Tag Archives: 4: Favorable

Gender

Argentina News | Women

Argentina announces new plans to combat violence against women
  • President Mauricio Macri announced the National Plan of Action for the Prevention, Assistance, and Eradication of Violence Against Women, a plan to combat the cultural roots of gender-based violence and support women through measures including the creation of a network of shelters.
  • The plan also includes the use of geolocation technology to ensure that aggressors are kept from physical proximity with their victims and a phone app that will allow threatened women to bypass dialing to access emergency safety services.
  • The measures come in the wake of a national campaign to combat violence against women that brought thousands to the streets in demonstration.

More:
“Plan to cut violence against women launched” (The Buenos Aires Herald)
“Cómo es el plan que presentó Mauricio Macri contra la violencia de género” (La Nacíon, in Spanish)
“Argentina announces new gender violence plan” (BBC)

(Image Credit: Getty Images via BBC)

Nationality + Migration

Africa News | Africans

African Union prepares to launch common African passport
  • The A.U. is preparing to launch the e-Passport, a transnational passport opening up migration between the 54 constituent countries, at its upcoming summit in Kigali, Rwanda.
  • The e-Passport is expected to function similar to European Union citizenship, promoting mobility and increased economic integration across the African continent.
  • The passport will initially be available to heads of state and other diplomatic and foreign affairs representatives, with rollout to citizens expected to take place in 2018.

Read more:
“African Union set to launch e-Passport at July Summit in Rwanda” (African Union press release)
“The opposite of Brexit: African Union launches an all-Africa passport” (The Washington Post)
“As EU fights over migrants, African Union takes steps to free movement of people” (CNBC)

Religion + Belief

Cuba Feature | Muslims

The Muslims of Cuba

With estimates of their numbers as high as 10,000, Cuban Muslims have grown from a tiny group of followers to a vibrant cultural community, particularly in Havana. An atheist state under communism, Cuba has begun to relax prohibitions on religion over the years, providing a small space for Muslims amidst the country’s predominantly Catholic population. Cuba itself experiences little immigration, but a growing number of converts have expanded the presence of Islam in the Caribbean nation.

As funding from Turkey supports the construction of a mosque in Old Havana and Saudi Arabia sends religious garments, observant Muslims, increasingly visible, are now faced with educating their broader communities about a religion few have had much interaction with outside of negative television reports. For Ramadan, several media outlets have taken a look at the community of Cuban Muslims looking to practice a faith of restraint some Cubans see as foreign to their culture.

Read:
“Cuban Muslims celebrate Ramadan despite the obstacles” (Al Jazeera)
“Islam thrives in communist Cuba” (USA TODAY)
“Practicing Islam in Catholic Cuba” (CNN, April 2016)

(Image Credit: Kamilia Lahrichi/USA TODAY)

Nationality + Migration

Canada Feature | Syrian Refugees

Refuge in the Great White North

While a resurgence in xenophobic nationalism has hampered humanitarian efforts in countries like the U.S., the U.K., Japan, and South Korea, provisions in Canada’s immigration law allowing for the private sponsorship of refugees has made the country a bright spot in the global refugee crisis. The program has opened up opportunities where few would exist otherwise, and though concerns over the potential for paternalism have given some refugee advocates pause, Canadians’ historical willingness to open their wallets, homes, and neighborhoods to refugees has long given new arrivals a reason to believe in Canada’s welcoming reputation. Amidst the culturally and politically sensitive terrain of traumatic memories, privacy issues, language barriers, and financial struggle, The New York Times profiles some of the Canadians, new and old, participating in the country’s private sponsorship program.

Read more:
“Refugees Encounter a Foreign Word: Welcome” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Damon Winter/The New York Times)

Gender

U.S. News | Women

U.S. Supreme Court rejects restrictions on abortion clinics in Texas, Mississippi, and Wisconsin
  • The Court ruled 5-3 in favor of blocking restrictions enacted through a 2013 Texas law on the standards necessary for clinics to be allowed to operate within the state, the most expansive decision on abortion rights since 1992’s Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
  • The majority opinion found that the restrictions—which included requiring admitting privileges of doctors in nearby hospitals and heightened operational standards for the clinics—were medically unnecessary and reduced women’s access to safe abortion procedures.
  • The justices also declined to hear cases involving abortion provision restrictions in Mississippi and Wisconsin, and Alabama announced it would no longer pursue restrictions on abortion doctors in the wake of the Court’s decision.

