Q&A: Equality Is Feminism
By Sabina Zaccaro interviews Nobel Peace Laureate SHIRIN EBADI*
UNITED NATIONS - "I think that Islam has been misinterpreted. No Islamic law says violate women's rights and repress women," says Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi. "Democracy, human rights and women leadership are absolutely not hostile to the Islamic doctrine." And women in Iran are well aware of that, she says.
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BURMA: Despite Loss at Oscars, Film A Testament to Courage
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - It may have not won an Oscar, but its having been a final contender for the prestigious statue at the U.S. Academy Awards on Mar. 7 has taken ‘Burma VJ’ to heights never achieved by previous films depicting the oppression and courage in military-ruled Burma.
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THAILAND: Media Caught in Red-or-Yellow Divide Too
By Lynette Lee Corporal - Asia Media Forum
BANGKOK - Anyone who is still trying to look for neutrality or balance in the Thai media in these days of political ferment, ahead of large anti-government protests expected in the capital, has a pretty tough job.
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INDONESIA: Waste Composting Project Blazes Cleaner Path
By Kanis Dursin
JAKARTA - Battling the pain from a boil on his left thigh, 45-year-old Inggit Tukino pulled his two-wheeled cart through the overcrowded alleys of a slum in Rawabebek, Penjaringan hamlet in here North Jakarta.
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VIETNAM: Reports of Child Abuse A Wake-up Call for Parents, Gov't
By Tran Dinh Thanh Lam
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam - Vietnamese parents think of day care centres and kindergartens as safe, happy places to leave their children in, given the pressures of work and harder times. But they are no longer so sure now, after a series of incidents about mistreatment of young children that has shocked the public.
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ASIA: Religious Advocates Heed the Call of New Media
By Lynette Lee Corporal - Asia Media Forum
BANGKOK - Not even religious advocates and leaders and can say no to the power of online media, whose call they are heeding in order to spread various messages of spirituality.
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POLITICS: Sri Lanka Locks Horns with UN over Experts’ Panel
By Amantha Perera
COLOMBO - The war of words between the Sri Lankan government and the United Nations has begun all over again, this time over the creation of an experts’ panel on the island’s human rights record.
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SINGAPORE: As Casino Opens, Watch for Its Social Impact Begins
By Stanislaus Jude Chan
SINGAPORE - An unfamiliar sight in Singapore – that of vehicles with foreign licence plates filling the car park – meets visitors at the basement of the city-state’s first casino, which opened nearly a month ago.
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CAMBODIA: Rape Victims Need Better Protection from New Penal Code
By Marwaan Macan-Markar
BANGKOK - Cambodia’s new penal code, which comes into force later this year, should be accompanied by stronger law enforcement measures if the country’s women and girls are to be better protected from rape, says the global rights lobby Amnesty International (AI).
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MEDIA-NEPAL: Self-Censorship Creeping Up After Killings
By Bhuwan Sharma - Asia Media Forum
KATHMANDU - The climate of fear that has been growing in this Himalayan country since the murder of two media entrepreneurs and other attacks on journalists may well push them to turn to more self-censorship.
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