LGBT Pride Walk in Kolkata
The Times of India – Kolkata, India, 6/29/2013
On July 7, 2013, Kolkata will witness the Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk (KRPW) - where the LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and their supporters will walk to assert their rights. A workshop on LGBT rights movement at the American Centre on June 28, 2013 and a fund-raising event held on June 23, 2013 in a hotel at Kolkata marked the preparation for the carnival. Many people are expected to participate in the walk from across India.
Illegal Gender Detector Doing Brisk Business in Vietnam
Thanh Nien News, Vietnam, 6/28/2013
The Vietnamese government has banned hospitals from revealing the sex of foetuses to prevent increasing female feticide, but a new gender test stick is being illegally and freely sold outside hospitals in major cities. They claim the sticks can tell the gender of the foetus as early as the sixth week with at least 90 per cent accuracy, Doctors say the stick cannot be very reliable as the mother’s urine cannot indicate the foetus’ gender accurately and that several women have reported that the sticks are not accurate. Vietnam does not outlaw abortions, but sex-selective abortions are illegal. Therefore, health inspectors from Ho Chi Minh City said that those responsible for the sale of the sticks would be tracked down and punished.
Birth Control Curbs Get Review
Bangkok Post – Bangkok, Thailand, 6/28/2013
The Public Health Ministry of Thailand plans to launch a review of laws that will act as obstacles to teens gaining access to birth control. The National Reproductive Health Committee (NRHC) has discussed the issue of unwanted pregnancies and discovered that young people in the formal education system and women in the industrial sector have negative attitudes towards birth control, said the Public Health Minister. The committee has agreed on strategies to address unwanted pregnancies that would focus on three areas: educating children and young people about measures to prevent unintended pregnancies, using social media to educate teens about preventive measures such as the use of condoms, and making teen health clinics available to give advice on reproductive health to young people.
Guangzhou Lessons to Prevent Sex Attacks
China Daily – Guangzhou, China, 6/27/2013
Sexual assault prevention education is likely to become compulsory in schools in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China in the coming months. A draft that adds such education to the Regulations to Protect Minors was submitted to the Guangzhou People`s Congress for a second review on June 25, 2013. ‘The draft suggests schools have the right and obligation to promote sexual assault prevention and help students raise their awareness and improve their capacity to prevent them being sexually harassed and assaulted,’ said Wei Qiang, Deputy Director of the legal affairs committee of the People`s Congress. The students will also be taught what legally constitutes sexual assault and sexual harassment during classes, he said.
Vietnam Sets up Center to Empower Women in Public Life
ThahnNain News, Vietnam, 6/26/2013
The Ho Chi Minh Academy of Politics and National Public Administration has set up an institute to foster gender equality and ensure leading roles for women in public life. The initiative is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the United Nations Development Program in Vietnam. Ta Ngoc Tan, director of the academy said ‘the new center would work with relevant ministries and agencies to achieve the targets set under the National Strategy on Gender Equality.’ They include having at least 35 percent of women in both the National Assembly and local legislatures.
Supreme Court Strikes Down Doma on Historic Day for Gay Rights in America
The Guardian- New York, United States, 6/26/2013
A landmark Supreme Court ruling struck down Defense of Marriage Act (Doma) as unconstitutional because it deprived citizens of ‘equal liberty’ before the law. Doma, signed into law by President Clinton in 1996, previously barred married gay couples from a range of crucial legal rights including federal tax and estate tax exemptions, social security benefits, and the right to be notified of the death of next of kin. The Supreme Court ruling was greeted with jubilation among gay rights campaigners. President Obama called the Doma ruling a ‘historic step forward for marriage equality’ and said he had ordered government departments to implement it as quickly as possible.
Transgenders Seek Job in Amma Canteens
The Hindu - Tamil Nadu, India, 6/25/2013
Transgenders urged Chief Minister to appoint them as cooks in the recently opened Amma canteens across the State of Tamil Nadu. In a petition to the Collector, they pointed out that transgenders face lot of hardships for a survival in society and were unable to complete school or collegiate education due to such reasons.
Andhra Pradesh Passes Bill to Empower Girls, Restore Gender Balance
Business Standard - Andhra Pradesh India, 6/25/2013
The Andhra Pradesh Bangaru Talli Girl Child Promotion and Empowerment Bill, 2013 aimed at ‘restoring the gender balance and channelling the capabilities of women for nation building’ was passed in the Andhra Pradesh assembly in India and would come in retrospective effect from May 1st 2013. Women Development and Child Welfare Minister V Sunita Laxma Reddy, who introduced the Bill, said an amount of Rs 2,500 would be given to a family upon birth of a girl child. The Bangaru Talli scheme seeks to check the depleting sex ratio and increase the education levels among girls.
US Court Overthrows Anti-Prostitution Pledge
The China Post, Washington, 6/23/2013
U.S. groups that work to end HIV around the world will no longer be forced to take a pledge against prostitution, after the Supreme Court ruled on the June 21, 2013 deeming it as a violation of free speech. Global health advocates said that the decision lifts the stigma of dealing with sex workers and their role in the world`s three-decade-long HIV epidemic, and will allow scientists to talk more openly about approaches that work.
Early Marriage on the Airwaves
The Daily Star, Bangladesh, 6/23/2013
Friends’ Circle is one of 25 programmes produced by Radio Bikrampur a two-hour radio programme entirely dedicated to sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) The radio show is supported by HASAB, a partner of the International HIV/AIDS Alliance in Bangladesh. In a culture where discussing sex and sexual health remains taboo, the radio show is filling a void of silence. Supporting the radio show is just one initiative under the programme which has reached around 150,000 young people with SRHR information as well as parents, religious leaders, healthcare providers and decision makers.
News Archives
2022
248