30 April 2014

Stories from 30 April 2014

Kyrgyz Parliament Considers Anti-Gay Law

  30 April 2014

The parliament of Kyrgyzstan is considering a bill that criminalizes any activity seen as promoting “a positive attitude toward non-traditional sexual relations”. Very similar to Russia's anti-gay propaganda law, the bill is expected to become law soon. Meanwhile, a Kyrgyz blogger argues [ru] that the bill which is targeting the...

Bektau-Ata, Kazakhstan's “Kingdom of Unearthly Beauty”

  30 April 2014

A group of Kazakhstani bloggers recently returned from a trip to Bektau-Ata mountain tract which has been described as “a kingdom of unearthly beauty, full of grandeur and freedom”. One of the bloggers has posted a video depicting the breathtaking scenery of Bektau-Ata: Detailed photo reports from the trip can be seen...

Trinidad & Tobago: The Implications of Style

  30 April 2014

When you see your reflection, are you seeing you or an amalgamation of your racial, historical and social complications? Tillah Willah blogs about the “self-schism that exists [and the] ways that this affects [her] as a black woman living in the west.”

Puerto Rican feminist organization Taller Salud Celebrates 35 years

  30 April 2014

The feminist grassroots organization Taller Salud [es] (@tsalud), which focuses on education and prevention in the areas of sexual and reproductive rights in Puerto Rico, is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Thirty-five years of hard work and struggle. The organization now works mostly with women and girls in the northeastern coastal town of...

Fighting “Breast Ironing” in Cameroon

  30 April 2014

Josiane Kouagheu wrote a passionated blog post [fr] against breast ironing [fr] practice in Cameroon: Je n’ai jamais voulu parler de ce sujet trop sensible. Il me touche. Dans tous les sens, j’ai trop de victimes autour de moi. J’ai voulu me taire. Mais, que faire quand autour de toi, la télé, Internet,...

When Will Impunity End for Slave Traders in Mauritania ?

  30 April 2014

A protest coordinated by several Mauritanian civil society organizations and political parties was held on April 29, 2014 in Nouakchott. The protest was initiatied by members of Haratin tribe who demand more rights and the enforcement of existing laws. This protest marks the first anniversary of the Haratin Manifesto [fr].  The...

VIDEO: Serbian Child Prodigy's Drawings Stun the Art World

  30 April 2014

Dušan Krtolica is an 11-year-old artist from Belgrade that has taken the local and regional art world by storm with his exquisitely detailed pen and pencil drawings of complex animals, dinosaurs, knights, and people. Mainstream media in Serbia, and now other countries, discovered Dušan in February of 2014, but the...

Fans in Skopje Gather to Exchange Football Stickers

  30 April 2014

Hundreds of people gathered on Sunday afternoon in a downtown park in Skopje to exchange stickers of the official Football FIFA World Cup album on April 28, 2014. In Macedonia, as in other countries of the former Yugoslavia, the tradition of collecting stickers is decades long, dating back at least...

China: Party Mouthpiece Urges Not to Use Non-Chinese Words

  30 April 2014

The Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece People’s Daily has been advocating the public to stop the direct use of non-Chinese words such as “iPhone” and “Wi-fi” in the Chinese language. Anthony Tao from Beijing Cream compared such attitude with autism.