Asia News
Japan: Activists Score in Fight Against Nuclear Power
A new wave of anti-nuclear protests in Japan this summer, sparked by the disastrous meltdown at a power plant last year, suggests that civil society is no longer willing to allow the government to take the lead in deciding the nation’s energy policy.
MYANMAR: Improvements in healthcare take longer than political reforms
For decades, Myanmar’s military rulers spent less on their citizens’ health - just US$2 per capita in 2010 - than almost any other country in the world.
As a result, the country has suffered from a chronic shortage of drugs, medical supplies, equipment and nurses.
Tackling Patriarchal Attitudes in Nepal - Interview
Emily Wassel interviews Dhruba Prasad Ghimre of RUWON Nepal:
"The main problem is the attitude that women are only materials to decorate the house with, and they can't be outside of the house, in society...."
NEPAL: Tailoring technology for women farmers
Most of Nepal’s agriculture is undertaken by women, but research tailored to their needs is lacking.
Philippines birth control: Filipinos want it, priests don't
In the Philippines, access to contraceptives is limited for the most part to those with the means to pay. The Catholic Church has fought a "reproductive health bill" in the legislature that would change that.
Mutu Nepal: Tackling Cultural Prejudice Against Widows
Widows in Nepal are ostracised from society, and abused financially and psychologically by the communities they live in...
A Bollywood megastar is making India confront its dark side
Shining light on inequities like the rampant abortion of female fetuses, caste discrimination and the slaying of brides in dowry disputes, actor Aamir Khan has reached an estimated one-third of the country with a TV talk show that tackles persistent flaws of modern India that many of its citizens would prefer to ignore.
India: Campaign against female foeticide
Elsewhere, it would have been front page news: a couple on the run after being caught trying to bury their newborn baby girl alive.
But in India, where there are now 914 girls for every 1,000 boys, the case this week in Dausa, Rajasthan, warranted just 300 cursory words on an inside page.
"Yet another incident of apathy towards the girl child", said the Deccan Herald.
Pakistan: Why are female MPs against women’s rights?
A couple of days ago, Kashmala Tariq shut down the reproductive bill, on the basis of religion, stating that it was an issue of ‘sensitive’ nature.
Ayesha Asghar asks why
Growing ‘Entertainment’ Industry Traps Nepali Girls
Almost unnoticed, Nepal’s burgeoning adult entertainment industry has been drawing young girls away from being trafficked across the border to India’s big cities.
Rights activists are worried that the issue of internal trafficking has not received the kind of legislative attention that resulted in laws, passed in 2007
Sri Lanka: Thousands of Widows Still Traumatised and Vulnerable
July 2012: There are an estimated 110,000 persons still in camps, and several thousand unable to return, because their home areas have not been “demined”...