Solidaritas #123
Tonga: the only country in the world where women cannot inherit land
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 week’s header image is of one of the temples in the Prambanan complex in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. I was lucky enough to explore Prambanan again last month after previously visiting as a young lass in 2010 (!!).
If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a paid subscriber for just US$5 a month (or even cheaper at US$40/year!):
In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
The Taliban has banned women from showing their faces or speaking in public, in laws described as a "distressing vision" for the future of the country by the United Nations.
In response, Afghan women, both inside and outside the country, have posted videos of themselves singing in protest of the new laws.
Australia
A former childcare worker has admitted to sexually abusing dozens of girls in one of the worst paedophile cases in the country’s history. Ashley Paul Griffith pleaded guilty to 307 charges involving children in his care.
The NSW government will modernise the definition of “stalking” to cover smart technology-facilitated tracking increasingly being weaponised by domestic abusers.
The government says it will now look to include data on sexual orientation in the 2026 census after a community outcry and political revolt over the exclusion of LGBTQI+ Australians.
How Vietnamese Australians came to nominate the nail salon industry, and how the industry provides opportunities to older Vietnamese women.
Bangladesh
Then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina fled Bangladesh in a hurry last month after protests turned into a nationwide revolution. She’s now in exile in India, who has long been Hasina’s greatest supporter.
Recent attacks, the looting of shops and houses, vandalism and arson at monasteries and temples have left members of minority groups in Bangladesh terrified. Since independence in 1971, a recurring cycle of torture and oppression against minorities has continued to tear at the heart of the country. Why does this violence persist in a state that claims to have an undifferentiated social system and inclusive policies?
China
Young women are hiring other young women to cosplay as men and take them on dates.
India
What is behind India’s sexual violence problem? Al Jazeera investigates. (video)
Sapna Center in Himachal Pradesh is teaching poor and marginalised women IT skills, enabling them to enter India’s massive IT sector.
Indonesia
Despite consistent national efforts to close the gender gap in the Indonesian education system, pervasive patriarchal views continue to contribute to girls’ disadvantage in schools.
Japan
A new documentary, Black Box Diaries, documents journalist Shiori Ito's pursuit of justice and sexual violence law reform in Japan. Ito was the first person in Japan to publicly disclose her identity in a sexual assault case.
Disaster management in Japan needs a more gender-inclusive approach.
Kiribati
A record five female MPs have been elected into the 45-seat Kiribati parliament, the Maneaba ni Maungatabo. This number is one more than the last election.
Laos
In 1976, when the Vietnam War threatened the livelihoods of Laotian communities, Kommaly Chanthavong started a cooperative to teach women valuable skills as a means of survival. The cooperative has since grown into a social enterprise known as Mulberries, going from 10 members to more than 3,000 villagers in five provinces.
Myanmar
In Myanmar’s brutal war, the military is weaponising sexual violence against women, children and LGBTQI+ people.
Nepal
Once celebrated for its progressive strides towards gender equality in politics, Nepal is now witnessing a troubling regression.
New Zealand
New Zealand should consider following the UK's lead in classifying a form of misogyny as extremism, an expert says.
Pakistan
Can one woman unite the Baloch people in peaceful resistance against the government of Pakistan? Dr Mahrang Baloch might just be doing so:
The respect and admiration Mahrang has garnered through these activities is all the more impressive given that she comes from Balochistan, the most conservative of Pakistan’s four provinces. Her courage, oratory skills and success at uniting the Baloch people has encouraged other women on to the streets.
“For me the most progressive aspect of our resistance is that thousands of women across generations, from young teenage girls to their mothers and aunts to their grandmothers and even great-grandmothers, have joined the cause,” Mahrang says.
The Philippines
Alice Guo, a fugitive former mayor accused of having links to Chinese criminal syndicates, has been arrested in Indonesia. An investigation has been ongoing into her identity and her links to a compound housing human trafficking victims and offshore gaming operations:
It began in March, when officials from the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission raided a sprawling office compound that stands 100 metres from the municipality building, where the mayor’s office is based. Inside, they found almost 1,000 workers, including victims of human trafficking, and evidence of financial scams. Within the 20-acre compound were luxury villas, expensive cognac and wines, tortoises, high-end cars and a large swimming pool.
Investigators also found a panic room and three underground tunnels – an escape route for those wanting to evade the authorities. It led to a vacant plot owned by Guo … The tunnels weren’t the only sign pointing to the now suspended mayor. In the compound, investigators found an electricity bill in Guo’s name, while a car parked there was registered as belonging to her.
Only one country in the world apart from the Vatican bans divorce: the Philippines. Meet the women calling for that to change.
It's a man's world mining gold in the Philippines - but it's the women who come off worst, with women 90 times more at risk of dying on the job than men.
Regional
Improving the wellbeing of people engaged in the Pacific Australia Labour Mobility (PALM) scheme is a priority for the Australian Government. Despite this, significant barriers remain for PALM participants in accessing sexual and reproductive health services and information, including support for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence.
Samoa
Women's rights groups in Samoa are arguing the traditional apology, or ifoga, should not be accepted as a mitigating factor in gender-based violence and sexual assault cases to reduce sentences.
Singapore
Parents will get an additional 10 weeks of shared leave to care for their infants when a new scheme is fully implemented in 2026, bringing their total paid leave up to 7.5 months.
A transgender woman has reached the final of Miss Universe Singapore for the first time in the competition’s 70-year history.
South Korea
South Korea faces an epidemic of digital sex crimes, hundreds of women and girls targeted through deepfake sexual images being shared online. One group sharing these images reportedly has 220,000 members, and the number of reported deepfake cases alone has soared from 156 in 2021 to 297 as of July. In response to criticism, Telegram has apologised to authorities for its handling of deepfake pornographic material shared via its messaging app.
In South Korea, feminism is more than just a controversial topic, says Monash University’s Dr Ming Gao.
Thailand
Thai women hold significant leadership roles in business, yet gender equality remains a persistent issue. Women-owned enterprises lack formal financing and women face a disproportionate burden of care work, while government policies support male-dominated sectors.
Tonga
The fight for women in Tonga to have equal land ownership rights continues. Tonga is the only Pacific nation with legislation barring women from owning land, thanks to an 1875 law which allows only men to inherit land.
Vietnam
Vietnam is witnessing a growing trend among single women of storing their eggs to control their reproductive futures, with major IVF centers seeing a sharp rise in clients over the last two years.
New research shows that women remain significantly under-represented in national-level and other public positions in Vietnam.