Solidaritas #41
Indonesian domestic workers' bill under threat, brave midwives in Afghanistan, and a shocking case of GBV in PNG
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-Kate
Afghanistan
Midwives at Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar are fighting to continue providing services to pregnant women despite growing threats and acts of violence against them.
Poetry societies are helping Afghan women express themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Australia
Almost one in 10 Australian women in a relationship have experienced domestic violence during the pandemic. Two-thirds say the attacks started or became worse since COVID-19 began.
A 39-year-old woman from the WA town of Kambalda, 600km from Perth, has been found guilty of infanticide, 25 years after she killed her newborn baby. The sentencing revealed the woman was a victim of sexual abuse by her stepfather.
Something I had no idea was the case: transgender women are still jailed in men’s prisons across Australia.
Since the pandemic began, temporary Medicare rebates for telehealth appointments have included consultations for early medical abortion. The rebate is set to expire in September but advocates are arguing it should continue. At the same time, these drugs remain unaffordable and inaccessible for many women, indicating that the situation is incredibly complex and requires serious attention to resolve.
Umber Rind is an Indigenous Muslim woman descended from cameleers. A fascinating story.
Bangladesh
A really interesting look at how fans of celebrities (in this case, Kylie Jenner) could lead to improvements in garment factory workers’ rights.
Burma
Meet Nandar, the creator of the Feminist Talks podcast. “I have a large following of young girls and I want to make sure they understand women’s issues. Boys too,” Nandar told Splice. She sounds awesome.
China
Mei Fong asks: if China’s one-child policy was designed to boost economic growth and benefit citizens, why is Beijing actively suppressing reproduction among Uighurs when the country’s birth rate has plunged to its lowest in 70 years?
Hong Kong
An HK employers group have said that foreign domestic workers should not receive a salary when they undergo mandatory quarantine after arriving in the country. Their bizarre argument is that the women are not working during the two weeks.
India
Will COVID-19 lead to a rise in child marriage in India? It may already be happening, with parents losing their jobs and seeing child marriage as a potential solution to reduce the economic burden on their families.
There has reportedly been a surge in unsafe abortions due to women being unable to access family planning and termination services during the pandemic.
Women are becoming more visible on the frontlines of protests in Kashmir.
International fashion houses like H&M have seen a huge drop in purchases, so their factories have begun laying off millions of garment workers. The workers are now protesting.
Indonesia
Transgender women still face huge challenges in accessing education in Indonesia, particularly higher education.
RUU PKS, the Draft Law on Eliminating Sexual Violence, is stalled yet again, with Parliament dropping it from the 2020 list of priority bills. So why are we still advocating for its ratification? Because women are groped even within view of the Parliament building itself.
More bad news on the legal front: Parliament may not ratify the Draft Law on Protecting Domestic Workers, which has been stuck in limbo for 16 years.
Victims of gender-based violence are having major difficulties accessing services during the pandemic, with government-run shelters shut and NGOs struggling under the increased number of women needing helping.
A Frenchman was facing the death penalty for sexually abusing hundreds of Indonesian children. He has since been found dead in his jail cell, allegedly after committing suicide.
Japan
A podcast from the Japan Times takes a look at the case to legalize same-sex marriage in Japan.
Malaysia
Hospital cleaners have been protesting (and arrested for doing so) in Malaysia, outraged at how poorly they’re being treated during the pandemic.
Papua New Guinea
Heart-breaking. A man murdered his partner, 19-year-old mother of two Jenelyn Kennedy, in Port Moresby, and women are protesting to end PNG’s massive VAW problem. The government has since amended the Criminal Code to increase the penalty for willful murder to life imprisonment, but experts say this won’t make a different at the village level, where traditional norms and punishments are more commonly followed than national law.
Relatedly, analysis from the latest Demographic and Health Survey shows that 56% of women and girls have experienced physical violence by age 15.
The Philippines
A baby boom may be headed for the Philippines, with thousands of women unable to continue their regular family planning due to COVID-19 lockdowns.
Singapore
A record 40 women ran for office in last week’s elections.
Vietnam
Fascinating: Dao Minh Khang is a Vietnam’s first transgender dad. He halted his hormone therapy last year, and ended up falling pregnant to his partner, a transgender woman. Their baby girl was born in May.
Vietnam may have avoided any deaths from COVID-19, but their VAW situation is a different story.