In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

When I first met Pandju Merali at his home in Seal Beach, California, in 2010, he told me a story about his life, which is recorded in his memoir, From Africa 2 America. Mr. Merali talked about what it was like growing up as a child of Indian descent in the Congo…

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At the second APEC Women and the Economy Forum held in St. Petersburg in June, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that: “Limiting women’s economic potential is for every country like leaving money on the table.

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While the arrest of Mongolia’s former president Nambar Enkhbayar on corruption charges has been dominating headlines, another quieter, but very significant event took place earlier this summer on June 28, when nine women won seats in the country’s parliamentary elections.

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This March 8th marks the 100th anniversary of the first International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the economic, political, and social achievements of women. It will be a day to commemorate the unprecedented number of women candidates who ran in Afghanistan’s most recent parliamentary elections; the women who make up approximately 33 percent of Nepal’s Constituent Assembly and 29.2 percent of Timor-Leste’s Parliament; the high annual growth rate of women business owners in Vietnam; and the gender parity in Bangladesh’s primary and secondary education system. Two million girls are now in school in Afghanistan and 509,000 women own small and medium sized businesses in Indonesia.

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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 [...]

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In the last fifteen years, women throughout Asia have made significant gains in the political, social, and economic spheres. Growing prosperity has enhanced women’s positions in several countries, and there have been substantial investments in girls’ and women’s education, health, and overall social welfare, benefiting families. Women have made inroads in the political realm, particularly [...]

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In 2002, the American public was made acutely aware of the global injustices women face through the courage of Mukhtar Mai”a young woman sentenced by tribal leaders in southern Pakistan to be gang raped for an indiscretion allegedly committed by her brother. After being brutally raped by four men and then forced to walk naked [...]

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