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Women and gender

Women and gender
News and analysis on women's rights, the gender gap, LGBTQ issues, sexual harassment, sexual minorities and masculinity in Asia and beyond.
Hong Kong Olympian swimmer Siobhan Haughey chats with students at the “Empower through Reading” talk on December 7. Photo: Chanel
Siobhan Haughey

How to succeed? Siobhan Haughey and other Hong Kong women trailblazers open up

Olympian Siobhan Haughey, businesswoman Joanna Hotung and education advocate Vivian Chung discuss female leadership and youth empowerment.

Trending in China

Privacy row as women in China community chat group required to share menstrual dates

United States

Epstein files to be unsealed under new Trump-signed law

Gender

Malaysian woman in skirt forced to buy trousers to enter police station

A minister has urged a review of guidelines on attire following the incident, saying ‘people don’t dress up in anticipation of crime’.

A Malaysian woman with a skirt that was above knee-length was not allowed to enter a police station in Melaka. She was forced to buy trousers at a nearby shop. Photo: The Star
Trending in China

China poet gains attention for ‘happy’ response to menopause, writes poem on topic

Celebrated writer who was born with cerebral palsy cuts a controversial figure with her openness about the sexual desires of women.

Nepal

‘Like a market’: Chinese marriage brokers hunt for brides in Nepal

China’s bachelor crisis meets Nepal’s poverty in a trade that blurs the lines between arranged marriage and coercion.

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Style Edit

Style Edit: Noble Panacea has landed in Hong Kong – meet CEO Céline Talabaza

The brand recently opened a flagship counter at Hong Kong’s Lane Crawford and launched the groundbreaking Absolute Peptide8 Night Serum.

Noble Panacea is making waves with its new Absolute Peptide8 Night Serum. Photo: Handout
Mainland China

‘Virginity battle’: Chinese women caught between old and new sexual values

Research by Liu Jieyu examining three generations in China finds traditional ideas still play a key role in sexual relations and family life.

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Trending in China

Explainer | Why Chinese believe morally, ‘it’s better to marry a widow than a divorced woman’

Ancient beliefs dictated strict standards for women when it came to obeying men, speaking properly, physical appearance, domestic skills.

Ukraine war

Why more women are embracing combat roles in Ukraine’s military

Equipment such as drones has opened up new paths for women and helped them overcome resistance in the military.

Monka, an FPV drone operator from the third assault brigade, assembles an FPV drone in November, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine. Photo: AP
Lunar

Hong Kong’s domestic helpers mourn deaths in Tai Po fire

Hong Kong’s domestic helpers mourn deaths in Tai Po fire
Japan

Japan weighs plan to punish sex buyers, but will it be enough?

Experts warn the sex industry will find ways to circumvent new rules and the problem needs to be tackled from various angles simultaneously.

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Trending in China

China clothing brand slammed for laundry tag, ‘please give it to your beloved woman’

‘Inappropriate’ expression on tag not intended to ‘insult’ women, say firm as some online observers call upon ‘sisters’ to boycott company.

My Life

The Peninsula’s first female GM on burnout and the joy of reinvention

A colleague once told her she’d never make it at The Peninsula, ‘an old boys’ club’ – now she’s executive director of Hong Kong Design Centre, which runs Business of Design Week.

Rainy Chan has been executive director at Hong Kong Design Centre for almost a year. Photo: Alexander Mak
Japan

Pop-star princess: Japan’s Aiko turns 24 amid calls for her to become empress

The princess’ supporters want Japan to change its male-only succession law but an academic says that is unlikely in the conservative country.

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Princess Aiko, daughter of Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, poses for a photo at the Imperial Palace on November 7. Photo: Imperial Household Agency of Japan/AP
China society

Being Chinese | Why Chinese women like me are done being quiet and ‘appropriate’

Chinese women are praised for gentleness. Our tone must please; our anger must be graceful. But a new generation is speaking out.

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Lunar

Hong Kong’s first home-grown female captain

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Thailand

Miss Universe co-owner faces arrest in Thailand over fraud allegations

Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip is wanted for US$930,000 fraud, capping a week of contest scandals and rigging allegations.

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Transgender Thai business tycoon Jakkaphong Jakrajutatip poses for a photo after a news conference in Bangkok, Thailand in October 2022. Photo: AP
Fashion

Women’s fashion has a sizing problem, says this designer who’s out to fix it

Edeline Lee, who has dressed Kate Middleton, says women don’t fit into five sizes and suggesting they do ‘doesn’t help with insecurities’.

Thailand

As more chaos plagues Miss Universe pageant, is the ‘drama’ all for show?

In the latest controversy, former Miss Universe CEO Jakapong ‘Anne’ Jakrajutatip is accused of fleeing to Mexico to avoid her legal problems.

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LGBTQ

Hong Kong pop-up Queer Room gives ‘alternative individuals’ a place to connect

Until December 14, the inclusive Sheung Wan space welcomes guests with LGBTQ literature and group talks. Here are some of its coming events.

(From left) Queer Room co-founders Lisa Lam, Li Mei-ting and Patricia Lam stand together at the Hong Kong pop-up in Sheung Wan that embraces the LGBTQ community and those living “lifestyles that differ from social norms”. Photo: Jonathan Wong
Human rights

Opinion | Together, we can move closer to eliminating violence against women

No jurisdiction is spared from gender-based violence. Thus international cooperation is essential to build momentum and find solutions.

Protesters display the names and ages of victims of femicide in Bordeaux, France on November 22, ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. Photo: AFP
LGBTQ in China

China’s LGBTQ community loses safe spaces as Blued, Finka apps vanish

Japan

Japan considers fines for men who buy sex in major policy shift

Lawmakers are pushing to penalise the demand for sex work after warnings that Japan is gaining a reputation as a sex tourism hotspot.

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Africa

Gunmen kidnap 25 schoolgirls in Nigeria region grappling with banditry

The early morning raid came a decade after the Chibok abduction that sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign.

Police said the schoolgirls were taken from their dorms on Monday. Photo: AP
LGBTQ in China

China’s LGBTQ community loses key lifeline as Blued, Finka apps vanish

Purge of popular same-sex dating sites from app stores fuels fears about shrinking digital spaces for the country’s LGBTQ community.

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Apps such as Blued have played a crucial role in the lives of Chinese LGBTQ people, supporting identity development, social relationships and community networks, according to analysts. Photo: Facebook/ Blued
2025 National Games

Female athletes break records, drive success at China's National Games

Malaysia

Meet the Muslim trans woman whose 50-year-old secret reshapes Malaysian history

From being one of the first to undergo gender-affirming surgery to a kadi-blessed marriage, Sari Kartina’s life has been a journey of faith.

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