herrights

A new program gives teenagers in a Mumbai slum a chance to talk about gender violence — and the other ways girls are treated differently than boys. The hope is that a new generation will question traditional dynamics that leave girls often victimized and powerless.

Parvati Pujari is the first member of her Mumbai family to get a college degree. She’s also the first of her sisters not to be married off young. And she played on India’s national women’s rugby team. By working with other women to coach sports in this poor part of the city, she’s passing on the attributes that helped her overcome her obstacles and achieve her dream.

When a New Delhi woman was gang-raped and later died from her injuries in 2012, the Indian media called her Nirbhaya, or “fearless one,” both because they couldn’t name her legally, and because of the brutality that she went through. Thousands took to the streets: not just women, but men as well. Actor Ankur Vikal has gone even further. He relives the gang-rape story on stage.

Abortion based on sex is against the law in India, but still happens. A crusading lawyer is getting pregnant women to help gather the evidence that can convict unscrupulous doctors.

A lawsuit has drawn the Japanese public’s attention to “matahara”: a word coined from the English “maternity harassment.” It refers to the practice of demoting or even laying off women when they become pregnant. It’s against the law in Japan, but still widespread. Advocates hope giving it a name will start to change that.