Category Archives: Gender

‘Sad day for women’: Queensland LNP leader under fire for ‘Princess Palaszczuk’ comments

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Deb Frecklington said she had ‘no choice but to remain grounded’ because she had children, and said the premier’s fashion choices were ‘too much’

Federal and state Labor MPs have rounded on the Queensland LNP leader, Deb Frecklington, after she criticised Annastacia Palaszczuk for her fashion choices and said she had “no choice but to remain grounded” because she had children.

In an interview with the Sunday Mail, Frecklington said Palaszczuk had “deliberately changed her image – the whole ‘Princess Palaszczuk’ is pretty obvious – but I haven’t changed mine”.

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‘Everybody is talking about it’: women’s rights to take centre stage in 2020

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Campaigners hail year of key global gatherings and events as vital opportunity to secure ‘bold, accountable commitments and action’

World leaders, civil society and the private sector are preparing to make 2020 the biggest year yet for the advancement of women’s rights.

Over the course of the year, thousands of people are expected to attend high-level UN events and forums in Mexico City and Paris to mark the 25th anniversary of the Beijing platform for action, a landmark agreement to end gender inequality.

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Musicians decry Hamas ban on co-ed school concerts in Gaza

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Authorities sanction strict Islamic fatwa that forbids boys and girls playing together on stage – but face strong criticism from teachers

Two orchestral concerts by students and graduates of Gaza’s decade-old music conservatory have been cancelled after the Hamas authorities insisted for the first time that they could not go ahead with girls and boys playing together on stage.

The Gaza music school, part of the Palestinian-wide Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, rejected a new single-sex condition which the conductor told the Observer would be a disaster for the 45-member orchestra if sustained by the de facto government.

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Sudan dissolves ex-ruling party and repeals law targeting women

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Activists welcome passing of key demands of protest movement that toppled Bashir

Activists in Sudan have welcomed a decision by the transitional government to dissolve the former ruling party and repeal a public order law used to regulate women’s behaviour under the former president Omar al-Bashir.

Bashir has been in detention since being forced from power in April, when security forces withdrew their support for his regime after months of protests in which more than 100 people were killed.

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‘France’s shame’: thousands protest against gender violence

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More than 100 women in France have been killed by a current or former partner this year

Several thousand people marched in France on Saturday to protest against alarming levels of deadly domestic violence against women, which the president, Emmanuel Macron, has called “France’s shame”.

The biggest rallies were in Paris. The streets of the capital became a sea of purple and white as thousands marched carrying banners, placards and flags calling for an end to femicide.

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‘My job can be pretty depressing’: how Africa’s legal systems are tipped against girls

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Discrimination against girls is still entrenched in the laws of many African countries. Shocking examples are easy to find

I love my job, but it can be pretty depressing. I’ve spent the past year researching and writing the first-ever continental report of the routine, blatant discrimination suffered by African girls.

The fact that girls and women are treated as inferior citizens is hardly news, except that this report reveals the extent to which gender discrimination is frequently state-sanctioned – embedded into the laws, policies and practices of many African nations. We’re talking about legal, institutional discrimination with its roots in a deeply gendered and patriarchal society. We are also talking about the denial of respect for the dignity of the African girl.

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Japanese women demand right to wear glasses at work

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Public outcry after TV show exposes businesses imposing ban on female staff

Japanese women on social media are demanding the right to wear glasses to work, after reports that employers were imposing bans.

In the latest protest against rigid rules over women’s appearance, the hashtag “glasses are forbidden” was trending on Twitter in reaction to a Japanese television show that exposed businesses that were imposing the bans on female staff.

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Lebanese women demand new rights amid political turmoil

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Feminist bloc plans to build on role in protests that brought down prime minister

A man may just have stepped down as prime minister, but the women of Lebanon are not going anywhere.

During the protests that led to the resignation of Saad Hariri, women were among those chanting, blocking roads and debating the future of the country’s politics.

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Congresswoman Katie Hill calls out ‘double standards’ and misogyny in resignation speech – video

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The Democratic US representative Katie Hill has delivered her final speech on the House floor, in which she called out the 'double standards' and 'misogynistic culture' that led to her resignation. The California congresswoman said she would be stepping down after she was accused of having an affair with a campaign worker and nude photographs of her were published online 


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Battle of the sexes: why this year’s Oscars will be a gender war

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From Little Women and Bombshell on one side and The Irishman and The Two Popes on the other, the Academy will have to tread a careful line picking this year’s nominations

British politicians are not the only people preparing for the campaign trail; Hollywood’s awards-season schmooze offensive has also begun. Gala ball dates are being added to diaries, academy voters are being targeted and a clutch of frontrunners is emerging. Trends – most of them worrying – are also appearing.

In summary, this year it is “boy films” v “girl films”. A gaping gender divide seems to have split the field. On the girls’ side, we have two well-received titles: Bombshell, dramatising the sexual harassment scandal at Fox News, and Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Little Women. Both are stories of female defiance at the male-dominated status quo, and are cast with an embarrassment of awards-bait: Little Women features Meryl Streep, Saoirse Ronan, Florence Pugh, Emma Watson and Laura Dern; Bombshell has Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie and Allison Janney.

