Solidaritas #89
NGOs cease activities in Afghanistan, cannot continue without their female staff
Good morning, and welcome back to Solidaritas after I took three weeks off for the Christmas/New Year break. Much needed, I must say. I hope you are all feeling as refreshed as I am. Header image this week from a recent visit to an alpaca farm. Why? Because they’re cute. 🦙🦙
Solidaritas is a fortnightly newsletter about women’s rights, feminism, and gender in Asia and the Pacific, covering the entirety of this huge region: from Afghanistan and Pakistan in the west to Kiribati and Cook Islands in the east.
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Cheers,
- Kate
Afghanistan
Horrifying news: former female MP Mursal Nabizada has been shot dead in her Kabul home. Nabizada was one of the few former parliamentarians who stayed after the Taliban takeover.
Girls and women who formally played sports posed for an AP photographer for portraits with the equipment of the sports they loved, hiding their identities with burqas. An excellent photo essay.
Several major NGOs have had to stop work in Afghanistan because they cannot continue without their female staff, who have been banned from working by the Taliban. The NGOs include Care International, Norwegian Refugee Council, Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, and Islamic Relief. Since this article was published in late December, 15% of NGOs in Afghanistan have paused work and 68% have significantly reduced operations.
Australia
The National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Quality and Safeguards Commission has revealed thousands of reports of sexual misconduct, injury, abuse and neglect in disability group homes.
China
China's authorities are quietly rounding up people who protested against COVID rules; many of them are women.
Something a bit different: Nisa Leung has invested in over 30 of China’s healthcare giants. Underlying her prolific track record is her goal to solve as many incurable diseases as possible.
Tao Huabi's Lao Gan Ma chilli sauce is a beloved household staple but will her Chinese success story continue?
Fiji
The declining number of women representatives in Parliament is a worrying trend, says Fiji’s Speaker of Parliament. Just six women were sworn in as parliamentarians last December, four less than the 10 that were in Parliament in 2018.
India
Even in schemes meant to help them, Dalit women face discrimination.
For as little as US$35, Indian women and girls are being trafficked across the country to locations such as Kashmir, where they are sold and forcibly married.
A decade after the rape and murder of Nirbhaya, not much has changed:
Changes in the law notwithstanding, Delhi was and still is synonymous with being an unsafe city for women. In fact, the city witnessed a 40 percent spike in crime against women in 2020-2021. Whether it is rape, assault, abduction, or kidnapping, Delhi ranks the highest in all these violent crimes among all metros in the country.
Indonesia
Gender equality was a key aspiration of the popular movements that led to the toppling of Indonesia’s authoritarian New Order regime 24 years ago. The years following the fall of Suharto, known as reformasi, have brought gains for women. But progress has been mixed, argues Kathryn Robinson.
Under the new criminal code ratified late last year, rights groups fear more women will be forced to marry their rapists to escape prosecution and transgender women worry they could be arrested for living with their unmarried partners.
Japan
Japan has the highest share of childless women in their fifties of all developed countries. It is estimated that for women born in the year 2000, between 32% and 39% will remain childless.
Malaysia
In 2021, Malaysia has recorded its highest maternal mortality rate in decades: in 2021, the country recorded 300 pregnancy-related deaths, or a maternal mortality ratio of 68.2 for 100,000 live births. This is more than double the figure of the previous year.
H&M Malaysia fitting rooms are being used to make illegal video recordings of female customers trying on clothes, before being made available for purchase on Twitter.
Terengganu state has passed new laws that will punish Muslim women for out-of-wedlock pregnancies and for behaving and dressing like men.
Myanmar
Women play a crucial role in the armed resistance against the Myanmar junta, even if most are kept away from the front lines and given little say in decision-making.
Pakistan
A court in Pakistan has freed a convicted rapist after he agreed to marry his victim:
Dawlat Khan, 25, had been sentenced to life imprisonment in May by the district court of Buner, in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, for the rape of a young deaf woman.
After an intervention by the area jirga, or council of elders, a deal was struck between Khan and the family of the woman, who had a child as a result of the attack.
“The parties have patched up the matter by the intervention of the relative and elder of the family members, which is in the best interest of the parties. The compromise was affected in the best interest of the child and his mother being a special person,” read the court document.
Recent catastrophic floods worsened Pakistan’s already severe menstrual health problems, but because of the topic’s taboo status, few are willing to even discuss the issue.
Singapore
Women dominate mathematical science courses in Singapore's universities, but few persevere in the field after graduation. Why? It turns out that a key factor in the equation is confidence.
South Korea
South Korea has announced it will consider a domestic fund to compensate Koreans enslaved by Japanese companies before the end of World War II, but victims argue that compensation should come from Japan instead.
Thailand
In Thailand’s south, women community leaders are key to resolving the long-standing conflict, using food and education as tools for peace, yet they are frequently left out from decision-making positions.
Tonga
Is migrating overseas for work shifting Tongan gender norms?