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Kate xo
Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s women, such as Fawzia Koofi, who has survived two assassination attempts, are determined to hold onto their rights. A new study shows that many women believe that the Taliban ‘has not changed’.
Australia
The majority of women in jail in Victoria have never been sentenced, meanwhile in Western Australia, a special mental health unit for incarcerated women has opened.
Shocking: barristers in Australia are often actively trained to belittle, blame, and shame victim-survivors of sexual violence.
An Australian couple has been found guilty of keeping a Tamil woman captive as a slave for eight years. They will serve at least three years in prison.
Bangladesh
Traffickers are increasingly using social media to lure adolescent girls.
A third of young previously-employed Bangladeshi women have lost their jobs during the pandemic.'
Cambodia
Meet the female rangers of Cambodia’s national parks.
China
Chinese-Canadian musician Kris Wu has been detained on rape charges in Beijing.
Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s sex discrimination law was recently extended to cover breastfeeding mothers, but more still needs doing to encourage breastfeeding, mothers say.
Indonesia
Sri Siti Marni was 11 years old when her aunt introduced her to a wealthy acquaintance from Jakarta who promised to take her in and pay for her schooling. Instead, Marni ended up as the family’s slave.
More and more pregnant women are falling ill and even dying from COVID-19 across Indonesia. Fortunately, the government has now announced that pregnant women can access vaccines, thanks to the advocacy of the Obstetricians’ and Gynaecologists’ Association.
Japan
Japan has ruled out allowing women to become ruling empresses, despite widespread support from the community for a change in rules. The shortage of male heirs in the family now threatens to break a succession line that can be traced back 2,000 years.
Myanmar
Meet Poe Poe, a 27-year-old student activist who is fighting against the military junta.
A climate of fear has spread across Bangladesh’s sprawling Rohingya camps as militant groups and criminal gangs compete for control, refugees and humanitarians are warning. Women refugees agree, saying it has become unbearable.
The military has detained for investigation three soldiers accused of raping and murdering a 55-year-old ethnic Kachin farmer, but the woman’s family say they fear the military’s legal system lacks the transparency to ensure justice will be served.
Nepal
Women in Baglung district are dying of pregnancy and childbirth problems because they are considered ‘inpure’ and sent to animal sheds to give birth rather than to health facilities.
Wage discrimination remains a problem for women day labourers, with the difference being as much as Rs 250 (US$2.10) between men and women for the same work.
The pandemic has been hard on women in Nepal, especially single women.
Meet the women saving Nepal’s tigers in the Terai region.
Breastfeeding is on the decline.
New Zealand
The first openly transgender athlete to compete at the Olympics, weightlifter Laurel Hubbard, was eliminated early on.
Pakistan
The family of a Noor Mukadam, a 27-year-old woman who was allegedly tortured and beheaded by Zahir Zakir Jaffer, the son of a business tycoon, have spoken of their devastation:
It’s not just our family who are grieving, but the whole of Pakistan. I have lost a daughter, but now we are fighting for all women because this could be anybody’s daughter or sister.
Pakistan’s women lawmakers have unanimously demanded public hanging of all rapists to curb rising cases of harassment and abuse of women and children in the country.
Papua New Guinea
The need for an urgent reckoning on gender-based violence in PNG.
The Philippines
The capture of the two girl children of an Indonesian terrorist couple in Sulu has shed light on how kids are brainwashed into joining the armed movement.
Samoa
Fiame Naomi Mata’afa has finally been confirmed by Samoa’s court of appeal as the country’s first female prime minister, ending the 22-year reign of the former leader.
Singapore
Aware and the PAP Youth Wing have put forward recommendations for improving the status of women in Singapore.
Regional
Women’s football is on the rise in the Pacific, with the Oceania Football Cooperation launching a women’s strategy.
South Korea
The number of women marry Korean men has more than doubled in recent years, from 120,110 in 2007 to 287,298 in 2019. But stereotypes and discrimination persists, especially for East and South Asian migrant wives, who are often considered mail order brides.
Thailand
How women migrants in Thailand are stopping trafficking and gender-based violence in their communities.