Stories about Women & Gender from July, 2010
Egypt: Do Egyptians have a natural aversion towards women?
Do Egyptians have a natural aversion towards women? Zeinobia is very unhappy with this emerging social trend, Mohaly is wondering where we are going with segregation, Diptychal wonders why they want to shut them up, and Eman Hashim is begging mothers to love their daughters!
Haiti: Displaced Women and Girls Victims of Gender Violence
In the aftermath of the devastating Haiti earthquake, women and girls are still facing gender violence, as some of them not only experience rape, but then have to face an absent judicial system and less than adequate medical care.
Costa Rica: 60 Years of the Female Vote
Harolds Blog mentions [es] that 60 years ago, on July 30, 1950, women in Costa Rica were allowed to vote for the first time. Today, Costa Rica has a female president, Laura Chinchilla.
Vietnam: Pale skin and beauty
Reacting to the uproar in India over a Facebook app which allows users to lighten their skin color, Andy Engelson observes that the idea of equating pale skin with beauty is also strong in Vietnam.
Venezuela: Allies in Technology, Women Who are Not Afraid of Mice
Venezuelan NGO Aliadas en Cadena (Allies in Chains) created the group Aliadas en Tecnología (Allies in Technology) to promote the use of technology to empower women affected by poverty. Through classes and workshops, many women who saw computers as strange and intimidating objects now find in them a tool for work, learning and self-fulfillment.
Israel: Rape by Deceit or Racism?
The recent conviction of rape by deceit of an Arab posing as a Jew to seduce a Jewish woman to engage in sexual intercourse has sparked conversations across the Hebrew blogosphere about the dire inequality between Jews and Arabs living in Israel. Gilad Lotan translates some of the reactions from Hebrew.
Trinidad & Tobago: Types of Discrimination
gspottt applauds new Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar for acknowledging that discrimination “includes, but is certainly not limited to, racial bias.”
Bhutan: Equality For Women
Cho at Writers Association Of Bhutan Blog advocates for equality for women in Bhutanese societies and comments: “sad to say but sexism in Bhutan starts from homes and parents yell at their daughters for not cooking a delicious meal till she finally perfects it.”
Iraq: Ban on topless women?
After France imposed a ban on the veil, Iraqi Layla Anwar tweeted: “I am looking forward to see a ban on topless Western tourists on Muslim countries beaches…”
India: Should Prostitution be legalized?
Delhizen raises an old debate: should prostitution be legalized in India?
Pakistan: The Perils Of Travelling Alone
Tazeen at A Reluctant Mind talks about the perils of a single Pakistani woman traveling alone.
Pakistan: Girls Harassed on Cell Phones
Mohammad Yusha at Chowrangi talks about a new menace in Pakistan – girls are being harassed on cell phones and an website listed cellphone numbers of some girls to aid that.
Egypt: Niqab ban in France stirs controversy
The lower house of the Spanish Parliament is debating a proposal to prohibit the wearing of body-covering burqas and face-covering niqabs in all public spaces in Spain, and the French parliament just approved a ban on niqabs (face veils). Bloggers from across the Middle East react.
India: Fair, Lovely and Facebooked
A new Facebook app has been creating some controversy in India. The app lets users lighten the skin colour on their profile pictures. Bloggers discuss the complexity of the issue especially the fact that the app is targeting men instead of women.
Blog Carnival: Colombia, Women and the Web – A Summary
There seems to be a concern among Colombian women about defending their rights and about increasing the number of women who can use the Internet and new media to express themselves and take advantage of the benefits this medium offers, like other women do in other countries. This is evident after going over 21 posts submitted for the first carnival of blogs organized by Global Voices in Spanish: Blog Carnival: Colombia, Women on the Web. Take a look at what these bloggers had to say.
Mexico: Women Sent to Jail in Guanajuato for Spontaneous Abortions
Ximena Vega reports [es] on the ongoing incarceration of women who go through spontaneous abortions (miscarriages) in Guanajuato; she writes that women who have abortions (spontaneously or otherwise) can get an average of 27 years in jail. This has been going on for years, as an article from Human Rights Watch from 2006...
India: Sexual Assault Prevention Tips
Indian Homemaker compiles a list of sexual assault prevention tips guaranteed to work.
South Korea: A National Mourning on A Vietnamese Bride's Death
A young Vietnamese bride was killed by her Korean husband in Korea. Korean bloggers express their condolences to the tragic death of a young wife while urging the government to eradicate the human rights's blindspot, the foreign wives.
Israel: Conviction of “rape by deceit”
Sabar Kashur, an Arab resident of East Jerusalem, was charged with rape for posing as a Jewish bachelor in order to seduce a woman. He has been convicted to 18 months prison. His conviction has proved controversial with many outraged at the judge's decision; others feel it is the correct application of the law. In this post, Katharine Ganly presents some of these opinions.
South Korea: Modernizing Traditional Korean Clothes
James Turnbull from the Grand Narratives blogs about the recent fashion trend in modernizing traditional Korean clothes.
Azerbaijan: Caucasus Women
CauCasuSWomaN takes a look at the rights of men and women in Azerbaijan (and the Caucasus) in the context of actual attitudes to gender and says that education is key to changing existing values and perceptions.