INDIA
“Two sisters who have been told they will be repeatedly gang-raped as a “punishment” for the crimes committed by their brother have pleaded with the Supreme Court to be protected.”
BANGLADESH
“Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. Around 29 percent of girls are married before the age of 15, and 65% of girls are already married by the time they turn 18.“ American photojournalist Allison Joyce went to rural areas to photograph young brides and a wedding between a 15-year-old girl and a 32-year-old man.
SPAIN
Francisco Franco ruled over Spain from 1939 until his death in 1975. His nationalist, authoritarian regime had a brutal grip on the country’s political and cultural life—but also on science, according to Education, science and ideology in Spain (1890–1950), a recent book published in Spanish. In it, Manuel Castillo Martos and Juan Luis Rubio Mayoral show that Francoism smothered research and relied on Opus Dei, a conservative Catholic institution, to police academic life.
ITALY
“The mayor of Venice, who this month had a public row with British rock star Elton John over family values, has said he never wants to see a Gay Pride parade take place in the lagoon city while he is in charge.”
ITALY
“Italian book that explores different family types including same sex was banned by mayor of Venice, but pontiff becomes unlikely supporter.”
NIGERIA
“Authorities in Nigeria’s financial capital Lagos have shut down churches across the city after a glut of complaints over noisy worship.”
GERMANY (from Mary)
‘Merkel’ has become a verb in German youth vernacular. “It’s a verb which, according to the German dictionary publisher Langenscheidt, means ‘to do nothing, make no decisions, issue no statements.’”
SUDAN
“A group of United Nations human rights experts expressed alarm after a female Sudanese student, Ferdous Al Toum, was sentenced to public flogging and a heavy fine for charges of ‘indecent dressing’. Another student, Rehab Omer, received a hefty fine for the same charges. “Public flogging of women is a continuing practice in the country, and the offence of modesty and the penalty of flogging are disproportionately used to punish women,” they noted.”
PAKISTAN
Are Pakistan’s female medical students to be doctors or wives? More than 70% of medical students are women, but most don’t end up practicing medicine.
AUSTRALIA
“Former Australian PM Julia Gillard has dropped her opposition to gay marriage, revealing she would now vote for it.” “Her back flip has sparked criticism on social media and from some politicians who say she could have taken action when she was in power.”
Featured image: Girl on the day of her wedding (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)