Vietnamese
models knocked for prostitution 'sideline'
Reports of fashion models caught selling
sex would probably receive little attention
elsewhere, but when Vietnamese police recently
accused well-known models of engaging in
prostition, it caused a scandal in this communist
nation. 12-1-2001
A
mystery of misogyny
A feminist can take
some dim comfort from the fact that the Taliban's
egregious misogyny is finally considered
newsworthy. It certainly wasn't high on
Washington's agenda in May, for example, when
President Bush congratulated the ruling Taliban
for banning opium production and handed them a
check for $43
million. 11-30-2001
The
show goes on for Thai media and monk circus
The confidence of many Buddhist followers
has been undermined by stories of monks amassing
vast collections of cars, embezzling money and
property, taking nightly jaunts to karaoke bars,
or wearing the disguise of an army officer in
order to pick up women. 10-21-2001
Child
prostitution finds mobile pimp
The arrest
this month of a high school teacher linked to the
death of a 12-year-old girl with whom he got
acquainted over the telephone, puts the spotlight
on telephone dating clubs that have sprouted
across Japan. 9-21-2001
Child
prostitution finds mobile pimp
The arrest
this month of a high school teacher linked to the
death of a 12-year-old girl with whom he got
acquainted over the telephone, puts the spotlight
on telephone dating clubs that have sprouted
across Japan. 9-21-2001
Rape,
murder, destitution - women's lot in South Asia
In India, one woman is raped every hour,
and 14 married women are killed by their husbands'
families each day. In Pakistan, at least eight
women are raped a day and another 1,000 were
killed to save family "honor" in
1999. 9-21-2001
China's
booming trade in Vietnamese brides
She met
her future husband at a downtown cafeteria, but
even that beginning was shorn of romance. Li, just
17, had been practically dragged there by her
mother, who had decided to marry her off to a
Taiwanese stranger - in exchange for US$3,500.
9-12-2001
Clampdown
on Bangkok nightlife gets jeers, cheers
For the past five years, Natharat Buakham
and her friend Pen have been regulars in Patpong,
the red-light district in the Thai capital
renowned for its sex shows and bars that have
women catering to the needs of men, for a price.
9-11-2001
Thai
hilltribes battling discrimination
An
April report by a Thai newspaper accusing one of
the country's hilltribe minorities of planning to
break away and form their independent state came
as no surprise to these ethnic groups.
9-1-2001
A
slap in the face for Pakistani women
Pakistan's highest Islamic advisory body
is the target of ire from rights groups after
issuing a pronouncement that seeks to ban women
from seeing male doctors and from having their
clothes sewn by men. 8-23-2001
Human
trafficking: Time to catch the real criminals
Governments across Asia have agreed to
work in tandem to stem the number of women and
children being trafficked over national borders by
international crime syndicates, but using the
legal weapons they have at present is by not easy.
8-10-2001
Sex,
drugs, embezzlement chant today's Hare Krishna
Sex scandals and embezzlement charges that
have knocked the image of the Hare Krishna cult
are now being compounded by street battles and
court arbitration between its rival
groups. 7-25-2001
Ceaseless
Flights of North Koreans
Lee Ju-0k
(alias), 23, lives on prostitution, charging 200
yuan, equivalent to about W160 won or US$0.13, per
service. She used to be a member of Pyongyang
"shock troops," a paramilitary engineer unit.
"Escaping home one day without leave, I found my
mother haggard and my father had starved to death
quite a while ago. That prompted me to cross the
Tumen River. 7-21-2001
China to
formalize one-child policy
After more than 40 drafts and heated debates stretching over two decades,
one of China's most controversial laws - its first legislation on family
planning and population - is about to emerge. The law would bestow a legal
mantle on the country's one-child population policy, which has been in practice
since 1980. 5-24-2001
Racy books,
authors' wars thrive in China
Mao Zedong's writings might have defined the literary outlook of
generations of Chinese people before 1978, but these days what readers find
exciting is a far cry from the sober lines of the chairman's poetic
exploits. 5-16-2001
Japanese
wartime sex crimes make curriculum
Sex crimes committed by occupying Japanese soldiers during World War II
will soon be taught to Indonesian students - a history lesson that is late, but
no less needed. 2-1-2001
Child
sex case shines spotlight on Thailand's social ills
Thailand's Deputy Senate Speaker Chalerm Promlert would still be enjoying
his prominent political career if a schoolgirl had decided to return to her
home one December night. 2-1-2001
Anger
flares over pre-birth gender choice service
Public health and human rights activists are up in arms over a gender
choice service being offered by a leading gynecologist. Using the service,
couples can choose the sex of their child, claim the promoters. 1-23-2001
Beauty
shows bare divisions in Indian politics
The organizers of a fashion show in this eastern Indian city, formerly
known as Calcutta, were surprised by street protests outside the luxury hotel
venue. 1-13-2001
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