https://www.scmp.com/rss/502130/feed Celebrating women in Asia and sharing stories that matter en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3346388/celebrating-international-womens-day-2026?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3346388/celebrating-international-womens-day-2026?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Mar 2026 10:00:00 +0000 Edith Lin Edith Lin https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3316735/hong-kong-district-councillors-pageant-bid-sparks-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3316735/hong-kong-district-councillors-pageant-bid-sparks-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281402/chappell-roan-speaks-out-against-predatory-fan-behaviour?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281402/chappell-roan-speaks-out-against-predatory-fan-behaviour?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 04 Oct 2024 11:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3281533/controversy-grows-over-sex-education-guidelines-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/education/article/3281533/controversy-grows-over-sex-education-guidelines-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 13 Sep 2024 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3281404/deepfake-chatroom-crisis-sparks-furore-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3281404/deepfake-chatroom-crisis-sparks-furore-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Sep 2024 10:01:42 +0000 Five young women making their Olympic debuts will be among the hundreds of athletes in China’s contingent at the Paris Games. While they might not yet be household names such as Li Na or Eileen Gu, these rising stars already boast impressive track records – and may well make history this summer. Among a 405-strong squad, which includes 42 Olympic gold medallists, here are some new faces we think could soon be global stars. Liu Qingyi (Breaking) As breaking, the athletic, acrobatic street dance... https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3271223/paris-olympics-5-young-chinese-women-hoping-make-waves-and-more-their-games-debuts?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/china/article/3271223/paris-olympics-5-young-chinese-women-hoping-make-waves-and-more-their-games-debuts?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 20 Jul 2024 02:00:24 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281431/man-or-bear-choice-dividing-internet?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281431/man-or-bear-choice-dividing-internet?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 31 May 2024 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281437/perils-celebrity-romances?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281437/perils-celebrity-romances?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Mar 2024 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281427/understanding-britney-spears?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281427/understanding-britney-spears?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Nov 2023 09:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3237495/australias-historic-voice-vote?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3237495/australias-historic-voice-vote?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 06 Oct 2023 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281407/pressures-south-korean-working-mum?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281407/pressures-south-korean-working-mum?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 14 Jul 2023 10:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3225230/indias-acid-attack-survivors-fight-change?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3225230/indias-acid-attack-survivors-fight-change?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 23 Jun 2023 17:28:21 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281429/lgbtq-recognition-still-ways-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281429/lgbtq-recognition-still-ways-south-korea?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 16 Jun 2023 09:00:00 +0000 When May Tan was tapped by her then-employer, British investment bank Cazenove, to relocate from England to work in Hong Kong in 1984, she was not thrilled. The firm had its eye on gaining a foothold in Asia and offered Tan, a Malaysia-born chartered accountant, a secondment in the city to do equity research. Hong Kong’s economy then was in turmoil, ahead of the 1997 handover from Britain to Beijing. Tan, who had never been to the city, described the situation as “chaotic”. “Deng Xiaoping and... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3214493/lunar-malaysias-may-tan-looks-back-trailblazing-banking-career-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/article/3214493/lunar-malaysias-may-tan-looks-back-trailblazing-banking-career-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 24 Mar 2023 08:30:16 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3214698/wins-asia-oscars?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3214698/wins-asia-oscars?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Mar 2023 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3213107/women-our-time-2023?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3213107/women-our-time-2023?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Mar 2023 08:30:00 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281436/chatgpt-new-technology-same-biases?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281436/chatgpt-new-technology-same-biases?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Mar 2023 09:00:00 +0000 Women are breaking into Singapore boardrooms at a record pace. At the 100 largest companies listed on Singapore’s stock exchange, 36 per cent of board appointments went to women in 2022, a record high and up from 23 per cent in 2021, according to an annual study by the Council for Board Diversity. The influx of women follows new rules that require Singapore listed companies to say more about their board diversity policies. Starting from 2022, firms have to disclose their diversity targets,... