Solidaritas #125
The Taliban are being taken to court for gender discrimination
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 week’s header image is of a bee in the beautiful apple blossoms in my garden.
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In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
In a unprecedented move, the Taliban are being taken to the International Court of Justice for gender discrimination by Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands.
Australia
After a lifetime of poorly-paid piecework, textile outworkers often retire without superannuation.
Anasina Gray-Barberio has become the first-ever Samoan/Pasifika woman MP to be sworn into the Victorian Parliament.
China
A resurgence of content by Chinese women for Chinese women is a sign that more are ready to engage with issues related to their rights.
India
Research shows that Indian men convicted of rape expressed attitudes including victim blaming, a sense of entitlement, and a lack of understanding of consent. So what can be done to break the cycle of sexual violence in India?
Shailaja Paik was born into the Dalit community. Now, she’s a historian, and is a recipient of the 2024 MacArthur fellowship, one of the most prestigious awards for creative and intellectual achievement — informally known as “the genius grant.”
Indonesia
Nusantara, Indonesia's ambitious new capital project, is set to advance national development but at a steep cost to Indigenous communities, and particularly Indigenous women, write researchers from BRIN, the country’s national research and innovation body.
Japan
Japan’s new prime minister Shigeru Ishiba has appointed only two women to his 20-strong cabinet:
Ishiba, who held off a challenge from a female rival to lead Japan’s ruling party last week, picked Junko Mihara to take charge of children’s policies and Toshiko Abe to oversee education, what are considered relatively low profile roles.
The main opposition, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, announced a record eight women in its 20-strong shadow cabinet.
In business, too, women are under-represented, despite a target of 30% being set by the government. Just 10.9% of managers at 27,191 companies across the country are women. The proportion rose 1.1 percentage points from last year, making 2024 the first time the figure has exceeded 10%.
Myanmar
Amid a labour shortage and high demand for clothing production, Myanmarese employers are flouting regulations limiting hours and overtime, pushing the industry’s underpaid, largely female workforce to exhaustion.
New Zealand
The New Zealand Council of Trade Unions (NZCTU) has warned that it will take until 2055 to achieve gender pay parity as it called for bolder action from the government. Its latest calculations revealed that women are paid 8.9% less than men on average.
North Korea
North Korea's young women have won their third U20 World Cup. DW delves into why the isolated state is so good at this level of the game.
Pakistan
Women working in hospitals in Pakistan say they regularly face sexual harassment, violence and verbal abuse from male colleagues, patients and their families.
How young Muslim Pakistani women are reclaiming the sari, a garment which has long been associated with Hinduism.
The Philippines
As the debate over whether to allow divorce continues, Al Jazeera looks into the costly process of marriage annulment.
Regional
Despite a substantial Nepali community in Japan, many Nepali women face significant challenges in accessing essential sexual and reproductive health services.
More than 850 million women and girls are living in countries rated as “very poor” for gender equality, says a new SDG Gender Index report. Read the full report, by Equal Measures 2030, here.
Meanwhile, the failure to educate young women adequately is costing the world US$10 trillion every year.
Sri Lanka
Although women make up more than half of Sri Lanka’s voters, no women presidential candidates were put forward in late September’s election. A new female prime minister has, however, been elected: Dr Harini Amarasuriya is an academic and activist, and has long advocated for gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights.
Thailand
Thailand has legalised same-sex marriage! This makes Thailand the first country in Southeast Asia to allow marriage equality.