Category: gender discrimination

In Quest of Sunshine in the Land of the Rising Sun

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Ever since the dreadful case of rape of a 23 year old girl in the capital of the biggest democracy in the world in 2012, the security and position of women in the global south are being discussed vividly, as the development of a nation in the contemporary times not only depends upon its economic power but also on its human development index. However, what is often ignored is that the local day to day traditions are the evidence of a woman’s position in a society as the same cannot improve overnight. This article makes an analysis of the position of women in one of the relatively dominant and better off Asian nations:Japan, and shows that economic empowerment is not often the measure of social conditions, specially when it comes to women. It is the social traditions, which define this crucial parameter and hence only a change in our thought process will help.

Gender Based Violence and Power Relations

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Globally women encounter gender based violence in various forms. Fahmida Zaman draws our focus to rape and domestic abuse, and asks whether we are truly doing enough to protect women. The author discusses the power dynamic between the victim and the perpetrator, and exposes the power relations at play in gender based violence.

Women in the Workplace: Discrimination in Western Europe and South Asia

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While popular wisdom holds that liberal democracies in the West have left behind discrimination against women in the workplace — and definitely in comparison to their cousins in Asia there has indeed been significant progress — gender discrimination is still very prevalent across the world. Fahmida Zaman’s essay explores this theme and outlines what legislative support women may expect in their fight against this scourge.