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AfghanistanChild marriageChildrenGlobal developmentLife and styleSocietySouth and Central AsiaTalibanWomenWomen's rights and gender equalityWorld news

Married at 10, abused and forced to flee without her children: an Afghan woman on life under the Taliban

Now living in comparative freedom in Iran, 26-year-old Mahtab Eftekhar describes facing motherhood at 12 and explains why seeking justice for other women means she no longer fears deathAt the age of 10, while still in the third grade, I received news f…

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Australian lifestyleFoodLife and styleNepalNepal holidaysSouth and Central Asia

Peace, love and crispy rice crepe pizza: how to cook and eat like you’re on holiday in Nepal

This veg-topped pancake is a Kathmandu favourite – and carrot pudding with cardamom offers a cuddle in a bowlAlongside “Namaste”, “Have you eaten yet?” is a common greeting in Nepal. For millennia the land where Buddha was born has been home to a multi…

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No crops, no brides: how rising seas are killing India’s coastal villages

As the sea inundates Odisha’s coastline, livelihoods have withered with the harvest and weddings are a rarity as young women refuse to move to areas where they see no futurePhotographs by Aishwarya MohantyIn Udaykani, a coastal village in the east Indi…

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‘Me and my menopause’: a view from women around the world

Millions of women are being let down by lack of support during and after menopause. We asked six, from Brazil to Bangladesh, to share their stories of fighting stigma, dealing with symptoms and supporting othersRead more: A menopause revolution is stir…

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BangladeshFashionFashion industryGarment workersGlobal developmentLife and stylePovertySex workSocial exclusionSocietySouth and Central AsiaWomenWomen's rights and gender equalityWorld news

Woman making Christmas jumpers for UK turns to sex work to pay bills

Story of garment worker’s ordeal in Bangladesh, where she works in a factory producing clothes for brands including Tesco, Matalan and Next, shines light on low factory wagesEvery night, Ruby Rafiq* lies awake on the cold, hard floor of her small room,…

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CultureDocumentary filmsFilmGlobal developmentIndiaLawLife and styleRape and sexual assaultSexual violenceSocietySouth and Central AsiaWomenWorld news

How a father’s love for his daughter challenged India’s ‘rape culture’

The story of girl’s refusal to be shamed by her gang-rape and a father’s fight for justice, defying a village’s hostility and the dead weight of patriarchy, is told in Nisha Pahuja’s film To Kill a TigerWhen his 13-year-old daughter stumbled home six y…

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Body imageEating disordersGlobal developmentHealthHealth & wellbeingIndiaLife and styleMental healthSocietySouth and Central AsiaWorld news

So many Indian women struggle with their body image. We need to talk about why | Pragya Agarwal

It is easy to blame Bollywood and the media for unrealistic expectations of beauty – but there are deeper social factors at workWhen Indian actor Aishwarya Rai, once Miss World, walked the runway at Paris fashion week for L’Oréal this month, the online…

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Global developmentIndiaInequalityInequality and developmentLife and styleSocietySouth and Central AsiaWomenWorld news

Are women getting angrier? Maybe they’re just giving themselves permission to show it | Pragya Agarwal

Anger is still seen as admirable in men but unacceptable in women. It’s time to end the tyranny of gendered emotionsWhen the captain of the Indian women’s cricket team was banned for two matches and fined for smashing the stumps with her bat in an angr…

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BoohooBusinessFashionFashion industryGlobal developmentLife and stylePakistanSouth and Central AsiaWorkers' rightsWorld news

Pakistan welcomes fast-fashion brand Boohoo despite poor staff safety claims

Call to set up role comes as report alleges retailer uses factories that violate minimum-wage requirements and workers’ rightsPakistan’s caretaker prime minister, Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, has reportedly asked the British fast-fashion brand Boohoo to increa…

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AfghanistanGlobal developmentGlobal educationHuman rightsInequalityInequality and developmentLife and styleSocietySouth and Central AsiaTalibanWomenWomen's rights and gender equalityWorld news

Women in Afghanistan are fighting an unequal war. We need your support | Zahra Joya

The Taliban have barred us from the workplace, cut our access to healthcare and closed schools to us. Must we struggle alone?We suddenly all woke in the middle of the night. A piercing cry came from the corner of our room. It was my teenage sister, sob…

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