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3212085/record-number-singapores-new-director-roles-filled-women-after-new-diversity-rules-applied?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3212085/record-number-singapores-new-director-roles-filled-women-after-new-diversity-rules-applied?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 02 Mar 2023 09:14:38 +0000 In a first-floor corridor of the Grand Hyatt Berlin hotel, Fan Bingbing is applying her own make-up, holding up a small compact mirror and tilting her head backwards as she touches up her mascara. Only one room has been assigned for publicity purposes for her new movie Green Night, which has just been unveiled in the Panorama strand of this year’s Berlin International Film Festival. And for the moment, the director of the film, Han Shuai, is doing a TV interview in there. Fan, however, doesn’t... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3211810/its-restart-me-chinese-actress-fan-bingbing-relaunching-her-career-green-night-after-tax-scandal-and?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3211810/its-restart-me-chinese-actress-fan-bingbing-relaunching-her-career-green-night-after-tax-scandal-and?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Feb 2023 23:15:09 +0000 From childhood, Rina Gonoi dreamed of joining Japan’s military. But as an adult, she has gone to war against the institution over sexual abuse she was subjected to by fellow soldiers. It’s not the life the slight 23-year-old imagined, but the decision to go public with her experience and battle the military for justice has been explosive. Her story has inspired dozens more people to report sexual and other abuse in the military, but it also opened Gonoi up to threats and online insults so severe... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3211646/japan-ex-soldier-goes-war-military-over-sexual-abuse-theres-something-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3211646/japan-ex-soldier-goes-war-military-over-sexual-abuse-theres-something-wrong?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Feb 2023 05:33:08 +0000 Moeko Heshiki is no ordinary tattoo artist: she is one of the few people keeping the once-banned tradition of hajichi body art alive for the indigenous Ryukyu people of Japan’s Okinawa region. The traditionally hand-poked markings were once common on women of the Ryukyu, who lived throughout the southern islands of what is now Japan. The monochrome patterns, ranging from delicate arrow-like symbols to arrays of large dots, marked important moments in a woman’s life and, in some cases, were... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3210803/completely-different-tattoos-how-body-art-indigenous-okinawa-japan-being-revived-new-generation-way?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3210803/completely-different-tattoos-how-body-art-indigenous-okinawa-japan-being-revived-new-generation-way?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 20 Feb 2023 23:15:11 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281426/when-food-more-food?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3281426/when-food-more-food?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 Feb 2023 11:19:58 +0000 For their Covid-delayed debut in Hong Kong, the award-winning Esmé Quartet will begin with a joke – or rather, “The Joke”, as Haydn’s String Quartet in E-flat Major is known. The four Korean-born female musicians who make up the quartet are eager to bring lightness and joy to the city during this year’s Hong Kong Arts Festival, the first since the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. Their recital on February 28 will be followed by a performance on March 4 with the Hong Kong Philharmonic... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3210138/all-female-korean-string-quartet-defying-doubters-and-becoming-blackpink-classical-music?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3210138/all-female-korean-string-quartet-defying-doubters-and-becoming-blackpink-classical-music?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Feb 2023 10:15:14 +0000 Only a select few fashion brands are granted the status of haute couture houses. As of now, there are 16. But does this pool truly capture the breadth of luxury handmade fashion? More than 7,000km from Paris – the city from which the “haute couture” title is dished out – a growing number of designers would disagree. Haute couture, which translates as “high dressmaking”, is first and foremost high-end fashion that is completely handmade, according to France’s Fédération de la Haute Couture et de... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3210117/luxury-fashions-worst-kept-secret-and-indian-designers-reclaiming-what-it-means-make-haute-couture?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/fashion-beauty/article/3210117/luxury-fashions-worst-kept-secret-and-indian-designers-reclaiming-what-it-means-make-haute-couture?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 14 Feb 2023 03:26:58 +0000 This is the third instalment in a series on dementia, including the research into its causes and treatment, advice for carers, and stories of hope. I am constantly aware that I may develop dementia, the illness that now compromises my mother. One factor that fuels my fear is that I share her gender. Women are far more likely than men to succumb to dementia. Nearly two-thirds of the five million Americans living with Alzheimer’s – the most common form of dementia – are women. Is this because we... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3210021/why-women-are-more-likely-have-dementia-men-they-age-and-how-exercise-and-engagement-can-help-lower?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/article/3210021/why-women-are-more-likely-have-dementia-men-they-age-and-how-exercise-and-engagement-can-help-lower?