Read more:
“Supreme Court Strikes Down Texas Abortion Restrictions” (The New York Times)
“Supreme Court spurns abortion restrictions in two more states” (Reuters)
“How the Texas abortion ruling will affect access across the US” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Michael Reynolds/EPA, via The Guardian)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Seychelles News | LGBT

Seychelles overturns sodomy law in victory for LGBT rights
  • The Seychelles National Assembly voted in favor of abolishing a colonial-era law criminalizing sodomy, effectively legalizing same-sex relations in the archipelago nation.
  • Seychelles joins fellow African Union members São Tomé e Príncipe and Mozambique in recent pro-LGBT legal reform.
  • As in most countries around the world, the debate over decriminalization was dominated by religious concerns, with Catholics comprising 76% of the Seychellois population and Anglicans, the second largest religious community, comprising 6%.

Read more:
“Seychelles parliament passes bill to decriminalize sodomy“(Seychelles News Agency)
“Seychelles repeals colonial-era law banning gay sex” (PinkNews)
“Tiny African victory: Seychelles repeals ban on gay sex” (Erasing 76 Crimes)

(Image Credit: Patrick Joubert/Seychelles News Agency)

Ideology + Affiliation, Nationality + Migration

Kyrgyzstan News | Foreign NGOs

1 Comment
Kyrgyzstan Parliament blocks bill targeting foreign NGOs for increased government oversight
  • The controversial bill, modeled after Russia’s, originally sought to have foreign-funded organizations labeled “foreign agents” and increase bureaucratic oversight of international NGOs, deterring their operation in the country.
  • International or internationally funded NGOs in the country support public health and human rights development—particularly for vulnerable minorities—and serve as monitors of government corruption.
  • The bill had been revised to excise the “foreign agent” label and decrease financial reporting requirements, but the persistence of other large bureaucratic burdens led to the bill’s defeat as legislators worried over the bill’s impact on Kyrgyzstan’s international reputation.

Read more:
“Kyrgyzstan: Foreign Agent Bill Nixed, NGOs Rejoice” (EurasiaNet)
“Kyrgyzstan scraps bill to bring NGOs under tighter control” (Reuters)
“NGOs Avert Russian-Inspired Restrictions in Central Asia’s Only Democracy” (Foreign Policy)

(Image Credit: Igor Kovalenko/EPA, via Foreign Policy)

Gender, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Portugal News | Women

Portugal extends reproductive rights to gay and bisexual women and women with fertility issues
  • The Portuguese Parliament voted to extend artificial insemination access to women in same-sex relationships.
  • The bill also legalizes surrogacy for women with health conditions adversely impacting their ability to conceive.
  • The inclusive measure broadens family rights for women in same-sex partnerships following the passage of a bill legalizing adoption by same-sex couples in November 2015.

Read more:
“Approved: Parliament expands reproductive rights – Portugal” (The Portuguese American Journal)
“Portuguese Lawmakers Extend Pregnancy Rights to Gay Women” (AP via ABC News)
“President signs same sex adoption into effect” (The Portugal News)

(Image Credit: via The Portuguese American Journal)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Italy News | LGBT

Same-sex civil unions in Italy on track to become reality following lower house vote
  • Italy’s lower house voted to support PM Matteo Renzi’s government and, by extension, a bill legalizing same-sex civil unions.
  • Following Senate approval in February, the confidence vote removed the potential for last-minute attempts to revise the bill, making final approval a formality.
  • The bill has undergone a controversial history including massive anti-LGBT protests and pro-LGBT outrage over the continued exclusion from marriage and removal of a provision granting same-sex partners universal adoption rights to their partners’ children.

Read more:
“Italian MPs support introduction of same-sex civil unions” (The Guardian)
“Italian MPs back same-sex unions in vote for Renzi” (BBC)
“Italy Approves Same-Sex Civil Unions” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images, via The Guardian)

Gender

China Feature | Women

The Literary Empowerment of Chinese Women

Following the high-profile detention of activists in China last year that prompted international condemnation, the state of feminism and gender equality in the reclusive country has come into the national and international spotlight. Though ambivalent about the label “feminist,” women have taken up issues such as pay equity, domestic violence, and family care while confronting traditionalist conceptions of women’s role in Chinese society. The New York Times features one front in the push for gender equality: bookstores, where Chinese women of diverse backgrounds congregate to connect with historical, philosophical, spiritual, and self-help texts under a government that keeps a tight grip on the country’s publishing industry.

