Good morning! I just got back from a weekend in Melbourne, so apologies for the slightly delay in this issue. Happy Monday. Grab a coffee or tea and have a read.
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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Love and solidarity,
- Kate
Afghanistan
Women lawyers have been all but wiped out by the Taliban (via
Women have undoubtedly borne the brunt of efforts to target and marginalize those in the legal profession. The Taliban have attempted to effectively ban all women from participating in the legal system. These de facto authorities removed more than 260 women judges – more than 10 percent of the bench – and women lawyers have been deprived of permission to practice law via a discriminatory relicensing process open only to men. Under grave threat, many women judges fled the country or remain in hiding.
In pictures: a look back at the tragedy of 2022 for Afghanistan’s women.
Australia
A landmark national inquiry focusing on disproportionately high rates of missing and murdered Indigenous women and children is underway.
Bangladesh
Persecution of Hindus in Muslim-dominated Bangladesh remains a significant problem. A report released by a Hindu organisation found that 39 Hindu women were raped and another 27 gang raped in 2022, among other atrocities.
China
A new generation of dissidents—including many artists and writers—arrested after demonstrations against pandemic lockdowns is fueled by anger over a clampdown on freedoms and attacks on women’s rights.
Unmarried people will be able to have as many children as they want and enjoy benefits reserved for married couples in the province of Sichuan, which has unveiled its latest effort to bolster a falling birth rate.
A video of a blind dating event in eastern China where more than 20 men scrambled with each other to meet a woman has highlighted the country’s gender imbalance and the difficulty men face seeking a relationship.
India
How hockey is giving rural Indian women new status, with the World Cup being held in Odisha transforming the game into a respectable career option.
Meet all-female rap group, Wild Wild Women.
Indonesia
A recent study by Indonesia’s biggest daily newspaper, Kompas, showed that nearly 200 out of about 500 coastal cities and districts are at risk of being submerged by 2050. In one village in Bengkulu, the women have decided to fight back, forming a climate resilience advocacy group.
Is progress on the draft law on domestic workers’ protection finally happening?? Looks like it.
Indonesia’s first female superhero, Sri Asih, is back.
Japan
PM Fumio Kishida says Japan is on the brink of not being able to function as a society because of the state’s falling birth rate.
Related: meet the men tasked with empowering Japan’s women.
Positively, a pharmaceutical advisory body linked with the health ministry has expressed they have no objection to the manufacturing and marketing of an abortion pill, bringing the medication a step closer to becoming the first of its kind to gain approval in the country.
Malaysia
Breast cancer is the leading cause of death for women in Malaysia, responsible for 34% of all deaths.
Myanmar
Two years into military rule, women remain at the forefront of Myanmar’s resistance.
Meanwile, women who express views on social media opposing military rule are subjected to abuse, including calls for their arrest and threats of violence, rape and death by pro-military online users, a study has found.
New Zealand
International fave Jacinda Arden has resigned as PM. Take a listen to what she achieved and will be leaving behind as her legacy. (via
Related: In seemingly different settings, Jacinda Ardern and Nancy Pelosi confronted much the same challenges.
Also, while NZ’s new PM is a white man, the new deputy PM is Carmel Sepuloni, a Pasifika woman - the country’s first to hold the position. She’s the daughter of a Samoan-Tongan abbatoir worker and a white fruit picker.
Nepal
Nepal’s constitution states that at least one third of elected representatives in federal parliament must be women. In reality, male candidates are always prioritised over female candidates, as Nepal uses a first-past-the-post system like the UK, resulting in few women being successfully elected. In response, the Election Commission is drafting a bill to increase women’s candidacy.
On the rise of female mountain guides in Nepal.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s textile industry is in crisis, with widespread layoffs - over 7 million workers are thought to have lost their jobs since the beginning of the pandemic - and eroded rights. Parveen Latif of the Women’s Workers’ Alliance explains the situation and why protests are now taking place.
It’s been 25 years since Australia first hosted the Pakistani women’s cricket team. Look at this fantastic team photo from 1997:
South Korea
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family recently announced plans to revise its legal definition of rape to include nonconsensual sex. But within hours, South Korea’s Justice Department rejected the plan. HRW takes a look.
The rise of the K-drama heroine and how women’s roles are presented is changing.
Sri Lanka
In 1983, civil war brought Sri Lanka’s flourishing batik industry to an abrupt halt. It’s never really recovered, but some female artisans are keeping the art alive.
Taiwan
The number of female local government heads in Taiwan reached a historic high of 56.3 percent after the 2022 local elections.
Vanuatu
Celebrating thirty years of the Vanuatu Women’s Centre.