By Lisa
International: Around the world, people celebrated and protested during International Women’s Day (March 8th).
Israel: During Arab Mother’s Day (March 21st), incarcerated Palestinian mothers protested the conditions in which they are held captive. A highly controversial policy allows Israeli forces to indefinitely imprison people without charges; the policy is mostly used to detain Palestinians.
Iran: Female spectators were refused entrance at a soccer competition taking place in Mashhad, Iran. Security used pepper spray to forcibly keep the women out.
Poland: Justyna Wydrzyńska, an abortion-rights activist, will face trial for aiding a person in getting an abortion. She might face jail for up to three years.
Japan: The Japanese government is encouraging young girls to get their HPV vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. At the moment, vaccination rates are close to zero.
Afghanistan: Taliban closes girls’ secondary schools hours after reopening them. During their rule of Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, the Taliban also banned girls and women from schools and employment.
US: Ketanji Brown Jackson will most likely become the first black woman to serve as a judge on the US Supreme Court. During her career, Jackson has promoted criminal justice reforms by, for instance, reducing sentences for people who were arrested for crack cocaine possession.
Singapore: Singapore’s government has decided not to repeal Section 337A, a law introduced by the British colonial regime criminalising men who have sex with other men. The government said that the law would not be enforced, but will not be repealed so as to reflect the government’s conservative social attitudes.
Canada: The pope holds audiences with indigenous leaders about the church’s role in displacing indigenous children from their homes and cultures during the 19th and 20th centuries. The abuse was rampant in the Christian schools the children were sent to.
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https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/mother-day-palestine-israel-women-prisoners-demand-rights
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iran-world-cup-women-denied-entry-qualifying-match