Global Quickies: Pay Gap Protest, Forbiden Dance Moves, and Useless, Harmful Remedies

ICELAND (From Ray)
“Even in Iceland, the country many experts consider the world’s leader in gender equity, the gender pay gap persists. Women employees make 14 to 18 percent less than men in Iceland — a discrepancy that unions and women’s organizations say means women effectively work for free after 2:38 pm. On Monday, in protest of the pay gap, thousands of Icelandic women decided to work the hours their pay merited — by leaving their workplaces promptly when the clock struck 2:38.”

AUSTRALIA (From Jack99)
“The pay gap between Australian men and women has not changed in 20 years, a new report released by KPMG says.”

CANADA (From Angela)
A judge ordered a four-year-old child not to wear feminine clothing in public.

UK
“White Lives Matter UK happened and it was as much as a joke as you’d think. Local residents waving flags saying refugees welcome outnumbered protesters.”

UK (From Ray)
“An Astrophysics professor who blew the whistle on an alleged sexual predator at a top space research centre has seen off a libel case against her.”

TAIWAN
“Taiwan is poised to become the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage after the death of a prominent gay professor.The country is already regarded as one of the most progressive in the region when it comes to equal rights and there is already some legal recognition of same-sex relationships.”

GERMANY
“A bill would make it easier for German courts to void child marriages. Since Germany opened its borders to nearly a million refugees last year, the number of married minors in the country has reached nearly 1,500.”

FRANCE
“The 22-year-old student was assaulted and robbed by a gang of youths in a side street when he was in primary school. It was a long time ago, but he still crosses the road if a large group of people are coming his way. After all, everyone in his family has been targeted in a similar fashion. France’s ethnic Chinese population have long suffered casual racism and been stereotyped as easy targets for crime. But they say they have now reached breaking point.”

GERMANY
“German men convicted on the basis of a 19th century law criminalizing homosexuality now have a chance at getting late justice in the wake of an expert study commissioned by the Anti-Discrimination Agency.”

AUSTRIA
“Christian leaders in Austria have criticised a far-right presidential candidate for invoking the name of God in a political campaign slogan. Norbert Hofer’s new slogan translates as “So help me God” which his party says reflects “a strong anchorage in Christian and Western values”. But leaders from Protestant churches said God was the defender of the weak, “who today include refugees”. Mr Hofer’s Freedom Party has campaigned against immigration”

ARMENIA
“A new law designed to cut the high rate of sex-selective abortions in Armenia is inadequate, limiting women’s reproductive choices and putting lives at risk, according to women’s rights groups.”

GERMANY
“Hamburg teenagers walk free after gang-rape conviction.A group of teens in the northern German city of Hamburg were handed suspended sentences despite video evidence of their crimes. The presiding judge said the perpetrators appeared ‘repentant.’

RUSSIA
“Authorities in Chechnya plan to set up wedding vice squads to patrol nuptials in the region ensuring nobody gets drunk or performs inappropriate dance moves. […] The guidelines forbid the firing of weapons, drunkenness, and allowing the bride to dance. A number of “non-traditional” dance moves are banned, such as swapping partners.”

COLOMBIA / BRAZIL
“Mosquitoes in two large areas of Brazil and Colombia are to be infected with bacteria that deprive them of the ability to transmit viruses, in an attempt to check the spread of Zika, which has been held responsible for brain damage in thousands of babies.”

INDIA
“The state of Haryana is leading the fight against useless – and potentially harmful – remedies illegally peddled to pregnant women desperate for a boy”

MALAWI
“In July the BBC wrote about a Malawian man paid to have sex with young girls from his village, as part of a sexual initiation ritual. Later a Malawian woman, Natasha Annie Tonthola, contacted the BBC to explain how her experience of the ritual helped inspire her to campaign for the protection of women and girls. This is her story.”

SWEDEN
“Sweden has opened its first neutral cemetery, free of any religious symbols, to cater to the country’s large number of atheists. The founder of the site in Borlänge, in central Sweden, said it is open to believers and non-believers alike as long as they don’t have any religious symbols or markings on their headstones.”

Featured image: Women protest the pay gap in Iceland. Source.