Read more:
“Chinese Feminism’s Long March Takes Two Paths at Bookstores” (The New York Times)

Additional reading:
“Chinese Activists Probe Colleges Over Sexist Job Adverts” (Radio Free Asia)
“Soul-searching in China as bystanders ignore woman being attacked in hotel” (The Guardian)
“Police Remove Bail Conditions on 5 Chinese Feminists Detained Last Year” (The New York Times)

(Image Credit: Gilles Sabrie/The New York Times)

Age, Ideology + Affiliation

Myanmar News | Youth Activists

New Myanmar government pardons almost 200 imprisoned activists

  • Among the 113 released so far were 69 student activists, many of whom had been charged and convicted following major student protests in March 2015.
  • Aung San Suu Kyi, who led the National League for Democracy (NLD) party to victory, had herself been under house arrest for 15 years of the military’s rule.
  • Of the remaining 345 facing political charges, 298 are on bail and 47 on remand in jail.

Read more:
“New Myanmar government frees scores of jailed activists” (Reuters)
“Myanmar Court Drops Charges Against Student Detainees” (Radio Free Asia)
“Myanmar drops charges against nearly 200 political activists” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: Soe Zeya Tun/Reuters)

Health + Ability, Sexual + Gender Minorities

Ireland News | LGBT & HIV

HIV testing in Ireland expands into gay bars
  • The Panti Bar, run by LGBT and poz activist Panti Bliss (drag persona of Rory O’Neill), is set to begin offering 30-second HIV tests to patrons.
  • HIV infection rates rose 160% in Ireland between 2005 and 2015, including a record high of 182 new cases in 2014.
  • With trained counselors on site and the ability to register positive individuals with Ireland’s treatment and counseling program, the Panti Bar will be the first expansion of HIV testing out of clinical settings in Ireland, with similar programs to follow in Cork, Limerick, and other parts of Dublin.

Read more:
“Dublin drag queen turns pub into HIV-Aids testing centre” (The Guardian)
“Rory O’Neill on living with HIV: ‘Most gay guys don’t understand how far things have changed and how different it is’” (Independent.ie)

Sexual + Gender Minorities

Colombia News | LGBT

Colombia’s Constitutional Court opens door to marriage equality in 6-3 ruling
  • The Court voted against a proposal to establish marriage as between “one man and one woman” and declared that public employees could not refuse to perform same-sex weddings.
  • Colombian couples won their first partnership rights in 2007 and, in 2015, adoption without full marriage rights, which the Court had ordered the legislature to enact by 2013 in a 2011 ruling.
  • Colombia will join Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and parts of Mexico in permitting marriage for same-sex couples in Latin America.

Read more:
“Colombia’s highest court paves way for marriage equality in surprise ruling” (The Guardian)
“El matrimonio igualitario gana espacio en América Latina” (teleSUR, in Spanish)
“Una década de lucha de los LGBT por la igualdad” (El Espectador, in Spanish)

(Image Credit: John Vizcaino/Reuters, via The Guardian)

Class + Socioeconomics, Gender, Race + Color + Ethnicity

India News | Women, Indigenous & Dalit

India PM launches entrepreneurship initiative for members of historically disadvantaged communities
  • PM Narendra Modi announced Stand Up India, a program to spur entrepreneurship and business-technological integration among women and India’s Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, historically disadvantaged groups subject to affirmative action by the government.
  • Banks will be required to sponsor relatively inexpensive loans for entrepreneurs from disadvantaged and underrepresented communities.
  • The initiative comes ahead of next year’s elections in the state of Uttar Pradesh, with the Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) coalition seeking to court Dalit and tribal votes.

Read more:
“PM promises to ‘change’ lives of tribals, Dalits with ‘Stand up India’” (The Hindustan Times)
“‘Stand Up India’ will transform lives of Dalits, tribals: Modi” (The Hindu)
“‘Stand up India’: PM Modi to book first e-rickshaw through Ola” (The Times of India)

(Image Credit: Sandeep Saxena/The Hindu)

Gender

Canada News | Women

Elective abortion services to return to Prince Edward Island for first time in more than three decades
  • The Prince Edward Island government announced that it has asked Health PEI to plan a new women’s reproductive health clinic, which will offer medical and surgical abortion procedures among other health services.
  • PEI has not offered on-island elective abortion procedures since 1982, forcing its residents to travel to New Brunswick or Nova Scotia for healthcare.
  • Activists had threatened the provincial government with a lawsuit, which few thought would withstand scrutiny under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Read more:
“PEI drops opposition to abortion, plans to provide access by year’s end” (The Globe and Mail)
“Abortion services coming to P.E.I., province announces” (CBC News)
“Canada’s Prince Edward Island ends abortion ban in province” (The Guardian)

(Image Credit: The Washington Post/Getty Images, via CBC News)