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US effort to remove ‘sexual health’ from UN agreement may violate law, say senators

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Trump administration may have violated Siljander amendment by lobbying to remove protections, four Democrats said in letter

The Trump administration may have violated federal law by lobbying more than 70 countries to remove protections for “sexual and reproductive health” from a UN agreement, according to a letter from four US senators seen by the Guardian.

The letter from the senators, all high-ranking Democrats, focuses on an effort from the Trump administration to remove “sexual and reproductive health” from a high-level UN agreement on universal health coverage.

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Man burying daughter finds newborn alive in Indian grave

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Newborn baby girl was heard crying after being buried alive in clay pot in Uttar Pradesh

A man digging a grave in northern India found a newborn girl buried alive, police have said, in the latest case to shine a spotlight on female infanticide in the country.

Hitesh Sirohi had gone to bury his own daughter, who died a few minutes after birth on Wednesday, when his spade hit an earthen pot, local police in Uttar Pradesh state told AFP.

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Rights groups urge Cyprus to drop false rape case against Briton

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Woman, 19, to go on trial after revoking claim she was raped by 12 Israeli tourists

Human rights and feminist groups are calling for Cypriot authorities to drop the case against a British teenager accused of falsely claiming she was raped by 12 Israeli tourists in a hotel room.

The 19-year-old, who reported the alleged assault almost three months ago but was then arrested after revoking her criminal complaint, is due to go on trial on Tuesday on a charge of public mischief. She has pleaded not guilty to fabricating the accusation of rape, but could be imprisoned for up to a year if found guilty.

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Which city is the worst for sexual harassment on public transport?

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As reports of sexual harassment on the London underground soar, studies say the issue is the number-one safety risk facing girls and women worldwide

It’s 8am at Oxford Circus tube station and the Central line platforms are teeming with people. Stony-faced business types, rucksack-touting tourists and yawning schoolchildren jostle for space in the rush-hour crush.

But among the crowds of commuters is another group waiting to board the train – a covert patrol of plainclothed officers looking to catch sexual predators in the act.

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Saudi Arabia to allow unmarried foreign couples in hotel rooms

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Kingdom relaxes rules as it turns to tourism to bolster economy for post-oil era

Saudi Arabia has announced it is to allow unmarried foreign couples to rent hotel rooms together as the ultra-conservative kingdom begins offering tourist visas for the first time.

The tourism authority said in a statement on Twitter on Sunday that Saudi women travelling alone would also be able to check into a hotel by presenting valid ID. In the past, couples wanting to stay in a hotel had to prove they were married.

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Not all men: what I’ve learned as a woman working with sex offenders

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I’ve been shocked and disgusted by what some men have done. I’ve also seen how complicated atonement and forgiveness are

Warning: This story contains discussion and description of sexual abuse, assault, and trauma.

When Jay first came into the program, he was asked – as all members were – to share his offense with the group. He said he’d had sex with his teenage stepdaughter.

“She was very attractive,” he said. “Mature for her age. We kind of fell into it.”

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‘Based in hatred’: violence against women standing in Colombia’s elections

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Killing of Karina García reflects targeting of female contenders, amid mounting security concerns

The body of mayoral candidate Karina García was found shot and incinerated in her car in the Cauca department of southern Colombia, on 1 September.

For weeks, García had reported receiving threats and asked the government for increased protection during campaigning for the local and departmental elections at the end of the month.

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Sam Smith on being non-binary: ‘I’m changing my pronouns to they/them’

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Singer ‘scared shitless but feeling super free right now’ and asks fans to be kind

The pop star Sam Smith has come out as non-binary and asked to be addressed by the pronouns they/them. Smith, 27, wrote on Instagram: “After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I’ve decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out.”

In an interview with Jameela Jamil published in March, Smith said: “I’m not male or female, I think I flow somewhere in between. It’s all on the spectrum.” Smith described being non-binary as “your own special creation”.

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Thousands protest in South Africa over rising violence against women

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President promises to do more after the most deadly month for violent crimes against women country has ever seen

Thousands of South African women took to the streets on Thursday to protest at the government’s failure to deal with rising violence against women in the wake of a string of brutal attacks that have shocked the country.

Women from across South African society marched to parliament in Cape Town dressed in black and purple in commemoration of those who lost their lives in August, the most deadly month for violent crimes against women the country has ever seen.

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G7 leaders told to scrap discriminatory gender laws from statute books

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Gender equality advisory council says states must begin enshrining equal rights in law

The G7 leaders have been told to get rid of discriminatory gender laws that still exist on their statute books and begin enshrining equal rights in the legal system.

All G7 countries, including the UK, still have discriminatory laws on their statute books or substantial loopholes that allow discrimination, the G7’s gender equality advisory council said at a key summit session attended by all leaders, including the US president, Donald Trump.

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