women

August 16, 2011

On the many varieties of feminists

“Feminists and Fundamentalists,” in ObamaSaysDoMore.wordpress.com. A thoughtful examination of the many varieties of “feminists.” The natural tendency of many people would be to equate feminism with “the left” or “liberalism,” but the author here goes into “right wing feminism” and the varieties of feminism found in the USA, South Asia and France. Worth a read to consider that those arguing for women’s rights and equality for women have many different motives–some of which you may share.

Read more →
August 9, 2011

The Mystery of the Veil: the other side

Jaim Booth Cundy, “The Mystery of the Veil,” Psychology Today. Cundy takes a look at the growing ban-the-veil laws in Europe and explores the issue from the other side: what about women who freely choose to wear the veil as an expression of their religious faith? What is the difference between forcing a woman to wear a veil, and forcing her not to wear one? Chillingly to me: a woman who repeatedly insists on wearing a veil in public can, in Belgium, be forced to attend re-education classes. Consider Ed Stetzer’s related comment (on the banning of mosques): “My concern is simple: [...]

Read more →
August 8, 2011

Richest women: The great wealth of China

Richest women: The great wealth of China | The Economist. A short graph of wealthy females (each of whom are worth more than $1 billion), of whom over half in the top 20 are Chinese.

Read more →
July 29, 2011

Protecting women in India

“What women want,” by Aruna Kashyap in The Times of India, does not make for easy reading, but highlights a reality of life for women and children in some parts of the world. Clearly, the idea of a woman’s modesty should not be thrown out (the proverbial baby-with-the-bathwater)–but at the same time, no man’s assault should be justified or excused on the basis of the behavior of the woman, and all too often it is, with horrific results. Men should protect women, not take advantage of a loophole in the law to help themselves to whatever their broken, sinful natures [...]

Read more →
July 29, 2011

On men working at home in Asia: women say, not so fast.

“In Iran, Working Remotely Is a National Controversy,” in the Atlantic, discusses the Iranian government’s plan to allow 20% of government workers to work from home. The interesting twist: the women, who have a certain amount of freedom at home when the men are off at work, may not be overly keen on having their husbands right over their shoulders day in and day out. Compares this to a trend in Japan where women end up divorcing their husbands once they retire and come home and begin scrutinizing everything their wives do. This gets to the root of gender roles, [...]

Read more →
July 27, 2011

Asian brides for sale via Al Jazeera

Asian brides for sale – 101 East – Al Jazeera English. A 25 minute video on the mail order bride industry, investigating the increase in South Korean men marrying mail-order brides. “More than a third of South Korean men in rural areas married foreign brides last year.” In some cases it has led to sex trafficking, domestic violence, murder.

Read more →
July 27, 2011

In France: is motherhood the key to future economic growth?

In “Liberté, Égalité, Fertilité,” in the New York Times, Katrin Bennhold writes about the contrast between various countries with regard to how they support and encourage mothers and pregnancy. Given the downward demographic spiral that many countries in Europe, North Africa, and Asia are in, in the future it could be that those nations which best support mothers and motherhood will be the nations in the best position to win economically. Contrast: Economist: China’s family planning: Illegal children will be confiscated

Read more →
July 22, 2011

There would be even more women, but…

We wrote recently about the places where women are growing in number and influence. The UK Guardian writes about “India’s missing women.” Half a million girls are aborted there annually–equal, the Guardian tells us startlingly, to the whole number of girls born in the UK. “This is the age of missing women–an estimated 30 to 70 million of them.” In India apparently the sex balance is in favor of boys even after birth, because boys here are more likely to survive infant mortality due to receiving better care. The exact numbers are difficult to discover because of course parents don’t [...]

Read more →
July 21, 2011

Women in North Africa

1. Women are commonly acknowledged to play key roles in the nations of North Africa. For example, Algerian women were involved in the war for independence from France (1954-1962). Most recently, they were deeply involved in the 2011 Tahrir Square protests that toppled Mubarak in Egypt.

