Instead of focusing on a country and a topic this week, I thought it would be useful to go over some of the basics when learning about international women’s rights. I sometimes assume that everyone’s familiar with, oh, CEDAW and the MDGs and all sorts of indexes, when really, I shouldn’t think my average reader […]
I’m hesitant to announce a region for this week’s post. That’s because we’re looking at one of the more confusing countries in the world, geography-wise. Is it part of Europe? Asia? The Middle East? Well, yes, yes, and yes. That’s right, friends, this week I’m focusing on Turkey. And if you follow the news at […]
Let’s go someplace warm and beachy this week. Somewhere in the South Pacific, with palm trees, gorgeous caves, and sparkling blue waters. Somewhere with a 400-year history of colonial oppression, a brutal quarter century of war in recent history, and, until recently, one of the highest fertility rates in the world, perhaps?
Finding a topic for these columns is always a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes there’s an obvious issue to write about, sometimes a friend forwards me a news article or similar, with “you should write about this!” in the headline. (Note: dear friends, thank you, and please do not stop.) And sometimes I begin […]
It’s Europe/Eurasia week here again at International Women’s Issues, so before I get into this week’s post, I’d like to direct you all to go and read Susan’s posts about Oksana Makar, a Ukranian rape victim fighting for her life. The posts are here, here, and here, and while they’re very heavy stuff, this is […]
It’s going to be a bit of an unusual column this week, folks. As you might have guessed by the title, we’re going to be looking at Uganda, but since, somehow, International Development has become a hot topic, I’m going to have to talk about Invisible Children. Or, at least, point you in the direction […]
Before we get in to this week’s column, I’d like to congratulate Saving Face, a documentary about acid attacks in Pakistan, for winning an Oscar last night. I strongly hope the success of this film brings attention (and, you know, funding) to the prevention of acid attacks and support to people who are survivors of […]
With Valentine’s Day tomorrow, my thoughts go not to chocolate and flowers, but instead to V-Day, Eve Ensler’s foundation to support stopping violence against women and girls. Since this column is never going to be about chocolate and flowers, let’s talk about how to stop violence against women and girls. And let’s go straight to […]
This week, we’re going to look at the struggle for gender equality and women’s rights for the indigenous population of Guatemala. Discrimination against indigenous women is intersectional – indigenous people as a whole face discrimination, and then again there are elements of society that specifically target women. There is a great deal being done to improve […]
Several weeks ago, a friend of mine commented on my ability to make the Internet 100% Sad, according to the mood meter at the bottom of that week’s International Women’s Issues post. She, a specialist on the former Soviet Union, then suggested I write about Kyrgyz bride kidnapping, but warned me that again, 100% sadness […]
This week’s column aims to examine the impact of HIV/AIDS on women in Botswana, with significant exploration into what is being done, both internationally and by local women, to combat this disease. I should point out here that, since HIV/AIDS is such a major issue, and has been one for several decades at this point, […]
This week in International Women’s Issues, I’m focusing on Yemen. Why? Because, time and time again, Yemen holds the title of The Worst Place in the World To Live if You are a Woman. There are a variety of factors that contribute to this ignoble distinction, which I will examine. There are also, happily, a […]
In this column’s perpetual continent-hopping, we’re back in Asia this week ““ Southeast Asia, specifically. And when one thinks of women’s rights in Southeast Asia, human trafficking and sex work automatically come to mind. But that’s not what I’m focusing on this week, at least not directly.
On January 12, 2010, Haiti was struck by a massive earthquake. Nearly two years later, over a million people ““ between 1 and 1.3 million, to be precise ““ are still living in the camps. A cholera epidemic is currently taking place, and the refugee camps are incredibly unsafe for women and girls, as sexual […]
We return to Europe this week in International Women’s Issues. And really, if you’re going to write about the worldwide struggle for women’s rights, and this is a Europe Week in your globe-hopping, you have to write about the Roma.