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December 18th, 2017

2017 in review: Top articles on gender issues in South Asia

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Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Editor

December 18th, 2017

2017 in review: Top articles on gender issues in South Asia

0 comments

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The last few months of 2017 have put women’s issues into the spotlight. What began with the Harvey Weinstein’s expose, has become a mass movement as more women speak out against gender-based violence. The flood gates have opened, and #MeToo has pervaded our social media feeds. There are a host of other issues that affect women, and here we look at some of South Asia @ LSE’s top articles on gender issues in South Asia. 

 

Celebrate the triple talaq ruling but do so with caution 

The Supreme Court of India banned triple talaq as a means of divorce among Muslims in India. Nida Kirmani welcomes the ruling as progress towards the protection of Muslim women’s rights within marriage, but writes that we must be mindful of how the debate has been framed. At a time when Muslims are facing increasing discrimination, there are those who are celebrating the decision to advance their own agendas, and will likely continue to try and co-opt debates around Muslim Personal Law.

 

Supporting motherhood – or discouraging parenthood? A curious case of the extended maternity leave in India 

The Government of India’s move to increase maternity leave may have been a well-intentioned policy, but it has created a gap between costs to a company for male and female employees and reinforced traditional gender roles in childcare. Mitali Nikore analyses the weakness of the policy decision and makes recommendations on how it can be improved

 

What works? Breaking silence on menstrual stigma and taboos 

sangita-updatedThe evidence suggests that changing age-old traditions and social attitudes requires more than legal reforms and guidelines. Sangita Thebe Limbu looks at the issue of stigma around menstruation with particular reference to Nepal and highlights the wide ranging impacts which make it both a pressing human rights and development issue. She writes that a two-pronged approach which aims to break the taboo creatively and enable good menstrual hygiene is key to progress.

 

Do numbers tell the real story of gender based violence in Nepal? 

An online survey carried out by Code for Nepal, with over thousand female respondents, presented a staggering figure: 98% women said they have experienced some form of harassment on streets. This clearly indicates an alarming situation of Gender Based Violence (GBV) in Nepal writes Sudeep Uprety

Will there ever be a Women’s March in Bangladesh? 

Tasmiah T RahmanThere has been remarkable and quantifiable progress for Bangladeshi women since the country became independent in 1971, particularly in terms of women’s political representation. But Tasmiah Rahman draws on her own professional research and personal experiences to argue that the connection between women in power and empowerment of women is missing.

How does distance influence the decision to migrate? Evidence from Pakistan

Choosing to migrate is not always easy, particularly when it involves leaving family members behind. In this article, Ghamz E Ali Siyal draws on PRISE research to discuss how distance influences people’s choices in semi-arid regions in Pakistan, and explores how this varies according to gender and marital status.

You can catch up with South Asia @ LSE’s Gender articles via the archives here.

Cover image: Silhouette of a woman. Marco Eye/Flickr/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Note: This article gives the views of the authors, and not the position of the South Asia @ LSE blog, nor of the London School of Economics. Please read our comments policy before posting.

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South Asia @ LSE welcomes contributions from LSE faculty, fellows, students, alumni and visitors to the school. Please write to southasia@lse.ac.uk with ideas for posts on south Asia-related topics.

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