ARYANA KHALILZADEH WRITES – The major headline out of Iran the past week was not about the ongoing nuclear talks, but the continued struggle of Iranian women fighting for gender equality. The final match of the World Cup qualification between Iran and Lebanon was held in the holy city of…
Full Article IRAN: LET FEMALE SOCCER FANS HAVE FUN
CADY ABE WRITES – Disney Pixar’s newest movie, “Turning Red”, premiered on March 11, 2022, on Disney Plus. The new animated film, directed by Domee Shi, brilliantly shines with themes of women empowerment and Asian American representation. “Turning Red” is the first Disney animated movie to have an Asian woman as head…
Full Article MOVIE REVIEW: “TURNING RED” (2022) – DISNEY PIXAR CHIPPING AWAY AT THE BAMBOO AND GLASS CEILING
ETHAN PATRICK WRITES – As part of a new co-sanctioned golf series, the Asian male and female Tour and Ladies European Tour have announced the creation of two mixed-gender tournaments that will be set to take place in April of 2022. The tournaments will be held on the Waterside Course…
Full Article SOUTH KOREA: WILL MIXED-GENDER GOLF TOURNAMENTS IMPROVE EQUALITY IN SPORTS?
GABY RUSLI WRITES — “You can turn her into a prostitute and take the money she earns for as long as she lives,” said the old man. “Or, if there’s no man who wants to be with her, you can chop her up into bits and sell her flesh at…
Full Article BOOK REVIEW: BEAUTY IS A WOUND (2002) BY EKA KURNIAWAN – A TRAGIC STORY OF INDONESIA’S EARLY YEARS
BADER ZAINAL WRITES — On April 20, Farah Hamza Akbar was killed in broad daylight after turning down the marriage proposal of the perpetrator. In another tragic killing, Fatima Al Ajmi was shot dead by her brother, who felt hate and anger because she had married someone outside of their…
Full Article KUWAIT: A WOMEN’S MOVEMENT ARISES FROM THE ASHES OF MALE VIOLENCE
KIANA KARIMI WRITES – “Who lives, who dies, who tells your stories?” The refrain from the American Musical Hamilton encapsulates the fears of Afghans as the Taliban once again usurped power. A crescendo of terror stupefied all as the Taliban quickly bludgeoned their way to Kabul following the withdrawal of…
Full Article AFGHANISTAN: THE WITHDRAWAL WAS A MESS. BUT BIDEN’S SUDDEN MOVE IS MORE RIGHT THAN WRONG
LAMA ALTAHER WRITES – On April 19, 2021, the brutal murder of Farah Hamza Akbar offered a watershed moment to grapple with the country’s discriminatory laws against women. A Kuwaiti woman was killed by a man against whom she had previously filed two cases for harassment which followed her family’s…
Full Article KUWAIT: WOMEN’S RIGHTS FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE
SHAE KUROKAWA WRITES — In response to the recent shooting rampage in Georgia, in which three Asian spas were targeted and six Asian women were killed, investigators have begun to theorize that the massacre was not motivated by rising hate towards Asian Americans generated by the coronavirus. Instead, they say,…
Full Article ASIAN AMERICANS: UNDERSTANDING THE SEXUALIZED HISTORY OF ASIAN WOMEN
LIAM ROGERS WRITES — Afghanistan has been an unfriendly place for women. During the 1996-2001 Taliban rule, women were not allowed to attend school, work, leave their homes without men, or show skin in public. The 2018 Academy Award Nominee, The Breadwinner, featured a beautifully horrific presentation of this reality.…
Full Article AFGHANISTAN: WITH THE WITHDRAWAL OF AMERICAN TROOPS, ARE WOMEN LEFT BEHIND?
*For the protection of all parties involved (as well as a request from the interviewee herself), all names and identifiable information have been redacted. The interview was conducted virtually via FaceTime to comply with CDC and CDPH Health Guidelines for COVID-19. **Trigger Warning: This article recounts the interviewee’s experiences of…
Full Article INTERVIEW: MADAM VIOLET, A STORY OF SURVIVAL AND TRIUMPH OVER SOUTH KOREA’S SEX TRAFFICKING EPIDEMIC
MANAGING EDITOR ZHI JIAO DANIELLE GOH WRITES – With the recent international headlines about a Beijing divorce case ruling in which a man was ordered to pay his ex-wife for years of housework, now is perhaps a good time to reflect on the recent rise of feminism in China. 2020…
Full Article CHINA: CHINESE FEMINISM AT HIGH TIDE
TALIN DEROHANESSIANS WRITES — It’s no surprise that women in Japan are held to strict beauty and dress standards. Now they have been banned from wearing glasses to work. Working women already must follow a strict dress code, including high heels, which sparked the #KuToo movement. According to the Vision Council…
Full Article WITH OR WITHOUT GLASSES, ASIA’S WOMEN HAVE THEIR OWN VISION
ANDREA PLATE WRITES – Let us all breathe a sigh of relief. Tuesday’s U.S. Senate confirmation hearings (July 30) into the matter of Air Force General John Early Hyten’s fitness to serve as Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff was not a #MeToo mobbing – thanks to Martha…
Full Article SOCIAL JUSTICE: SENATOR MCSALLY ON THE ASSAULTIVE QUESTION OF WOMEN IN THE MILITARY
By Asia Media Staff — Rapper Nicki Minaj is a humanitarian. Did you know that? She didn’t, until recently. After “careful reflection,” Minaj told the Associated Press, she has pulled out of her much anticipated headline appearance at the Jeddah World Fest in Saudi Arabia July 18. “While I want…
Full Article Saudi Arabia: Nicki Minaj’s Rap Against Appearing at the Jeddah World Fest
ABDULMOHSEN Al JUMA WRITES– South Korea is undergoing a measure of major social upheaval with regard to how women are treated in the country. Change has been catalyzed mainly by a myriad of scandals that rocked the country over the past year. Despite having the 11th largest economy in the…
Full Article South Korea: Another Battleground for the Feminist Movement
SARAH Al-MUWAD WRITES– Is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the fifth largest country in Asia, actually working towards female empowerment? And is this to advance the kingdom’s international reputation, which has recently taken a huge hit? The answer is yes. On February 23, history was made when the Kingdom of…
Full Article Saudi Arabia: What Can A Princess Fix?