Solidaritas #126
European Court of Justice: gender and nationality are sufficient grounds to grant asylum to Afghan women
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 Goroka Market in the Highlands of PNG. Apologies for the lack of newsletter last fortnight; I’ve had a lot on.
If you like Solidaritas, I’d be thrilled if you chose to support this newsletter by becoming a free or paid subscriber (just US$/5month!):
In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
The European Court of Justice has ruled that gender and nationality alone are sufficient grounds for a country to grant asylum to women from Afghanistan.
Australia
Australia’s birth rate has fallen to 1.5 children per woman. This is the lowest it has ever been.
Bangladesh
An arrest warrant has been issued for ex-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Is it possible that she could be extradited from India to face trial?
Cambodia
Cambodian authorities have circulated photos of a handcuffed domestic worker who was deported from Malaysia after calling her country’s former leader Hun Sen “despicable.”
China
Chinese women born after 1990 have on average a higher education level than their husbands, a new study has found.
A court has upheld the death sentence for a woman who trafficked more than a dozen children in the 1990s.
India
Family members of 14-year-old Dalit girl say she was raped and murdered. As they seek justice, social tensions erupt in their village.
Why entrepreneurship is key to increasing women’s labour participation in India.
Indonesia
A man has been charged after allegedly selling his child on Facebook for the equivalent of about $1,450 to buy two mobile phones and fund online gambling. His wife was working in Jakarta at the time. Mum and child have since been reunited.
Japan
Two out of three surveyed women support the idea that women should be able to keep their own surname or combine it with their husbands. Japanese law currently requires women to change their surname to their husband’s after marriage.
A record number of 73 women were elected to Japan’s Lower House on 28 October, which is 28 more women than in the last election in 2021. The percentage of women holding seats is now 15.7%, compared to 9.7% back in 2021.
Malaysia
Malaysia's parliament has voted to change the constitution to allow women to pass their nationality to children born overseas amid a protracted legal battle between a group of mothers and the government.
Maldives
As countries in the Global South cope with financial stress and some struggle with serious financial crises leading to reliance on IMF recovery programs, how can nations work towards a more gender-sensitive and economically inclusive recovery? Here’s a look at the Maldives.
Myanmar
Even Myanmar’s pro-democracy movement struggles with all-male panels (manels). Ying Lao has called out the movement for its frequent manels, arguing that the exclusion of women from such discussions is hurting the cause.
New Zealand
When men were away at sea for weeks at a time, a community developed on Stewart Island that was led by women. Today, that way of life continues and thrives.
Pakistan
A new all-women policing program called Pink Wheels has been launched in Punjab to tackle violence against women.
Papua New Guinea
On women’s leadership and foreign aid.
The Philippines
Former followers of arrested Filipino televangelist Apollo Carreon Quiboloy confronted him in a Senate hearing last week, accusing him of repeatedly abusing them sexually by portraying the assaults as their religious duty to the “appointed son of God.”
Regional
Thirteen pregnant Philippine women accused of illegally acting as surrogate mothers in Cambodia after being recruited online may face prison terms after they give birth. Commercial surrogacy was banned in Cambodia in 2016.
Legal protection against domestic violence has only become widespread in recent years. A handy graph.
A new cervical cancer treatment regime reduces the risk of dying from the disease by up to 40%.
What is the standing of women's rugby in the Pacific right now, and how much progress is being made by those countries where the sport is still at the development stage?
Solomon Islands
Women are being ‘sold’ into marriages with foreign workers in logging areas under the guise of bride price.
The only female meteorologist in Solomon Islands sells the dream to young women interested in the field.
South Korea
Han Kang won the Nobel Prize for Literature. She is the first South Korean author and 18th woman to win the prize.
Weak protections in cases of sexual violence, whether physical or digital, and deeply entrenched misogyny in society create a toxic environment for Korean women. Now, deepfake porn is becoming another part of the problem.
Sri Lanka
Having a woman as national leader is no guarantee of gender equality, as Sri Lanka’s case demonstrates.
Vietnam
This article is from May, but I only just found it: it looks at new research on the stigma women face living with HIV in Vietnam.