Read more →
July 19, 2011

Where girls are increasing in number and influence

The United Nations’ population statistics include an interesting little number called “net reproduction rate.” This innocuously-named statistic sounds as if it is the result of some mathematical calculation, like a budget. In fact it is the average number of surviving daughters per woman: that is, of the average number of children born per woman, who survive the specter of infant mortality, this is the number that are girls. We know in some places around the world, parents will kill a child if it is a girl, because they would prefer to have a boy. We also know girls are important. [...]

Read more →
July 13, 2011

Saudi girls prefer careers to marriage

A new survey cited in ArabNews.com: 200 Saudi women between the ages of 17 and 35 took part in an online survey, and 87% of them said they would choose to work over having a wealthy husband. A further 13% said they agreed to marry into wealth because they wanted to use the wealth to start a business, or felt that spending his money was a job in and of itself. The attitudes illustrated here are interesting. The big question: will these girls be able to perpetuate their ideas and thoughts and feelings to the next generation of Saudi men? [...]

Read more →
July 2, 2011

North Korean girls defecting, looking for Chinese husbands

ipsnews.net writes about the plight of North Korean women who defect to China. Women outnumber men in North Korea, and of the Koreans defecting into China, about 70% are women. North Korean men don’t make it long-term in China because they don’t have local connections in China and are more easily found and deported back. North Korean women have a connection: younger ones are “sold as brides to Chinese farmers in northern border villages” and olders take “menial jobs” in restaurants and karaoke rooms. One estimate: 80% of N. Korean women who defect are sold as brides. The challenges are [...]

Read more →
May 31, 2011

Minorities: Women in Prison

There are an estimated 9.25 million people imprisoned worldwide (and that number is probably too low). The largest imprisoned populations are found in the United States, Russia and China. (The US is the largest, with some 2.5 million imprisoned as of 2006; China is second, with perhaps 2 million.) Globally, female prisoners are estimated to be about 5% of the total prison population—but the number of female prisoners is rapidly increasing. Worldwide there are some 0.5 million women detained, either serving sentences or awaiting sentencing (UN Office on Drugs and Crime). Most women imprisoned are detained on charges of drug [...]

Read more →
May 17, 2011

The Global Treatment of Women: Spring 2011

The lot of women is getting better globally–but there is still much to do, particularly in the least developed countries.

Read more →
December 20, 2010

New data on the rise of women

In many places where it counts the most, women are taking over. For every 2 men who graduate with a college degree, 3 women will. In 2010, women became the majority of the workforce in America. Over 50% of managers are women In 15 professions projected to grow the most, all but 2 are dominated by women The economic ramifications have begun dominating American culture. This video analyzes the effect. In American fertility clinics 75% of requests are for girls not boys First born sons no longer preferred in many places (e.g. see South Korea) How can we handle this [...]

Read more →
April 18, 2010

Afghan women appalled by European burqa ban push

“A firm believer in women’s rights, the only thing Afghan lawmaker Shinkai Karokhail finds as appalling as being forced to wear a burqa is a law banning it.” Read more in Reuters.

Read more →
April 16, 2010

New Resource on Women at Risk

http://bit.ly/9637Ub – The Mission Exchange has a $20 Update on the Status of At Risk Women.

Read more →
April 7, 2010

The feminine front line of the Arab art market

The Economist has a great article on the influential role of Arab women, and especially female leaders, in the promotion of Arab art.

Read more →
March 22, 2010

China: wives of homosexual men

In China, 90% of homosexual men are married. Perhaps 25 million women “are trapped in loveless and often miserable marriages [to homosexual men],” writes the Economist in an that looks at the phenomenon and its social cost in depth.

Read more →
March 22, 2010

Childbirth: a deadly task in some places

1 in 8 Afghan women die in childbirth: yet 80% of these deaths are preventable. Rural communities lack to most basic health facilities. Christian missions once built hospitals all over Africa and Asia. We need a simple, easily created health clinic. Yet even how to sustain this is a challenge. In MSNBC.

Read more →

← Previous Entries