Solidaritas #129
Cambodia pardons Filipina women found guilty of surrogacy for foreigners
Good afternoon! Welcome to the first issue of Solidaritas for 2025.
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 Vila, Vanuatu, where I went for a short work trip late last year, just a fortnight before it was devastated by a huge earthquake. You can donate to recovery efforts here.
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 Taliban have said they will forcibly close all national and foreign NGOs employing women in Afghanistan.
A horrifying story of how Afghanistan’s ‘morality police’ work. The Guardian tells the story of 19-year-old Samira, who was arrested at work in Kabul – and then forced marry her 42-year-old already-married employer.
Malala Yousafzai has urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban and its repressive policies for girls and women:
"Simply put, the Taliban in Afghanistan do not see women as human beings," she told an international summit hosted by Pakistan on girls education in Islamic countries.
Ms Yousafzai told Muslim leaders there was "nothing Islamic" about the Taliban's policies which include preventing girls and women from accessing education and work.
Afghanistan shows what investing in women’s education – or divesting – can do to an economy. This is evidenced by what happened following the fall of the Taliban in 2001, a big part of the country’s economic progress in this period can be attributed to women, as with every additional year of schooling an Afghan woman received, her earnings increased 13%.
The Afghanistan women's cricket side will play an exhibition match in Melbourne this month. ABC Radio speaks to team member Firooza Amiri, who had to burn her cricket kit before she fled with her family across the world to Australia at the age of 18.
Australia
Australian women spend more of their money on health care than men. The Conversation takes a look at why, and finds it’s not just ‘women’s issues’ at play.
China
More than 90 percent of the 195 professional e-sports clubs in China are exclusively for men, but women e-sports players are persisting.
Controversy erupted in China in December after sanitary pad manufacturers were discovered to have been consistently producing pads shorter than indicated on the packaging.
How can China’s renewables sector take steps towards achieving gender equality?
India
Women are often missing from high-level platforms on climate justice, such as COP. Mongabay takes a look at several Indian initiatives trying to strengthen women’s voice and participation.
Camera traps and drones deployed by government authorities to monitor a forest in India are infringing on the privacy and rights of local women, enabling men to watch and keep track of women from afar.
What’s the story behind India’s persistently lower female workforce participation rate?
Indonesia
Against the backdrop of the global COVID-19 pandemic, a surge in online gender-based violence against journalists, particularly women, became a growing concern in Indonesia. ABC has released a new report (in both English and Indonesian) investigating women journalists’ experience.
Acid attacks against women in Indonesia, often following the breakup of a relationship, have led to calls for tightening the sales of chemicals.
Activists and academics are increasingly focusing on femicide in Indonesia, exploring both why it happens and what can be done about it.
Myanmar
Justice Matters (audio) speaks with human rights defender Wai Wai Nu and her colleague Hana Seita about their work in Myanmar. Wai Wai Nu spent seven years as a political prisoner and upon her release founded the Women’s Peace Network.
Nepal
Women in Nepal seeking justice for domestic violence or property often wait more than five and sometimes even ten years for the court to resolve their cases fully. The delays in case processing come at a cost to the women, who endure more harassment, financial strain, and loss of contact with their children.
Papua New Guinea
What it’s like to be a journalist reporting on sorcery accusation-related violence in PNG.
Media specialist and GBV activist Hennah Joku was arrested, charged with two counts of breaching the National Cybercrimes Act, detained in Boroko Prison, and then freed after posting bail, all in the space of the same day following defamation complaints filed by her former partner. Hennah was assaulted by her then-partner in 2018, and he was found guilty and jailed for the attack in 2023.
Regional
Across the world, deepfake porn is targeting women politicians.
Cambodia has pardoned 13 Philippine women who were jailed over a surrogacy scheme for foreigners. The women had previously been sentenced to four years in prison but have now been returned to Manila.
South Korea
A woman animator received death threats after posting the trailer of a game she designed online, because men thought she had included a feminist gesture.
Sri Lanka
For the first time, women represent more than 10 per cent of seats in Sri Lanka’s Parliament.
Taiwan
Guidelines recently released by the Taiwanese Ministry of Labor to better inform female migrant workers who are pregnant or have young children about their rights in Taiwan have drawn mixed responses from civic groups.
Thailand
Former PM Thaksin Shinawatra has come under heavy criticism for delivering a racially tinged speech where he allegedly said Thai women struggle to become supermodels despite looking better than Africans.
Timor-Leste
2024 was a pivotal year in Timor-Leste’s fight against cervical cancer. The country made life-saving health services more accessible, reducing the need for long, arduous travel, and rolling out HPV vaccination for girls.
Vanuatu
Seven women are standing for election in this week’s national election.
Violence against women has increased in Vanuatu after a magnitude 7.3 earthquake devastated the country's capital, Port Vila, last month, according to police.
Vietnam
The owner of a Ho Chi Minh City restaurant that is exclusively for foreigners has been arrested amid allegations of facilitating prostitution.