Solidaritas #124
Could Japan have its first female prime minister?
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 Port Moresby, where I was last week.
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In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
More than 130 Afghan women have gathered in Albania at an All Afghan Women summit, in an attempt to develop a united voice representing Afghanistan’s women and girls.
The country is at risk of a polio outbreak after the Taliban restricted women from delivering vaccines.
Australia
New data from the Coroner’s Court of Victoria found that in one in four suicides (24.5%), the deceased had experienced family violence prior to their death.
The govermment’s promise of AU$4.7 billion to tackle gender-based violence has been met with scepticism by frustrated peak bodies across the sector, who claim the funding has, in reality, gone backwards. Related: Australia has spent 10 years trying to stop domestic violence before it happens. Now, questions are being asked whether this is the best approach.
On being a female entertainer for Australian troops during the Vietnam War.
Despite a significant increase in the representation of women in leadership roles at Australia's top companies, representation of non-white women remains low.
Bangladesh
Sex work was formally legalised in Bangladesh in 2000 through a High Court ruling, but sex trafficking remains rampant.
Cambodia
A women-only village is changing the lives of girls and older women, through an interesting initiative from the Cambodian Children’s Fund.
China
More and more Chinese women are graduating from university, but gender discrimination puts them at a disadvantage when trying to get their first job.
In a bid to tackle the country's declining birth rate, the National Health Commission says it will focus more efforts on advocating marriage and childbirth at "appropriate ages".
News to me: China’s wine industry is apparently women-dominated!
India
A new report details poor working conditions and rampant sexual harassment faced by women in Malayalam-language cinema. But messages of solidarity and support have come largely from women - the silence of powerful men, including India's biggest and most loved stars, is deafening.
Shruti Kapila on India’s political complacency towards women’s safety.
Indonesia
Indonesia's public rail operator says it will blacklist perpetrators of sexual harassment. A 2021 survey (in which I was involved!) found that four out of five Indonesian women have experienced sexual harassment in public.
Japan
Could Japan soon have its first female PM? The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has two women in the running for its leadership: Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Economics Minister Sanae Takaichi. But this news might not be as progressive as it seems:
Having either become prime minister would seem to be a dramatic leap forward for a country which lags behind most of the world in measures of political gender equality.
However, observers say having Ms Takaichi smash the political glass ceiling would not necessarily be good for progressive issues in Japan more generally. …
She's known as a hardline conservative on social issues and often cites Margaret Thatcher, the UK's conservative "Iron Lady" prime minister from the 1980s, as an inspiration.
She opposes same-sex marriage, advocates for Japan to revise its pacifist constitution, and regularly visits the Yasukuni Shrine, which honours Japanese soldiers, including those convicted of war crimes in World War II.
A Japanese man is facing a two-year prison sentence for secretly filming 1,000 women bathing in hot springs using cameras embedded in fake rocks.
Japan’s population is aging, and the majority of its elderly are women. Among centenarians, now 90% are women.
Malaysia
Malaysian authorities have rescued hundreds of children they suspect of being physically and sexually abused in care homes linked to an Islamic business group.
Mongolia
Feminist foreign policy appears to be gaining ground in Mongolia: it just hosted the first World Women’s Forum, where women ministers from around the world gathered to discuss feminist approaches to foreign policy.
Myanmar
Myanmar journalists in exile are reportedly experiencing a wide range of workplace rights violations, including sexual harassment and gender discrimination. (via Splice Slugs)
The country’s civil war has been accompanied by the growing prevalence of non-consensual pornography and other forms of cyber-attacks on women.
A fascinating insight into women’s role in the resistance:
Comprising around 10 percent of the Mandalay Region-based resistance group’s membership, women rarely go into combat but regularly serve as administrators, trainers, medics, and drone operators.
Nepal
New research finds that Nepal’s women leaders have advocated for sustainable development pathways that focused on the environment, but their ability to effect change is often hampered by socio-cultural norms.
Pakistan
Police have arrested the key suspect in the gang rape of a female polio worker who was assaulted by three men during a public vaccination campaign.
Papua New Guinea
Pope Francis has called for the Catholic Church in Papua New Guinea to be particularly close to women who have been abused and marginalized.
Podcast Sistas Let’s Talk explores some of the ways PNG women are taking the lead on sustainability projects that benefit the community and the environment.
The Philippines
One in three people involved in illegal mining in the Philippines is female — and women are 90 times more at risk of dying on the job than men.
South Korea
Women have long campaigned for inter-Korean peace and sought to have a seat at the policymaking table, but often they are pushed to the margins or pigeonholed into gender stereotypes.
Sri Lanka
Not one of the 38 contenders in Sri Lanka's presidential election this month is a woman.
Sri Lanka's tea industry is facing a crisis amid wage hikes and tough conditions for its mostly female workers.
Thailand
Expected to legalise same-sex marriage by the end of the year, Thailand will be the first Southeast Asian country to do so, and by challenging the view that LGBTQ+ rights are a Western import, Thailand is reshaping the regional narrative.
Tonga
Tongan women aren’t legally allowed to own land. The Guardian meets some of the women pushing for change:
Under an 1875 law, women in Tonga are prohibited from owning land. The law also makes it difficult for women who marry non-Tongans to buy land together. Women can only inherit land in specific circumstances, such as when there are no male heirs, and they must remain unmarried.