Solidaritas #131
What’s holding women back from work in Sri Lanka?
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.
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In solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
The Afghanistan Women's Cricket team have played together for the first time — but really, the match was so much more than just a game of cricket.
Australia
Australia has launched its long-awaited new International Gender Equality Strategy.
An increasingly large proportion of elderly people in Australia, especially women, are languishing in poverty.
Australia’s clinical guidelines shape our health care. Why do so many still ignore sex and gender?:
Women are less likely than men to receive preventive care for heart disease, such as appropriate medication. One study … showed women admitted to hospital for a stroke were more likely to be first told by paramedics it was a migraine, headache, anxiety or nausea.
Australia’s funding of women’s health makes it a standout globally, with more than half a billion dollars in funding announced in February for women's health, including over $400 million in providing better and cheaper access to contraception and menopausal hormone therapy.
Fiji
Just four days into her new role as Fiji Rugby Union's director of rugby, Laijipa Naulivou, has been sacked for saying the women's team had a "gay problem".
India
Immense progress is being made on SDG targets in India, including on maternal and child health.
India’s Supreme Court has determined that toilets are not merely a matter of convenience, but a basic necessity and a facet of human rights. The court recognised proper sanitation as a fundamental right under Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution.
The participation of women in India’s workforce has significantly increased over the past six years, rising from 23.3% in 2017-18 to 41.7% in 2023-24.
Indonesia
Why some ride-hailing drivers from Gojek and Grab - including many women - choose not to join drivers’ mutual aid groups.
Despite being banned, dangerous chemicals such as mercury are common in beauty products sold in Indonesia. Some women are now speaking out about the issue.
An interesting one: some people are turning to online ‘loyalty test’ service providers to check whether their partners are faithful to them or not.
Mongolia
Bolor-Erdene Battsengel comes from a nomadic herder family, and now she’s trying to bring artificial intelligence to Mongolia’s traditional lifestyles.
Myanmar
Myanmar’s junta continues to list conscription-age women despite its denials that it is planning to draft females for military service.
Nepal
A wonderful photo essay on older women learning to read and write. When many of them were younger, most girls weren’t sent to school, so this is the first time they have ever had the opportunity.
A new study has found that offering hybrid training increases Nepali women’s participation.
Regional
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has thanked Cambodia’s king for granting royal pardon to 13 Filipino women who were convicted of illegally serving as surrogate mothers in the Southeast Asian kingdom.
A new study has combined natural language processing tools with expert qualitative analysis to explore the complex interplay of gender and extremist theories within online communities like 4chan.
Sri Lanka
A leftist movement in Sri Lanka that took power after an economic collapse is seizing a rare opportunity to rally more women into politics.
What’s holding women back from work in Sri Lanka?: (audio)
After the catastrophic financial crisis, early signs of stability are returning to Sri Lanka. But there’s arguably a more entrenched economic dilemma in the country that had the world’s first female prime minister - the lack of women in work.
Thailand
Thailand’s Public Health Ministry has freed up millions of baht to provide hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for 200,000 trans people in the country.
Vanuatu
This year’s national election saw just one woman elected to parliament, Marie Louise Milne. She is now calling for herself to be appointed as a minister to demonstrate that women also have an important role in politics.
Vietnam
It has now been fifty years since the Vietnam War ended, but its lost children continue to search for answers.