In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

The Asia Foundation asked our readers and Facebook fans to submit their photos that exemplify change – large or small – in Asia. Out of 510 submissions over the past month, we narrowed the field to six and then turned it over to our Facebook fans to vote for their favorite image. On Monday, our [...]

> More

The International Violence against Women Act of 2010 originally introduced by now-Vice President Joseph Biden, was recently re-introduced in both houses of the 111th Congress after failing to come to a vote in the previous Congressional session. On February 4, Senators Kerry (D-MA), Boxer (D-CA), Collins (R-ME), and Snowe (R-ME); and Representatives Delahunt (D-MA), Poe [...]

> More

If you ask Mrs. Sophorn from rural Pursat province in western Cambodia, protecting Cambodia’s threatened natural resources is one of the most important steps toward alleviating poverty in her country. Approximately 80 percent of Cambodians live in rural areas, with 71 percent depending primarily on agriculture (largely rice) and livestock for their livelihoods. To support [...]

> More

Humaira Aman* was born in Kabul, and along with thousands of other Afghans, was forced to relocate to a refugee camp in Pakistan after the Russian occupation of Afghanistan in the late 1970s. While relocated in Peshawar, she pursued a medical education at a local university for three years. However, in 1997, the Taliban decreed [...]

> More

•    Reinventing Pakistan: A Closer Look at the Status of Women •    Going Public: Facebook to Raise Voice of Cambodia’s Women in Business •    From Afghanistan: Women’s Biggest Problems & Justice for Women •    SLIDESHOW: Celebrate Women of Asia •    VIDEO: Women’s Empowerment Program

> More

The status of women has long been a source of political controversy in Pakistan. The country’s former military ruler, General Zia ul-Haq, enforced the draconian Hudood Ordinance in 1979, launching his infamous Islamization program that created tremendous hardships for women living in Pakistan. For example, it is well-documented that many unfortunate women who were raped [...]

> More

Never short of innovative ideas and certainly not lacking entrepreneurship, Cambodian businesswomen have now created a Facebook page to network and exchange tips and ideas about doing business in the Kingdom. More than 200 businesswomen, professionals, students, academics, and even male supporters, have already joined the group to share economic, social, and cultural challenges faced [...]

> More

“In order for women to improve their lives, they must be safe in their communities, given the opportunity to earn an income, and a voice in the decisions that affect their lives,” explains Carol Yost, The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment Program Director, in a new video that presents an overview of the Foundation’s work to [...]

> More

Millions of women in Asia are on the rise – taking advantage of expanding economic and educational opportunities, political participation, increasing rights and influence within their societies. At the same time, others remain trapped in a cycle of illiteracy, poverty, or ill health, often lacking the means to raise themselves and their families out of [...]

> More

The vehicles traveling from Khovsgol Province in northwest Mongolia to Ulaanbaatar have to spend the night on the way because it’s such a long journey. These roads that connect Mongolia’s rural countryside with Ulaanbaatar have provided new opportunities and access to thousands of people who otherwise would have remained isolated. However, for some people like [...]

> More