India Inc Likely to Emerge as Biggest and Most Effective Flagbearer of LGBT Rights in 2016
Economic Times - Mumbai, India, 12/31/2015
Despite the present criminal status of gay sex, a handful of firms such as Godrej, Genpact, Intuit, ThoughtWorks, Microsoft, Goldman Sachs, Google, etc, is openly championing LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender) rights. In October 2015, Radhika Piramal, managing director, VIP Industries, spoke openly about her gay sexual journey. Hosting her, and giving her a platform to speak, was the Godrej India Culture Lab.
Work-From-Home Moms
The Telegraph - New Delhi, India, 12/30/2015
The government (of India) is planning to not only more than double the maternity leave for all working women to 26 weeks but also introduce an option to work from home for up to two years under the Maternity Benefit Act. Once legislated, the amendments will be applicable to the private sector as well. In a cabinet note, the labour ministry has proposed the changes to the Maternity Benefits Act, which now entitles women to 12 weeks of maternity benefit during which employers have to pay full wages.
New Book Says Communist China's First Premier was Probably Gay
Reuters - China, 12/29/2015
A book to be published in Hong Kong in 2016 says Zhou Enlai, Communist China's much-respected first premier, was probably gay despite his long marriage, and had once been in love with a male schoolmate two years his junior. It is a contention certain to be controversial in China, where the Communist Party likes to maintain its top leaders are more or less morally irreproachable and where homosexuality is frowned upon, though no longer officially repressed. The Hong Kong-based author, Tsoi Wing-mui, is a former editor at a liberal political magazine there who has written about gay-themed subjects before though this is her first book.
Japan and South Korea Agree to Settle Wartime Sex Slaves Row
The Guardian - Japan, 12/28/2015
Japan and South Korea have removed the biggest obstacle to better bilateral ties after agreeing to ‘finally and irreversibly’ resolve Tokyo’s use of tens of thousands of Korean women as wartime sex slaves. Shinzo Abe hails new era of bilateral relations but, mindful of China and nationalism in South Korea, Park Geun-hye’s response is cooler. In a breakthrough that barely seemed possible a few months ago, Japan’s prime minister, Shinzo Abe, offered his ‘most sincere apologies’ to the women in a statement issued in Seoul by his foreign minister, Fumio Kishida. Japan also offered to set up a new 1bn yen (£5.6m) fund, with the money, paid directly by the government, divided among the 46 former comfort women still alive, most of whom are in their late 80s and early 90s.
Family Planning Skewed Heavily Against Women
The New Indian Express - Chennai, India, 12/27/2015
According to the fourth round District Level Household and Facility Survey (DLHS) in 42,000 households across the state, in Tamil Nadu, 51 per cent of women against a mere 0.3 per cent of men have undergone sterilisation between 2012-2013. ‘Be it sexual health, reproduction or pregnancy, the burden is always imposed on women. Sterilisation is not a woman’s concern alone,’ says Geeta Sethi, Secretary General, Family Planning Association of India (FPAI), an NGO that promotes sexual health and family planning.
Female Activists Fight Against Gender Inequality in India's Hindu Temples
The Independent - Maharashtra, India, 12/26/2015
While there are many fronts in the battle for equality, the Bhumata Ranragini Brigade, as the group is known, has sought to tackle the issue of female admission to Hindu temples. A number of members were stopped in a recent attempt to enter the Shani Shingnapur temple, in the village of the same name in Maharashtra, so the group has issued an ultimatum to the temple authorities. They have called for the long-standing policy to be altered or they will return with hundreds of supporters and try again.
Human Rights Panel Keen on Demands of Sexual Minorities
Deccan Herald - Karnataka, India, 12/26/2015
The Karnataka State Human Rights Commission will take up suo motu action to protect the interests of sexual minorities, if required. Speaking to reporters here on Saturday, C G Hungund, the member of the commission said that the Government had been considering the demands of sexual minorities seriously and steps would be taken to ensure justice for them.
India Adds More Cancer, HIV and AIDS Drugs to Essential Medicines List
Reuters - Mumbai, India, 12/25/2015
India has revised its list of essential medicines to add drugs for diseases ranging from cancer and HIV and AIDS to Hepatitis C, in a move aimed at making them more affordable. The update to the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) is just the third since it was compiled in 1996. It increased the list to 376 medicines from 348 and includes drugs ranging from analgesics and antivirals to contraceptives, cardiovascular and anti-tuberculosis drugs.
Shashi Tharoor Starts Change.Org Petition to Decriminalise Homosexuality After Setback in Parliament
Daily News and Analysis - New Delhi, India, 12/24/2015
After Shashi Tharoor's private member bill seeking to decriminalise homosexuality was voted out by Lok Sabha in December 2015, the Congress MP has circulated a petition regarding the same. Tharoor took to Twitter to share the link to the petition where he requests everyone to sign the petition as the Parliament refused to discuss his proposed Bill. The petition has been directed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and makes several statements against Article 377 of IPC.
Vietnam Recognises Transgender People, Allows Sex Change on Legal Documents
Reuters - Hanoi, Vietnam, 12/24/2015
Vietnam lawmakers on 22 December, 2015 passed changes to a civil code that acknowledges transgender people and gives them rights to change gender in legal documents, reflecting a major advance in the Communist Government's viewpoint on gender issues. Under the new law, which will take effect from 01 January 1, people who underwent sex change would have ‘rights and obligations to register for changes in civil status’ and personal rights associated with their new gender. ‘This is an encouraging signal for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community in Vietnam’, said Nguyen Thanh Tam, founder of Viet Pride, one of the most popular public events displaying LGBT community solidarity.
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