Hello! It’s Thursday. I think.
I had two articles published by Al Jazeera in the last fortnight: one on the effects of bushfire smoke on pregnant women and their babies, and one on the Australian government’s massive fee increases for humanities degrees.
As always, if you’re enjoying Solidaritas, paid subscriptions are available for US$5/month or much cheaper at US$40/year. Thank you so much for your support!
-Kate
Afghanistan
A women’s health club in Kandahar challenges conservative Afghan traditions that vilify exercise for women. Around 40% of members work out in secret at the club:
“Kandahar is a very difficult environment for women,” founder Ms. Durani said. “We have to be careful and discreet.”
She added: “The club is as much for women’s mental health as their physical health. Almost every woman who comes here is depressed.”
Australia
Can a budget shaped by male leaders hope to deliver for the women hit hardest by this recession? Annabel Crabb assesses the 2020 Australian budget.
This Canberra school is running a special program to help teenage mothers complete their year 12 education:
It's a program called CC Cares, and it is Australia's only stand-alone centre designed for pregnant and young parents, guiding them through their senior school studies and vocational training. And key to its success is a free onsite daycare facility where the young parents take turns alongside staff in minding the children.
The women over 50 who are being left behind and in poverty by the Australian government.
Australians wanting to marry foreigners will have to undergo a domestic violence check before they can apply to bring their loved ones into the country.
Australia’s overall birth rate is expected to drop further this year, but one small town is expecting a pandemic baby boom.
Bangladesh
As protests continue over a series of rapes and sexual assaults, the Bangladeshi government says it is considering the death penalty for the offenders. Related: Al Jazeera’s The Stream just had an episode on why impunity continues to surround rape cases in Bangladesh.
A female-written op-ed in The Dhaka Times looks at what it’s really like to be a woman in Bangladesh in 2020.
Burma
Trafficking fears have arisen after state-run Chinese media published a video of a Burmese woman describing in fluent Mandarin her easy, pleasant life married to a Chinese man, while sitting in their home in a rural village in Shanxi.
Rakhine State’s internet blackout is putting women at risk.
The Women’s League of Burma alleges that most female candidates being put forward in the 2020 are pure window dressing.
Brunei
Breast cancer cases are on the rise in Brunei. Sadly, around 60% are only diagnosed when the disease is already in an advanced stage.
Cambodia
More and more Cambodian women are selling their hair to earn extra income.
China
Horrific: 30-year-old blogger Lamu died after being set on fire by ex-husband.
Fiji
Fiji has one of the highest rates of gender-based violence in the world; now, it is introducing the country’s first GBV plan.
Hong Kong
There has reportedly been a 30% increase in the number of abortions requested this year compared to the same period last year in Hong Kong.
India
When all the shops closed due to the coronavirus lockdown, farming collectives became key to remaining self-sufficient for widows in Tamil Nadu.
Visit Nupi Keithel, one of the world’s largest markets run solely by women.
An Indian court has ruled that women have the right to undertake sex work:
It all comes down to female choice, according to a landmark legal ruling last month that hands a rare victory to prostitutes in a land which affords women scant sexual freedom.
"You cannot rehabilitate anyone against their will. There has to be consent," the women's lawyer Siddharth Jaiswal said.
Late last month, a 19-year-old woman died in Uttar Pradesh after reporting she'd been gang raped and brutally assaulted. The evidence backs up her story, so why do officials keep insisting she wasn't raped? Related: Why are Dalits particularly vulnerable to gendered sexual violence?
Why do women in South India have more freedom than their northern sisters?
Read the harrowing stories of three Indian trafficked brides in The Conversation.
Indonesia
Many Indonesian women who previously stayed at home to look after the house and family are now being forced to find paid work after their husbands lost their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Female baristas are on the rise: Manual speaks to Gabriella Fernanda.
More women than men are following COVID-19 health protocols.
Will we ever end violence against women in Indonesia?
How palm oil production impacts livelihood and gender roles in East Kalimantan.
Japan
The Japanese Olympic Committee will move to protect female athletes from having non-consensual photographs of a sexual nature taken while they compete.
Nepal
The number of rape and sexual assault cases reported to police continues to rise in Nepal. There were only 112 rape cases reported in the country in 1998, but last year that figure was 2,144. Now, as in Bangladesh, the Nepali government is considered the death penalty.
Three new laws are expected to dramatically reduce the frequency of acid attacks in Nepal. The laws regulate the sale of acid, require sellers to maintain a database of buyers (including their IDs), and stop the sale of acid in recycled bottles. HRW provides some background and says this is a huge victory for survivor-activists.
New Zealand
New Zealand’s upcoming general election offers a choice of two female candidates as the country’s next leader, yet there is criticism that neither have policies to address the fact that women have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.
Pakistan
Suspects have been arrested in relation to last month’s motorway gang rape of a woman in front of her children.
An 18-year-old girl was abducted and then gang-raped after being blackmailed over an "indecent" video in Punjab’s Khanpur.
The Philippines
In the Philippines, sex with a 12 year old is considered legal if it's consensual. But new laws are set to change that.
An Indonesian woman has been arrested in the Philippines under suspicion of planning a terrorist attack.
Regional
How are women around the world facing the COVID-19 pandemic? NPR’s Goats & Soda speak to 19 women about their experiences so far.
Young Pasifika businesswomen say the rise of social media means now is their time to shine.
The economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have left girls and women around the world unable to afford menstrual supplies.
Singapore
Singapore plans to offer a one-off payment to encourage couples to have a baby during the coronavirus pandemic, fearing that the economic impact of the outbreak is worsening the city state’s already low birth rate.
South Korea
The South Korean government has announced plans to reverse the blanket ban on abortions, imposed since 1953, and revise the law to permit a terminations before 14 weeks. Also covered by HRW.
On the sexualisation and objectification of female K-pop singers.
Thailand
Tired of conflict, women in southern Thailand are on the front lines of peace efforts.
Vanuatu
Meet some of the ni-Vanuatu women and men coming to Australia to pick mangoes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vietnam
Pham Doan Trang, a prominent dissident writer and blogger, has been arrested just hours after holding talks with the United States on human rights. She has been accused of carrying out anti-state activities.