What You Need to Know About the Delta Variant if You're Pregnant
CNN, Philippines, 7/31/2021
Health officials in some countries are sounding the alarm over the impact of the Delta variant of COVID-19 on pregnant women. Previous studies have shown that COVID-19 infection raises the risk of negative outcomes for both the mother and the baby. These risks include preeclampsia, infections, admission to hospital intensive care units and even death. New data collected by UKOSS showed that one in five women admitted to hospital with serious COVID-19 symptoms went on to give birth prematurely, and the likelihood of delivery by C-section doubled. Research has shown that most pregnant women who got the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines passed protective antibodies to their newborns, measured in breast milk and the placenta.
Rights Groups Warn Assaults on Women on the Rise in Pakistan
Hindustan Times, Pakistan, 7/30/2021
According to a Human Rights Watch report released earlier in 2021, data collected from domestic violence hotlines across the country showed a 200% increase in domestic violence between January and March in 2020. In 2020, Pakistan was near the bottom of the World Economic Forum's global gender index, coming in at 153 of 156 countries, ahead of only Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan, which held the last spot despite billions of dollars spent and 20 years of international attention on gender issues there. Many of the attacks in Pakistan are so-called honour killings, where the perpetrator is a brother, father or other male relative. Each year, more than 1,000 women are killed in this way, many of them unreported, say human rights workers.
With Sanitary Pads Supply for Entire Year, ‘Dignity Kits’ Distributed in Ludhiana Schools
The Indian Express - Ludhiana, Punjab, 7/29/2021
A group of young medical students in coordination with Indian Development Foundation (IDF) have started distributing unique ‘Dignity kits’ in schools under the project ‘One million’. Each kit contains 90 sanitary pads, undergarments, hand washing soap, detergent soap, towel and a cloth bag. The project, earlier running in Maharashtra, Telangana and Rajasthan, has now been initiated in Punjab. The aim of the project is to provide kits to at least one million girls across the country. The young doctors associated with the project also aim to combat taboos associated with menstruation and in whichever school the kits are distributed, the team also conducts an awareness session to answer queries of the girls related to periods.
Rajya Sabha Clears Changes to Child Protection Law
Mint - New Delhi, India, 7/28/2021
The Rajya Sabha on July 29, 2021 passed the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Amendment Bill, 2021 that proposes to increase the role of district magistrates and additional district magistrates in child care and adoption. The Bill which seeks to amend the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015 was passed by Lok Sabha in March, 2021. The Act stated that adoption of a child is final on the issuance of an adoption order by the civil court. The Bill provides that instead of the court, the district magistrate will issue such adoption orders. The Bill adds that serious offences, in addition to those stated in the 2015 Act, will include offences for which maximum punishment is imprisonment of more than seven years.
Domestic Violence in Gaza Worsens Following ‘Guardian of the Walls’
The Jerusalem Post, Palestine, 7/27/2021
The number of women calling the ‘No. 2 violence against women’ emergency line has risen following the ‘Guardian of the Walls’ operation in May, 2021. The women calling the emergency line looking for help have said that the 11-day conflict in Gaza has worsened domestic violence in their homes. Gili Sagi, the volunteering manager of the emergency line, said the phone calls are done with the help of volunteer translators, and the women tell their stories about constant physical and mental abuse in their homes. Sagi added that the women who reached the emergency line were the minority; many women did not have access to the internet and information.
Government Withdraws Indecent Representation of Women Amendment Bill
The Times of India - New Delhi, India, 7/26/2021
The Indian government on July 26, 2021 withdrew the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Amendment Bill, 2012. The view behind withdrawing the proposed amendments to the 1986 law stems from the fact that it was felt that the amendments were no longer required as the concerns have since been addressed by the recent Information Technology Rules, 2021 and other provisions of law. The IRWA Bill, 2012 sought to amend the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act, 1986, which prohibits ‘indecent’ representation of women through advertisements or publications, writings and paintings, primarily in the print media. The bill also sought to widen the scope of the Act to cover new forms of communication such as the internet, satellite-based communication, cable television, etc.
Women Employment in Manufacturing Sector was Hit More: Survey
Mint - New Delhi, India, 7/25/2021
While employment opportunities for both men and women have declined since the outbreak of COVID-19, women employment in the manufacturing sector was especially impacted, according to a survey by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). At least 37% of the firms surveyed agreed that women’s employment in the manufacturing sector was more adversely affected than women’s employment in the service sector. Separately, the UNDP had said on July 23, 2021 that the gig economy has the potential to create more job opportunities for women and increase their participation in the workforce.
Centre Denies Plan for Two Child Policy
The Hindu, India, 7/24/2021
The Centre has denied having a two child policy, a question that has gained resonance following the Uttar Pradesh government’s draft policy under which it proposes to disincentivise those with more than two children and even bar them from government benefits. On July 23, 2021, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Bharati Pawar underlined that the Centre had no plans for a two-child policy in the Lok Sabha. The Centre, she said, has been implementing the National Family Planning Programme which provides voluntary and informed choices to all citizens. The Programme of Action (PoA) of the International Conference on Population and Development, Cairo, 1994, to which India is a signatory, is unequivocally against coercion in family planning, added Dr. Pawar.
Nepal’s COVID-19 Crisis Exacerbates Hardships for Women
The Diplomat, Nepal, 7/23/2021
Nepal’s second deadly wave of COVID-19 and subsequent lockdown have severely affected many citizens throughout the South Asian country. Historically marginalized groups including single women – or women who are widowed, divorced, or in a female-headed household – face especially difficult circumstances as the pandemic exacerbates existing social and economic hardships and creates unanticipated challenges. A study conducted by the government of Nepal assessing the gendered impacts of the pandemic found a 337% rise in the number of women not involved in any paid work. The study also found that women’s unpaid care workload increased during the COVID-19 lockdowns due to school closures and restrictions on mobility outside the home.
‘A Thousand Ways to Love’: Argentina Rolls Out Non-Binary ID Cards in Latam First
Reuters - Buenos Aires, Argentina, 7/22/2021
Argentina rolled out identification cards on July 21, 2021 for non-binary citizens allowing them to use “x” in their important national ID document and passports in the field corresponding to gender. Argentina is the first South American country to enable this via decree, joining countries such as New Zealand, Canada and Australia, which have already carried out the change. President Alberto Fernández, together with the Minister of Women, Gender and Diversity, Elizabeth Gómez Alcorta, delivered the first three ID cards using the new “x” format. The use of the “x” has already been accepted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and includes people who identify outside traditional gender definitions.
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