FeminismQuickiesReligion

Global Quickies: Forced Pregnancy Tests, Same-sex Adoptions in Colombia, and Canada’s Diverse Cabinet

CANADA
“Canada’s new prime minister, Justin Trudeau, took office on 4 November — and as one of his first acts, created the post of Minister of Science.”

CANADA
“Justin Trudeau, Canada’s newly elected prime minister, has received plenty of attention for appointing the country’s most diverse cabinet to date. Among the 30-strong group there are two aboriginal ministers, three Sikhs, and two ministers with disabilities. That 50% of cabinet ministers are female made plenty of headlines. Another characteristic of Trudeau’s cabinet, however, appears to be its approach to religion. More than half (16 ministers) did not swear in with a religious oath.”

AFGHANISTAN
“A young woman who was married against her will has been stoned to death by extremists after she was caught eloping with another man.

INDIA
“An Indian court on Tuesday jailed a driver of U.S.-based ride-hailing company Uber for life for raping a passenger, in a case that highlighted the dangers faced by women from violent sex attackers.

TUNISIA
“Human rights groups are condemning Tunisia for its treatment of gays, after authorities sentenced a man to a year in prison for sodomy and subjected him to an anal probe.”

COLOMBIA
“After nine hours of debate, Colombia’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday gave the go-ahead for same-sex couples to legally adopt children.”

FRANCE
“France has decided to end a more than 30-year old law that banned homosexual men from donating blood, a measure originally put in place to stop the spread of diseases such as HIV.”

INDIA
“India is set to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, this month and it is customary to exchange gifts – but when a website advertisement suggested that husbands “gift” their wives a maid, it prompted a huge reaction online.”

ECUADOR
One of the judges on Ecuador’s Got Talent who scolded a 16 year-old girl for being an atheist was fired for behavior “contrary to the guidelines of the network”.

SIERRA LEONE
“Thousands of schoolgirls in Sierra Leone have been forced to undergo humiliating and degrading public pregnancy tests since the government banned pregnant girls from attending mainstream schools and taking exams, Amnesty International said on Friday.”

ISRAEL
The minister of agriculture drew outrage and mockery after suggesting transferring thousands of stray cats to another country. He cited Jewish law against animal cruelty and a biblical commandment to populate the earth as reasons not to neuter cats.

Featured image: AP

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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2 Comments

  1. When asked why gender parity in his cabinet was important to him, he answered, “Because it’s 2015.”

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