Solidaritas #33
VAW still rampant in Australia, and has anything really changed post-Rana Plaza for Bangladeshi garment workers?
Afghanistan
Meet Fawzia Koofi, a female politician who has been negotiating peace talks with the Taliban.
These Afghan women killed their abusive, controlling husbands and were jailed with their children as a result. Plus, read a background piece from the photographer on what the experience was like.
Australia
A lot of the past fortnight's discussion on women's issues in Australia has revolved around the murder of Hannah Clarke and her three children by her estranged husband. Hannah's husband was a controlling man who had threatened violence against her before. A social worker wrote about what the media and general Australian gets wrong about VAW, while Julia Baird wondered why the government seems to prefer holding inquiries instead of listening to experts and acting on their advice. One small piece of good news that came out of this all is that there has been a significant surge in the number of men reaching out for help to stop their abusive behaviour.
In a separate case, in a court case successfully prosecuted by the victim because the state’s police refused to bring domestic violence charges, a man has admitted to splashing petrol on his former partner and threatening to burn their house down. In 2017 police told the victim, Dani*, that because there was “a low level of public interest” they would not bring a charge. Dani hired a barrister and prosecuted the criminal case herself.
In the regional NSW town of Wagga Wagga, women are rarely able to access abortion services due to a religious stranglehold on medical practitioners.
Madness: childcare in Australia now costs more than private school fees.
Bangladesh
How much really changed for the safety of women garment workers in Bangladesh after Rana Plaza?
Cambodia
PM Hun Sen has ordered a crackdown on 'sexy' live streamers, many of whom dress scantily in order to attract buyers for their products.
China
Simple things like menstruation have become occupational challenges for female health workers handling the COVID19 outbreak in China.
Hong Kong
HK's women are shaking off gender roles to participate in the fight for democracy.
India
Women can now head battalions in the Indian Army. I don't agree that this is a necessarily a good thing, but it's certainly an interesting development, as the Indian government has long fought against this change.
Trainee government clerks in a city in Gujarat allege they were forced to undergo gynaecological exams and pregnancy tests to prove their work fitness.
How women are changing farming in India and how this is essential for combating climate change.
Indonesia
Everyone has been rolling their eyes at the child protection commissioner who said women can get pregnant from swimming in a pool with men. She has since apologised but remains as a commissioner.
Malaysia
Meet Nenney Shushaidah, the female sharia law judge who decides if men can take a second wife. More than 1,000 Malaysian men apply to take a second (or third, or fourth) wife every year.
New Zealand
Māori women are three times more likely to be killed by their partners than non-Māori women.
The Philippines
I love this story on balikbayan boxes, the care packages that overseas Filipinos send back home to their families. (Via Erin Cook's Dari Mulut ke Mulut [where I first saw it] and Meggan at the California Sunday Magazine [who reminded me about it])
South Korea
South Korea gets its first female news anchor. Yes, really, in 2020.
A newsreader appeared on air without a bra, causing an uproar. Yim Hyun-ji had previously caused chaos in 2018 when she (gasp) wore glasses on TV.
Sri Lanka
What are the limits of a #metoo movement in Sri Lanka? Who can be involved if the movement is mostly online, urban, and in English?
Thailand
How Thailand's women's Twenty20 cricket team reached the World Cup after only 15 years since the team began. Cricket is the only sport I care about so I loved this story.
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!