Skepticism

Global Quickies: 06/07/2013

Hey! So, I’m not at SkepchickCon, which is bad news for me, but at least you guys still get your weekly world news roundup.

THE BAD

IRAN
Sports authorities refuse to record Elham Sadat Asghari’s record of swimming 20km in the Caspian Sea because her bathing suit was too revealing: she was wearing a diving suit, a jacket, a head scarf and had to swim back and forth in a women only beach. (from Antoinette Marie)

EGYPT
Almost 100 women were sexually assaulted in 4 days during the protests in Tahrir Square. Some men have begun forming a human shield to protect female protesters.

SAUDI ARABIA
A picture of a women’s conference with all male attendants is making the rounds. (from Antoinette Marie)

PERU
A 4000 year-old Inca pyramid at an archeological site was destroyed by real estate developers.

THE GOOD, COOL, INTERESTING OR JUST WEIRD:

PAKISTAN
Canada has granted refuge to the Pakistani girl who was jailed for blasphemy. A Muslim cleric accused her of burning the Qur’an, but the case against her was dropped and the cleric was accused of fabricating the evidence. The girl and her family had to spend months in hiding.

SAUDI ARABIA
“Somethings can’t be covered”: First anti-domestic violence ad in Saudi Arabia.

COSTA RICA
Conservatives in the Legislative Assembly accidentally vote in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage when they failed to notice that the proposed change in wording would allow it. The president says she will not veto the bill, but will probably be challenged in court.

SCOTLAND
The Not Ever campaign tackles the “she was asking for it” attitude towards victims of sexual violence. Here’s their video:

Featured image: Elham Sadat Asghari in her 6kg swim suit.

Daniela

Born and raised in Mexico City, Daniela has finally decided to abdicate her post as an armchair skeptic and start doing some skeptical activism. She is currently living in Spain after having lived in the US, Brazil and Italy. You can also find her blogging in Spanish at esceptica.org.

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5 Comments

  1. Daniela

    I’m really glad Canada granted asylum to Rimsha Masih. I hope no harm comes of her. Its really upsetting in this day and age that some countries still have those stupid anti blasphemy laws

    1. The fundies murdered the last politician to protest against the blasphemy laws in Pakistan. And the Taliban murdered the President’s wife. The problem in Pakistan is that the army is disloyal and corrupt. To hide their disloyalty and corruption they parade their pieties with overt support for fundamentalist insurgencies against India and Afghanistan. And the US tries to buy them off with ‘foreign aid’ that buys nothing but weapons.

  2. Yay Costa Rica?

    Sadly, people are predicting it’ll be defeated in courts, but it’ll provide a good rallying point for the gay community there to lobby in the future.

  3. I was at CONvergence (and thus, SkepchickCon!) and I wanted to say THANK YOU. I went to as many of the panels on science, skepticism and atheism as I could wedge in. My dad died about a week ago, and I was feeling very alone. It was great to be around like-minded people and it gave me a lot of peace. Also: your drinks and the paper doll scientists were awesome.

    1. Sorry to hear about your dad. It’s tough to go through that, but I’m glad to hear you met nice people at SkepchickCon to help you feel less alone.
      I forwarded your message to the Skepchicks that were at the Con. I’m sure they’ll be glad to hear that you had a good time.

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