Skepticism

Global Quickies: Wonder Woman Chores, White Headscarves, and Compulsory Vaccinations in France

BELGIUM
“Belgian cinema chain Kinepolis has been accused of being tone deaf with gift bags it gave to attendees of a women-only showing of Wonder Woman that contained several items to help with household chores. The bags, which said ‘Cool things inside…’ and were distributed at the 6 June screening, reportedly contained a scourer, bathroom wiper, dish sponge and a pamphlet for slimming pills.”

IRAN
“A new social media campaign against a law which forces women to wear a headscarf is gaining momentum in Iran. Using the hashtag #whitewednesdays, citizens have been posting pictures and videos of themselves wearing white headscarves or pieces of white clothing as symbols of protest.”

UK
“Judges at the Supreme Court have ruled that women from Northern Ireland will not be entitled to free abortions on the NHS in England. Why? Because to grant them this would mean a failure to “respect the democratic decision of the people of Northern Ireland”, where abortion is not permitted.”

TUNISIA
“A leading rights group has condemned the imprisonment of a man in Tunisia for smoking a cigarette in public during the dawn-to-dusk Muslim fast. A court in north-western Bizerte town sentenced the man to one month in jail for “public indecency”.”

BANGLADESH
“Human rights groups have warned about the safety of a prominent Bangladeshi lawyer after Islamist leaders threatened to “break every bone” in her body for defending the installation of a Lady Justice statue outside the country’s supreme court.”

SWITZERLAND
“A Swiss parliamentary commission is to prepare a study on gay marriage after the right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) on Friday failed in its bid to bury the issue. Gay marriage is not legal in Switzerland, though same-sex couples can enter into a civil partnership after the move was approved in a 2005 referendum.”

SPAIN
“A Spanish auxiliary nurse forced to take a professional exam while in labour has won the right to take the exam again. In October 2014, Mar Herraiz was close to giving birth. She had been 20 hours without sleep and had had an epidural. Nonetheless, three members of the examination board for her nursing course appeared, insisting she would have to take a test or fail the course.”

SERBIA
“A gay woman has been appointed prime minister of Serbia in a double first for the EU-candidate state. […] Brnabi?’s appointment, which comes in the same week that Leo Varadkar was formally elected as Ireland’s first gay PM, is all the more remarkable given that virulent homophobia is still widespread in the Balkans.”

FRANCE
“France’s new health minister wants to make 11 vaccinations compulsory for children rather than leave the decision in the hands of parents.”

JORDAN
“A popular Lebanese rock band has been barred from performing a concert in Jordan after lawmakers objected to the lead singer’s sexuality, a Jordanian politician told CNN.”

Featured image by @mattiasdv

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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One Comment

  1. Yay~
    I missed these.

    Not that I don’t like your vids, Rebecca, I just already get updated on them when they appear on Youtube :D

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