ALI ZANE WRITES – Long criticized for its sex crime laws, Japan has revised the Penal Code, redefining rape as non-consensual sexual intercourse. Previously, rape was classified as forcible sexual intercourse, meaning that the assailant had to have used physical violence to qualify for prosecution. This century-old law has created…
SIANY GUNAWAN WRITES – In Indonesia, the debate on women’s rights has accelerated in response to political and social challenges. More and more women are being sexually abused and, according to women’s legal counselors, the alleged violence had continued for years. The National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded…
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…
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…
NAWAF ALSABAH WRITES — The kingdom of Saudi Arabia has recently been in the spotlight—unfavorably — for its unforgiving treatment of female activists. In late 2018, the country made headlines following the killing of Saudi journalist/activist Jamal Khashoggi, who was murdered at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. This brought…
NADIA ALJOJO WRITES – According to a Saudi Arabian cleric, Saad Al-Hijri, “women have half a brain,” and once they go shopping they, “return with a quarter of a brain, [so] how can she get a driver’s license with a quarter of a brain?” Although later punished for speaking such…
ASIA MEDIA WRITES – Julien Blanc and his company Real Social Dynamics (RSD), have been banned from entering Singapore. The cause? A petition started by a local on change.org. Blanc and his company RSD, based in California, promote the use of violence and threats to seduce women to have sex. As…
ANGELINA PRAT, LAUREN SAYLOR, AND ELODIE INTROIA WRITE – In a patriarchal society that has fought to keep women unheard, Haifaa al-Mansour has found her voice. The film Wadjda was not only the first Saudi film to be written and directed by a woman, but also was the first to be…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Though they’ve reported on floods, bombings, wars, and protests in some of the most dangerous places in the world, female journalists in Pakistan and India are still threatened and mistreated at home. Despite repeated calls for change from groups ranging from the United Nations to the Women’s…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The hanging of four men convicted of rape and murder will do little to stem misogyny in India. The solution lies with the media and how it represents women. From 1990 to 2008, the number of reported rapes in India more than doubled, according to official…
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – When hasty, controversial remarks find their way onto social media the result is rarely good for politicians. That’s a lesson Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto has come to learn. According to publications like The Japan Times and Mainichi Daily, two of Japan’s prominent dailies, Hashimoto recently made flippant…
Wall Street Journal writer Maria Abi-Habib’s recent article in that newspaper on the rights of Afghan women in the present, and the direction their rights are heading towards as the US withdraws from Afghanistan, is compelling and urgent. Although 11 years have passed since the ousting of the Taliban regime by U.S. troops, citing…
