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Gender

Gender
The latest gender news and features, with a millennial focus, including gender identity, gender issues, discrimination, equality and inequality, and equal rights.
last updated:
27 August, 2024
Gisele Pelicot (middle) arrives at the criminal court where her husband Dominique Pelicot is on trial in Avignon. Photo: EPA-EFE
France

France jails Dominique Pelicot for 20 years over drugging, mass rape of ex-wife

Judges found Dominique Pelicot guilty, and also convicted a first batch of 20 out of 50 co-defendants in the case.

Argentina

Video | Sumo wrestler Hiyori Kon brings her sport to Argentina

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Women and gender

Outrage as scholar asks how can China make women ‘submissively have children’

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Middle East

Iran arrests singer for giving online concert without hijab

Parastoo Ahmadi, who was accompanied by four male musicians, wore a black sleeveless and collarless dress but no headscarf.

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Parastoo Ahmadi posted her concert online on Wednesday, calling herself “a girl who wants to sing for the people I love”. Photo: YouTube/Parastoo Ahmadi
Japan

Japanese women join the sake industry despite traditional exclusions

Mie Takahashi is one of a small group of female master sake brewers, made possible by changing gender norms and increased mechanisation.

India

Indian software engineer’s suicide sets off reckoning over bias in family courts

Atul Subhash blamed his estranged wife, her family, and the judicial system for his death, alleging extortion and manipulation of the legal system.

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India

India’s political landscape is shifting, with parties vying for women’s votes

Indian political parties are targeting women voters with financial aid and empowerment schemes, acknowledging their increasing electoral influence.

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Women stand in a queue to cast their vote at a polling station during the second phase of the general elections, in Barmer, Rajasthan, India, on April 26. Photo: Reuters
Britain

UK bans puberty blockers for under-18s with gender dysphoria

Health Secretary Wes Streeting cited a review that concluded that the long-term benefits for treating gender-related distress were unproven.

Women and gender

Years after mentally ill woman went missing, man held on suspicion of rape

‘Zhang knew Bu had a mental illness but still had sexual relations with her and had children,’ say local authorities.

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Japan

Tokyo to propose 4-day work week for government staff in parenthood push

PM Shigeru Ishiba has called Japan ’s stubbornly low birth rate a ‘quiet emergency and has pledged policies like flexible working hours.

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A family at Tokyo’s Shibuya Sky. While many developed countries are struggling with low birth rates, the problem is particularly acute in Japan where the population has declined for 15 straight years. Photo: Reuters
Donald Trump

Trump team takes aim at Ivy League, gearing up attacks on diversity programmes

One proposal seeks to slash funding for universities that favour one racial or ethnic group or gender over another.

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The Harvard University campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Photo: AP
LGBTQ

Hong Kong court upholds judgments on LGBTQ rights

The upholding of three landmark judgements by Hong Kong’s highest court has renewed calls for a legal framework recognising the rights of same-sex couples.

Hong Kong courts

Editorial | Rights for same-sex couples and transgender people in Hong Kong long overdue

Progress on framework to protect “core rights” urgently required after decisions by Hong Kong’s top court on housing and inheritance.

Fintech

Time running out for 250 Hong Kong-listed firms to get women on board: HKEX

At least 250 Hong Kong-listed companies do not have at least one woman on their boards despite the compliance deadline just a month away.

HKEX CEO Bonnie Chan Yiting said companies are making progress on appointing women to their boards. Photo: Xiaomei Chen
Women and gender

About 140 women and girls killed by partner or relative per day in 2023: UN

Africa had the most severe toll with 21,700 women killed by someone close to them in 2023.

Graffiti, reading ‘no more feminicide’ is sprayed on the wall of a house in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Photo: AP
Food and Drinks

Cafe owned and run by women makes a statement in Indonesia

‘Now is the time for change,’ says owner of cafe in conservative Aceh province, where running a coffee shop is seen as a man’s job.

Malaysia

‘Don’t have a choice’: Rohingya child brides trapped in Malaysia’s refugee crisis

Rohingya girls as young as 12 are being forced into marriage in Malaysia, escaping dire conditions in Bangladesh refugee camp.

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Icons and Influencers

What is controversial internet personality Oli London up to now?

It’s been hard to keep up with Oli London’s multiple transformations in recent years, but now the internet personality has found God, and is trying to prevent others from ‘following in his footsteps’

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Oli London at the Venice Film Festival in September 2023. Photo: @londonoli/Instagram
India

India’s female gig workers facing unsafe conditions, seek change and justice

Female gig workers in India have formed a union to advocate for rights and visibility, and confront harassment, unsafe conditions, and exploitation.

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South Korea

Telegram to delete deepfakes targeting South Koreans

This comes as South Korea’s media regulation agency pushes the company to boost its monitoring of such content.

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Australia

Australia’s gender pay gap narrows as ‘change is happening’

But women employees on average still earn A$28,425 (US$18,590) less each year than their male colleagues.

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Pedestrians at Sydney’s Westfield shopping centre. A report in February showed the gender pay gap at some of Australia’s biggest firms was bigger than the national average. Photo: Reuters
Middle East

Iran says no charges against student who stripped to her underwear

Activists say the woman was arrested after protesting over hijab rules; officials say she is ‘ill’ and has been handed over to family.

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Footage widely shared on social media shows a female student in her underwear outside Tehran’s Islamic Azad University. Photo: UGC via AFP
American cinema

Jennifer Lawrence-produced film shows women’s torment in Afghanistan

Apple TV+ documentary Bread & Roses, co-produced by Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, was shot entirely on smartphones.

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Women and gender

Opinion | Faster, bolder action needed to empower women across the Asia-Pacific

Great strides made since 1995 Beijing Declaration of women’s rights but progress still uneven and often fragile. True equality remains elusive.

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Singapore

Singapore’s workplace fairness law hailed but rights group points to gaps

Employers who discriminate against workers based on characteristics such as race, age, sex and nationality could be prosecuted under the proposed law.

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People walk along the promenade near the financial business district in Singapore. Photo: AFP
Sri Lanka

Women candidates signal potential shift in Sri Lanka’s male-dominated politics

While analysts welcome the increase, they caution that more women in politics alone won’t challenge patriarchal norms and achieve true gender equality.

People wait in a queue to cast their ballots at a polling station during Sri Lanka’s presidential election in Galle on September 21. Photo: TNS
India

India’s political parties woo women voters with cash handouts

A greater turnout of women voters in the past decade is pushing political parties to compete to attract them.

South Korea

‘Boycotting men’: South Korean feminist movement gains traction after Trump win

Driven by gender inequality, sexism, and a backlash against male privilege, the movement reflects a growing global trend of resisting patriarchal norms.

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