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Feb 2023 11:15:11 +0000 Mia Nulimaimaiti Mia Nulimaimaiti The writing on the wall is abundantly clear, brazenly spelled out with no-nonsense language in the job posting for a Chinese automotive services firm in Sichuan province. “The average age of the team should be less than 30 years old,” states the notice seeking to fill a vacant human resources position. China’s pervasive ageism in employment is nothing new. And it’s certainly no secret. But signs could be suggesting that it is getting even worse. Traditionally, it starts rearing its head in the... https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3209667/chinas-youngest-millennials-told-theyre-too-old-jobs-and-elder-gen-z-workers-are-next?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/economy/china-economy/article/3209667/chinas-youngest-millennials-told-theyre-too-old-jobs-and-elder-gen-z-workers-are-next?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Feb 2023 03:00:10 +0000 Zahad was in the middle of a gender reassignment procedure to become a man in India’s Kerala state when he and his partner decided they wanted a family. At that point, the 23-year-old’s breasts had been removed and he was undergoing hormone therapy that was deepening his voice, producing a moustache, and making his body more muscular. Next was the removal of his female reproductive organs. But Zahad and his partner’s desire for a child led him to pause his transitioning treatment and try for a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3209415/pregnant-transgender-indian-prepares-become-dad-and-make-history-trans-partner?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3209415/pregnant-transgender-indian-prepares-become-dad-and-make-history-trans-partner?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 08 Feb 2023 04:00:13 +0000 Hong Kong’s top court handed down a landmark ruling on Monday finding that authorities’ refusal to allow two transgender people to use their preferred gender on their identity cards without undergoing full reassignment surgery had breached their rights. The ruling, the result of a years-long legal battle, meant the government could no longer impose such surgical procedures – often considered risky by the transgender community – as a precondition for wider gender recognition. “I can live like any... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3209248/top-hong-kong-court-says-landmark-ruling-government-breached-rights-2-transgender-men-preventing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3209248/top-hong-kong-court-says-landmark-ruling-government-breached-rights-2-transgender-men-preventing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Feb 2023 08:44:50 +0000 During the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, many people found themselves taking up new hobbies, such as baking bread or gardening. Georgina Leung was no different – except her hobby involved puncturing herself with needle and ink. “My boyfriend would come into the flat and find me sat there with my leg out, stabbing myself in front of the TV,” Leung says. “​​It became this ritual of what I would do, where I’m like, ‘Oh OK, it’s Sunday again, let me give myself a tattoo.’” At the time, in 2020,... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3208996/why-artists-tattoos-hong-kong-and-chinese-culture-hit-home-asians-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3208996/why-artists-tattoos-hong-kong-and-chinese-culture-hit-home-asians-overseas?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 05 Feb 2023 08:15:11 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281433/marie-kondo-sparking-joy-or-just-rich?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/article/3281433/marie-kondo-sparking-joy-or-just-rich?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 03 Feb 2023 09:00:00 +0000 The decline in the number of people in China getting married for the first time has been welcomed by some younger Chinese, who signalled their growing reluctance to tie the knot. They said the increasing costs of marrying and raising a family, and changes to the law to make it harder to get divorced, all acted as deterrents. 7 ways China can boost its birth rate The number getting married for the first time dropped to 11.6 million last year, almost 700,000 down on the previous year, according to... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3208316/getting-married-going-hell-why-more-young-chinese-are-falling-out-love-tying-knot?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/trending-china/article/3208316/getting-married-going-hell-why-more-young-chinese-are-falling-out-love-tying-knot?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 29 Jan 2023 06:00:28 +0000 Nicole Li* made her way successfully through law school and landed a job at a Hong Kong legal firm, but was not prepared for the gender discrimination she faced at work. Unsolicited comments about her clothes, patronising remarks about her work and being talked down to were just some ways men upset the lawyer, in her 20s, who has been practising for more than two years. Men in the office providing “friendly advice” warned her that her career would be derailed if she ever decided to have a baby... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3208290/women-lawyers-work-hong-kong-survey-shows-gender-woes-men-who-patronise-workplace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3208290/women-lawyers-work-hong-kong-survey-shows-gender-woes-men-who-patronise-workplace?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2023 11:00:12 +0000 There is no denying that the 2018 Hollywood romcom Crazy Rich Asians was a pop culture moment. The first Asian-led film backed by a major Hollywood studio since 1993’s The Joy Luck Club, it defied expectations to become a critical hit in the United States and elsewhere. This spawned countless breathless commentaries about how “Crazy Rich Asians is going to change Hollywood”, as one Time magazine headline declared. It also birthed several copycat reality series starring wealthy Asian Americans,... