China in 2022, it prompted concerns that China was gaining a foothold in the region, but the headlines missed how the deal failed to address many of the security needs of women in the country.
The Ministry of Women is looking at new legislation which could guarantee extra seats for women in provincial assemblies, as in the country’s 45 years of independent governance, just 16 women have been voted into Provincial Assemblies and six into Parliament.
South Korea
South Korea’s fertility rate has sunk to a record low, despite US$270 billion in incentives. The country’s average number of births per woman is now just 0.72, the world’s lowest rate.
Sri Lanka
What is the link between climate change and gender-based violence?:
After years of scant rainfall in a remote region of Sri Lanka, farmer Renuka Karunarathna's crops failed and as the family's income dwindled, her husband took his anger out on her, beating her so badly she had to go to a hospital.
"I have got beaten up so many times," Karunarathna said. "I suffer a lot."
Taiwan
How presidential candidates in this year’s election left women voters unimpressed.
Tonga
Women are prepared to leave Tonga due to the adverse Pacific climate challenges impacting their communities, according to new research.