Latin America | Brazil | Career

Vogue Brazil director resigns over birthday photos evoking slavery

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The fashion director of the Brazilian edition of Vogue has resigned after photos from her 50th birthday party drew criticism for evoking colonial depictions of slavery. Images from the party showed Donata Meirelles, who is white, sitting on a throne-like seat flanked by four black women dressed in white at the celebration in Bahia, the Brazilian state with the largest black population. Critics compared the women’s clothes to the white uniforms worn by house slaves, and pointed out the chair’s similarity to a cadeira de sinhá, an ornate chair for slave masters.
Middle East | Saudi Arabia | Culture

ALL FEMALE CREW LAND PLANE IN SAUDI ARABIA. NOT ALLOWED TO DRIVE FROM AIRPORT.

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Royal Brunei Airlines celebrated their first ever all-female crew recently, with Captain Sharifah Czarena, Senior First Officer Sariana and Senior First Officer Dk Nadiah landing the Dreamliner in Saudi Arabia. While it was a landmark occasion, and something certainly to be celebrated (Women in the air! Where will they be next? Underground? Up a tree? In equal positions of power?!) a certain little issue brought it back down to earth. Pun hugely intended. Yep, they landed in Saudi Arabia and yep, despite the fact they landed an entire plane, they are forbidden by Saudi law to drive cars fr
North America | United States | Society

Ridiculous: Feminist groups want schools to be required to monitor social media

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On Wednesday 72 women's and civil rights organizations urged the U.S. Education Department to tell colleges that they must monitor anonymous apps like Yik Yak -- frequently the source of sexist and racist comments about named or identifiable students -- and do something to protect those students who are named. The groups said they view anonymous online abuse as an emerging issue under provisions of the Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. For colleges, Yik Yak and similar apps have already led to numerous protests and anger, but some experts question the practicality and legality o
South Asia | Singapore | Business

Deutsche Bank calls its women conference ‘Men Matter’

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Deutsche Bank tried to do a good thing with its latest conference on Women in Business. Instead of focusing on the role women can play to achieve gender equality in business, they focused on what men can do to help. Much like UN Women’s HeForShe movement, the idea was to make sure men were involved in the fight for equality. The bank decided to give this year’s Women In Asian Business conference the name 'Men Matter'. This didn’t go down well with everyone – especially on Twitter where the hashtag #MenMatter echoed recent justice movements such as #B
International | Culture

Why Women Still Are Forced To Pay the ‘Makeup Tax’

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The makeup tax is real: The Atlantic's Olga Khazan found stats that suggest that the average woman will spend $15,000 in her lifetime on beauty products and could devote as many as two weeks per year of her life applying all that product. Khazan than takes aim at the most common response to this issue: "Just don’t wear makeup!" She lists all the depressing ways sciences has proven that society pushes wearing makeup as a cultural norm: - In one study, women who were made up were likely to be awarded "prestigious jobs" by study participants than they were when the same women were bare-face
Middle East | Qatar | Society

Ridiculous: Qatar court fines four women for beating up relative at wedding

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A misdemeanor court in Doha has ordered four women to pay QR5,000 ($1,373) each for beating a fellow guest at a wedding, Al Raya reported on Friday. According to the newspaper, the women and the victim turned the event (which only had female guests) into a “wrestling ring,” after an argument between relatives escalated into a fistfight. The newspaper did not specify when the incident took place, but stated that those involved in the altercation apparently used knives and forks on the tables and “anything they could get their hands on” to attack each other.
Asia | Malaysia | Culture

Outrage Over Farah Ann Abdul Hadi’s Leotard: Women “Must Prioritize The Islamic Codes In Sports Attire” [Video]

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Malaysian gymnast Farah Ann Abdul Hadi took home gold medals from the 2015 Southeast Asian Games in the women’s floor exercise and women’s team events, but it seems the Muslim community can only focus on her leotard. Criticized for exposing her “aurat,” or her genital area, her criticizers feel she should cover up better, slamming Farah on social media for wearing a traditional gymnast’s leotard. In addition to her two gold medals, Farah Ann Abdul Hadi also brought home silver in the female individual events, plus three bronze medals — quite an achievement for any athlete. A
Middle East | Saudi Arabia | Culture

Riyadh: women to travel without guardian’s permission

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New passport rules are under study. Currently, Saudi women come under the guardianship of male family members – fathers, husbands, brothers, uncles, and, if they are divorced or orphaned, sons – who alone can grant permission not only to travel, but also leave home, work or go to school. Saudi Arabia is currently drafting new regulations that would see women travel without the permission of their guardians. Major General Sulaiman Al-Yahya, director general of the passport department in Riyadh, said the rules would be based on the reasons for travel, not age. The procedures to allo
Middle East | Iran | Culture

Iran allows some women to watch male volleyball

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Women are currently banned from such events in the Islamic republic but President Hassan Rouhani's government has been pushing for reform despite vocal opposition. The recent presence of several women at a male basketball game sparked controversy, including protests against a change in policy. The World League fixtures on Friday and Sunday are especially notable because they will see Iran take on the United States. In an update to an on-off row about whether women would or should be permitted to watch sporting matches involving male athletes, a slight change in rules seems to have bee