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3208157/after-crazy-rich-asians-representation-hollywood-going-right-direction?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3208157/after-crazy-rich-asians-representation-hollywood-going-right-direction?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 28 Jan 2023 03:00:25 +0000 Forget dancing like your dad, it’s singing by a mum that’s entertaining young Indonesians these days. At a packed festival in central Jakarta, hijab-clad sexagenarian singer Rien Djamain bursts into an upbeat track about nuclear destruction to a crowd of thousands, mostly Indonesian youths. Behind the frontwoman of the all-female Nasida Ria band are her fellow musicians, dressed in silver and black sequinned dresses, backing up her velvety vocals with bongos, violins, mandolins, bamboo flutes... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3208216/hijabi-indie-mothers-embraced-young-indonesian-music-fans?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3208216/hijabi-indie-mothers-embraced-young-indonesian-music-fans?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jan 2023 08:52:25 +0000 For a politician who repeatedly said she had no ambitions for New Zealand’s top job, Jacinda Ardern left office this week having forged her own path as a woman leader at the highest level of power. Throughout her almost six years as prime minister, Ardern demonstrated a fresh brand of leadership that prioritised being authentic, decisive and empathetic – qualities that were on full display as she dealt with a range of unprecedented crises, including a global pandemic, a volcanic eruption and a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3208045/jacinda-ardern-wasnt-perfect-she-blazed-trail-women-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3208045/jacinda-ardern-wasnt-perfect-she-blazed-trail-women-leadership?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 27 Jan 2023 00:00:15 +0000 Most likely, 2021 will go down in history as the year China last saw population growth. Only 9.56 million people were born on the mainland last year while 10.41 million people died, China’s National Bureau of Statistics recently announced. This demographic shift has happened much sooner than predicted. To encourage more births, China first dropped its notorious one-child policy in 2016, but it didn’t work. In 2021, the authorities allowed couples to have up to three children, but I doubt this... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3207963/china-must-solve-its-population-crisis-not-government-diktat?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3207963/china-must-solve-its-population-crisis-not-government-diktat?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 26 Jan 2023 19:30:09 +0000 The scene was short, but veteran Indonesian actress Christine Hakim only needed less than 10 minutes to make an impact. The 66-year-old “grand dame” of Indonesian cinema was praised for her performance in the latest episode of HBO’s highly anticipated The Last of Us television series, an adaptation of the popular PlayStation survival horror video game. The episode, which aired on January 22, featured Jakarta in 2003 at the start of an outbreak of Cordyceps, a brain-infecting fungus that turns... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3207878/give-her-emmy-indonesian-actress-christine-hakim-makes-waves-hbo-tv-series-last-us?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3207878/give-her-emmy-indonesian-actress-christine-hakim-makes-waves-hbo-tv-series-last-us?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 24 Jan 2023 11:08:05 +0000 A sit-in protest led by one of India’s most successful female wrestlers in the country’s capital of New Delhi has been called off, after the wrestling federation’s chief agreed to step aside until claims of sexual harassment against him are investigated. Vinesh Phogat, the first female Indian wrestler to win gold in the Commonwealth and Asian Games, said that although she herself had not been targeted, the sexual exploitation of the 10-20 women had been going on for a decade. Not only were... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3207625/female-indian-wrestlers-accuse-coaches-federation-chief-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3207625/female-indian-wrestlers-accuse-coaches-federation-chief-sexual-harassment?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 22 Jan 2023 07:00:19 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3207014/just-japanese-girl?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3207014/just-japanese-girl?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2023 11:26:51 +0000 Under the Taliban, the mannequins in women’s dress shops across the Afghan capital of Kabul are a haunting sight, their heads cloaked in cloth sacks or wrapped in black plastic bags. The hooded mannequins are one symbol of the Taliban’s puritanical rule over Afghanistan. But in a way, they are also a small show of resistance and creativity by Kabul’s dress merchants. Initially, the Taliban wanted the mannequins to be outright beheaded. ‘Fearless’ female Afghan ex-lawmaker shot dead by Kabul... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3206963/mannequins-kabul-hooded-and-masked-under-taliban-rule?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3206963/mannequins-kabul-hooded-and-masked-under-taliban-rule?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 16 Jan 2023 07:21:14 +0000 Women’s safety on the streets of India has once again come under the spotlight following the death of a young woman in a horrific hit-and-run case in New Delhi on New Year’s Eve. The victim, Anjali Singh, and her friend Nidhi had been travelling along a dimly lit and deserted road after attending an event when their scooter was hit by a car. Anjali’s leg became caught and her body was trapped beneath the vehicle. Despite her screams, the car’s occupants continued driving and dragged the... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3206161/anjali-singh-grisly-hit-and-run-death-reignites-debate-womens-safety-india?