In Asia: Weekly Insight and Features from Asia

In Asia‘s editor, Alma Freeman, interviewed 2011 Survey of the Afghan People co-author and former Asia Foundation program director for Law, Human Rights, and Women’s Empowerment in Kabul, Najla Ayubi, for her reaction to the findings of The Asia Foundation’s 2011 Survey and what they might mean for women’s rights, peace talks, and more. Ayubi is currently the Afghanistan country director for the Open Society Foundation.

> More

Among the assets of the annual Survey of the Afghan People is the fact that the data is collected from men and women, and disaggregated as such. In this way, not only does the survey allow for a nuanced look at attitudes across geographic regions, ethnic groups, and age ranges, but it opens a window into the differences between women and men’s perceptions.

> More

As world population reached 7 billion last week, stories about the implications of population growth saturated the media. While total population counts offer broad “sound bite” appeal, the underlying structure of population has far greater socio-economic, political, and environmental implications. Population composition by sex, age, ethnicity, educational attainment, political orientation, or geography matters for everything from school planning to environmental management and even to political stability.

> More

Francia came to Tala Leprosarium from her hometown of Camarines Sur in Bicol region as a leprosy patient when she was 17 years old. Before she contracted leprosy, she had worked as a domestic helper. When I met Francia at Jose Rodriguez Memorial Hospital, a former leprosarium and grantee of The Asia Foundation’s…

> More

Newsweek/The Daily Beast, in its September 18 issue, ranked the Philippines as the “best place in Asia for women.” The Philippines ranked 17th worldwide, among 165 countries, the only Asian country to make the top 20. Data across five categories – justice, health, education, economics, and politics – were analyzed…

> More

The phrase “gender equality as smart economics” has become the recent mantra of such powerful women leaders as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet. It is also the rallying cry of the World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report…

> More

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum taking place in San Francisco this week, the powerful role women entrepreneurs play across the globe in driving economic growth and job creation is high on the agenda. Recognizing this growing role, particularly for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), I joined leading economists, experts, government officials, and women entrepreneurs from around the world today for a dedicated all-day discussion on specific constraints women face when starting or developing a business.

> More

Eighteen year-old Sita met Prakash in Banke, a district in the far west of Nepal, where she lived with her parents. Prakash came to her village during a festival celebration, and Sita’s uncle introduced them. The two quickly fell in love and decided to elope.

> More

On June 12, the UK’s Equalities Minister, Lynne Featherstone, arrived in Kathmandu on a three-day visit to share her experiences in combating violence against women and to learn how Nepal is tackling the issue.

> More

The floods of 2010 swept away homes and livelihoods, affecting more than 18 million people and killing more than 1,750 in Pakistan. They also destroyed and contaminated precious water systems integral to the survival of Pakistan’s communities. For example, in Union Council Amaze, a remote location in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province…

> More