Solidaritas #31
Female land rights defenders under pressure in Thailand, and how harassment is forcing Pakistani women out of university
Hello and welcome to the first issue of Solidaritas for 2020. I took January off because I was on holiday in the first half, and trying to sort out my life in the second half. Solution still pending, unfortunately.
This week, I wrote about racist anti-Chinese hoaxes about the coronavirus in Indonesia for Foreign Policy, while last week, I wrote about the Murdoch press and how it controls the debate on climate change in Australia for Al Jazeera.
Afghanistan
Remember the female Afghan pilot everyone went crazy for a few years ago? The attention got so bad that she has been forced to leave her home country and go into self-imposed exile in the US.
Australia
The ABC did an amazing deep data dive into how reports of sexual assault are handled by police across different states and territories.
Waiting times for abortion services in the Northern Territory have decreased following legal changes.
Burma
Almost 80% of human trafficking cases from Burma in 2019 involved forced marriage to Chinese men.
China
China’s extrajudicial detention of sex workers and customers, known as “custody and education”, is set to be abolished. Previously, sex workers and their clients could be detained for up to two years without trail.
In recent years, in a reversal of its infamous 'one child policy', the Chinese government has been encouraging women to have more children. Unsurprisingly, the campaigns' sexist propaganda has not working.
India
Many of the people protesting the new Indian citizenship law are first-time protesters. What's even cooler, is that many are older women.
Indonesia
Jumisih, the president of FBLP (the Inter-Factory Workers' Federation), takes a look at sexual violence against women workers.
Japan
Journalist Shiori Ito has been awarded damages of US$30,000 in a landmark rape case.
Laos
Between 2008 and 2018, at least 3,000 Lao women were tricked into moving to China. As in Burma, many were trafficked as brides.
Nepal
Nepal had its first female lawyer over 50 years ago. So why are there still so few in 2020?
The first man has been convicted of causing a women's death through the chhaupadi (menstrual hut) practice. This is huge.
Pakistan
Blackmail and sexual harassment are forcing women from university across Pakistan.
South Korea
The South Korean military has decided to discharge a soldier who had undergone gender-reassignment surgery. Byeon Hee-su said she wished to remain in the military and serve as a woman.
Taiwan
Foreign domestic workers in Taiwan are increasingly using their days off to learn new skills, writers Antonia Timmerman. Other migrant workers, meanwhile, are forced to chose between having a baby and continuing their job.
Thailand
I am in awe of the female Thai land rights defenders profiled in this SCMP piece.
The Thailand's women's T20 cricket team has scored a place in the world cup! They'll be playing in Australia this month.
Vietnam
Meet Vietnam's all-women mine clearing teams: they're working hard to clear 6.1 million hectares of explosive devices.
Marriage brokers are increasingly matching Vietnamese women with Chinese men. How successful are their attempts?
Did I miss something?
Think I overlooked a great article, or want to promote your own work/an upcoming event? Hit me up on Twitter or via email: katewalton.au@gmail.com
Thanks for reading!