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3206161/anjali-singh-grisly-hit-and-run-death-reignites-debate-womens-safety-india?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 11 Jan 2023 00:00:12 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206134/progress-women-and-lgbtq-2023?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206134/progress-women-and-lgbtq-2023?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 10:46:30 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206123/christmas-box-filled-love?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206123/christmas-box-filled-love?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 10:06:50 +0000 https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206103/michelle-yeoh-having-moment?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/article/3206103/michelle-yeoh-having-moment?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 09 Jan 2023 09:11:53 +0000 Seema and her husband did quite well when they first opened a samosa stall in the local market of a town in Bihar state, northeastern India. But then other vendors found out who Seema was. They yelled at her customers for buying her samosas. They threatened her husband for “polluting” the market by selling food prepared by her. She put up with it for months before giving up. What had Seema done wrong? She had been born a Dalit, a member of the “untouchables”, the lowest group in India’s ancient... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3204968/no-escape-caste-indias-untouchable-women-face-discrimination-schemes-meant-help-them?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/opinion/article/3204968/no-escape-caste-indias-untouchable-women-face-discrimination-schemes-meant-help-them?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Jan 2023 00:00:12 +0000 From hijab-burning protests in Iran to faltering progress on LGBTQ issues, 2022 has presented ongoing challenges for women and gender minorities in Asia. But this year also saw women breaking barriers: Malaysia had a number of women shaking up a political scene historically saturated by men, and, across Asia, women continue to do their part in addressing traditional and emerging security issues through peacebuilding – despite the importance of their efforts often going unrecognised. Here is a... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3204234/hijab-pressures-lgbtq-rights-antifeminists-challenges-asian-women-faced-2022?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3204234/hijab-pressures-lgbtq-rights-antifeminists-challenges-asian-women-faced-2022?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 26 Dec 2022 04:00:11 +0000 When she was 14, Shermaine Sng sat through two-hour sex education classes for the first time at her Singapore secondary school, puberty and sexually-transmitted diseases among the topics covered. She walked away from such lessons feeling more uncomfortable than she did before about the idea of talking about sex or her body. “The instructors left us with the message that having sex before marriage is really wrong and that if we do so, it’s probably because we are immature and don’t have control... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3204414/young-singaporeans-look-tiktok-sex-education-more-challenge-culture-shame?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3204414/young-singaporeans-look-tiktok-sex-education-more-challenge-culture-shame?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 24 Dec 2022 11:30:08 +0000 After dawn in a small eastern town in Indonesia, a young man holds an ornate umbrella over non-binary priest Puang Matowa Nani, as they walk barefoot to a nearby pond to perform the annual ritual of Mappalili. The ceremony marks the start of the planting season on the island of Sulawesi, where the androgynous Bissu community to whom they belong once held divine status, but are now fighting against extinction. Fewer than 40 Bissu remain in just a few areas across South Sulawesi, according to... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3204132/indonesia-all-gendered-priests-are-fighting-keep-their-traditions-alive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3204132/indonesia-all-gendered-priests-are-fighting-keep-their-traditions-alive?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 21 Dec 2022 11:45:09 +0000 Because of their love for the beautiful game, Fatima Shaikh, 18, and Kulsum Shaikh, 19, (no relation) have had to endure the ugly side of humanity. The pair from Mumbra, a Muslim community outside India’s Mumbai city, have encountered all manners of sexism and misogyny, including being told by male football coaches to “not play like girls”, or being assaulted and threatened by their families if they stepped on the pitch. One time, Fatima’s brother repeatedly struck her with a frying pan. Kulsum... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203547/love-game-indian-women-defy-sexism-abuse-chase-football-dream?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203547/love-game-indian-women-defy-sexism-abuse-chase-football-dream?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2022 08:00:14 +0000 This is the third and final story in a series on the role of women in peacebuilding efforts and security across Asia. Sompong Ad-Inmong was a street food vendor in 2004, when Islamic insurgents launched simultaneous attacks on 11 government locations and security checkpoints in the Muslim-dominated provinces of southern Thailand. More than 100 insurgents and five members of the security forces were killed. The attacks prompted Ad-Inmong to become a community volunteer and she has since found... https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203555/thailands-conflict-hit-south-women-community-leaders-are-using-food-education-tools-peace?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/people/article/3203555/thailands-conflict-hit-south-women-community-leaders-are-using-food-education-tools-peace?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Dec 2022 06:00:20 +0000