(This is the sixth in an original series about new wave feminist writers in Korea whose work has started to reach English language readers via superb translations.) ANDREA PLATE WRITES — Imagine this book as a movie: “Silence of the Lambs” meets “Thelma and Louise.” The Law of Lines (Arcade…
YUXIN ZHOU WRITES — On April 2, the Chinese TV drama series “All is Well” ended. The show was about a typical Chinese family, in which, yes, (as the title suggests) all is well. Is it? While the show features an ordinary Chinese family, in one episode Mingyu (played by…
NAWAF Al-SABAH WRITES– Rahaf Al-Qunun captured international attention at the beginning of the year as she sought to escape her allegedly abusive family. Rahaf, who is Arabian, barricaded herself in a Bangkok airport hotel room to prevent Thai authorities from deporting her. She had been detained at the Bangkok airport…
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…
ROBERT BORN WRITES– Sunday, March 3, marked a national holiday in Japan called Hinamatsuri, otherwise known as Girls’ Day or Dolls’ Day. The holiday serves to hope for the health and happiness of young girls. Yet in reality, Japanese culture still shows a brazen unwillingness to support women in the…
CHELSEA SALAC WRITES– On December 17 last year, Catriona Gray won the Title of Miss Universe 2018. “It’s our Superbowl. The level of support that Filipinos give the arena of pageantry is phenomenal,” 25-year-old beauty queen Catriona Gray explains. The Philippines, a country that dominates International Beauty Pageants, has produced…
FASSA SAR WRITES – Arunachalam Murugunatham’s community once even labeled him a pervert when he decided to create a low-cost sanitary pad for women in rural India. He noticed that the women’s menstrual cycles were considered so taboo, it led to women using old rags, sand, leaves and even ash…
AASHNA MALPANI WRITES – Stories of harassment and violence in India made headlines all over the world again when a Swiss couple was brutally assaulted by a group of five young men at Fatehpur Sikri near Agra late last month. Marie Droz and Quentin Jérémy Clerc, both 24, decided on…
SHIRI FISHMAN WRITES – The United States has been witnessing an epidemic of sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood and elsewhere. In October, movie producer and Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein was fired by his own company amid sexual assault claims from numerous women. Similar accusations were subsequently leveled at gay actor…
KATRINA CROSBY WRITES – It looks like the exploitation of students dressed in ‘sexy school girl’ uniforms is not the best way to market a new app, at least in China. Beijing’s Yiweide Culture and Media Company found out the hard way when it offered students of Beijing Jiaotong University…
FASSA SAR WRITES – Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury’s new Bollywood film, Pink, combats underlying sexism and androcentrism within Indian culture. The film points out the misogynist culture that justifies violence against and control of women. The film, Pink, tells the story of three girls, Meenal, Falak, and Andrea, who attend a…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES—Part of the reason why gender inequality is still a problem is due to our refusal to talk about it. In Vietnam, the discussion portal is open and someone is finally taking the podium. Thanh Nien News is on a roll with addressing gender inequality in the media.…
HAIG TER-GHEVONDIAN WRITES – According to an interview between Pakistani teacher Rubia Akram and Feminist: Stories from Women’s Liberation director Jennifer Lee, in 1947, during the war of independence in Pakistan, a woman named Dr. Fatima Jinnah fought alongside male soldiers. After the war ended, she became a national legend. Today she…
For nine years, Han Fook Kwang was the top editor of The Straits Times – Singapore’s leading newspaper, regarded as one of the most complete English-language newspapers in Asia. Mr. Han is now an executive with Singapore Press Holdings, the giant parent corporation of The Straits Times. He joined the…
