The Good Place or The Bad Place?

‘What a Barrister Looks Like’: A Young Black Woman Paves the Way Alexandra Wilson is working to change England’s legal establishment, and perceptions about who belongs in it, from the inside. Alexandra Wilson at her offices in London. “My ability is underestimated, quite a lot,” she said. Alexandra Wilson at her offices in London. “My ability is underestimated, quite a lot,” she said.Credit...Amara Eno for The New York Times Megan Specia By Megan Specia Published Oct. 30, 2020 Updated Oct. 31, 2020, 8:12 a.m. ET LONDON — It was looking like a typical day at the office for Alexandra Wilson as she arrived at a London courthouse ready to defend someone accused of theft. She tied her hair into a neat knot, shrugged on her black robe and pulled on a white horsehair wig — the official garb of Britain’s barristers, the lawyers who argue most cases in court. But once she was in the courtroom, things went off script. In a patronizing exchange that was rude at best and hostile at worst, the...

Italian held in France on suspicion of 160 rapes and sexual assaults Published2 hours ago File pic of police halt sign near Strasbourg IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES image captionThe suspect was detained a week ago at Rumersheim-le-Haut (file pic) A 52-year-old Italian man wanted in Germany on suspicion of carrying out 160 rapes and sexual assaults, mainly on underage girls, has been arrested across the border in France. France's BNRF brigade for hunting fugitives said he was held last Friday at Rumersheim-le-Haut near Mulhouse. He was wanted in connection with attacks, mainly on the children of his partners, between 2000 and 2014. Officials said 122 inquires had so far been opened against him in Germany. French reports said that among the offences he was suspected of committing were the rape of his daughter over a number of years. German authorities first alerted their counterparts on 7 October that the suspect had crossed into France. His whereabouts were passed on days later and he...

Qatar: Domestic workers share harrowing accounts of abuse and exploitation 20 October 2020, 12:01 UTC A new report by Amnesty International reveals how migrant domestic workers employed in Qatar have been pushed to breaking point by extreme overwork, lack of rest, and abusive and degrading treatment. The organization spoke to 105 women who had been employed as live-in domestic workers in Qatar, and found that their rights were still being abused and violated despite government reforms aimed at improving their working conditions. Some women said they had been victims of serious crimes such as sexual assault. In 2017 Qatar introduced the Domestic Workers Law, which stipulated limits on working hours, mandatory daily breaks, a weekly day off and paid holidays. Three years on, 90 of the 105 women contacted by Amnesty said they regularly worked more than 14 hours per day; 89 regularly worked seven days a week; and 87 had their passport confiscated by their employers. Half of the women wo...

Saudi to Host Women’s Summit While Women Activists Sit Behind Bars Until Activists Are Free, Talk of Reform Rings Hollow Author image Hiba Zayadin Researcher, Middle East and North Africa Division @HZayadin @HZayadin Prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul had been on hunger strike for six days before Saudi authorities finally allowed her parents to visit on August 31, according to family members. Al-Hathloul had spent almost three months before that in incommunicado detention.Click to expand Image Prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul had been on hunger strike for six days before Saudi authorities finally allowed her parents to visit on August 31, according to family members. Al-Hathloul had spent almost three months before that in incommunicado detention. © Private Saudi Arabia will virtually host the Women20 Summit (W20) this month. During the event, over 80 women’s rights experts representing nonprofits, private companies, and academic institutions wi...

Bangladesh: Protests Erupt Over Rape Case Government Should Respond with Overdue Reforms 202010asia_bangladesh_rape_student_protestClick to expand Image Students protest against an alleged gang-rape and brutal torture of a woman in the southern district of Noakhali, in Dhaka, Bangladesh on October 8, 2020. © 2020 Rehman Asad/NurPhoto via AP (New York) – Protests in Bangladesh erupted this week after a video of a group of men attacking, stripping, and sexually assaulting a woman went viral, Human Rights Watch said today. Protesters called for the resignation of Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal over the government’s failure to address an alarming rise in sexual violence against women and girls. “Bangladeshi women have had enough of the government’s abject failure to address repeated rapes and sexual assaults,” said Meenakshi Ganguly, South Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The Bangladesh government needs to finally make good on its empty promises and heed activists’ calls to ta...

Tyler County grand jury indicts Netflix for promotion of ‘Cuties’ This article has comments enabled. The court accused Netflix, which streams the award-winning French film, of knowingly promoting work that includes lewd visuals of children. "Cuties" centers on an 11-year-old Senegalese immigrant who joins a dance group. The film's writer and director Maïmouna Doucouré has said the film is a critique of the hypersexualization of young girls. "Cuties" centers on an 11-year-old Senegalese immigrant who joins a dance group. The film's writer and director Maïmouna Doucouré has said the film is a critique of the hypersexualization of young girls.(Netflix) By The Associated Press 10:04 AM on Oct 8, 2020 0 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas grand jury has indicted streaming giant Netflix for promoting French film Mignonnes or Cuties, which the court says depicts lewd visuals of children. The movie received backlash before its release because of a movie poster that wen...

Stillbirths: An unnecessary, unspeakable tragedy – UN report Kadiatu Sama, who has had no prenatal care and whose child was stillborn, is comforted by a woman nurse in the maternity ward of the government hospital in Sierra Leone.©UNICEF/UNI32026/PirozziUNICEF/UNI32026/Pirozzi Kadiatu Sama, who has had no prenatal care and whose child was stillborn, is comforted by a woman nurse in the maternity ward of the government hospital in Sierra Leone. 7 October 2020 Health A stillborn baby is delivered every 16 seconds, which translates into nearly two million infants over the course of a year that never took their first breath, according to a new UN report published on Thursday. A Neglected Tragedy: The Global Burden of Stillbirths, released by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), reveals that 84 per cent of these grievous episodes occur in low and lower-middle income countries....

The Virus Moved Female Faculty to the Brink. Will Universities Help? The pandemic is a new setback for women in academia who already faced obstacles on the path to advancing their research and careers. Lisa Warner in her lab at Boise State University. Lisa Warner in her lab at Boise State University.Credit...Alex Hecht for The New York Times By Jillian Kramer Oct. 6, 2020 Updated 6:19 a.m. ET 6 Whatever big plans Lisa Warner had for the year, the pandemic scrambled them. It forced online the biochemistry classes she taught as an assistant professor at Boise State University in Idaho, and it temporarily shut down her laboratory. Her 4-year-old son’s day care closed, and Dr. Warner felt her productivity wane. She feared for her chances of receiving tenure, the long-term job security that most early-career academics ardently pursue, by the 2024 deadline in her contract. Around the same time, Maria Fernanda Escallón, an assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Oregon an...

Becoming allies for women makes men better Americans This article has comments enabled. Expanding liberty makes our country better for everyone. Participants in the 2020 Dallas Women's March walk along Harwood Street on their way to a rally at Dallas City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020. Participants in the 2020 Dallas Women's March walk along Harwood Street on their way to a rally at Dallas City Hall on Sunday, Jan. 19, 2020.(Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer) By Christopher Walsh 1:30 AM on Oct 5, 2020 — Updated at 1:12 PM on Oct 5, 2020 1 Good male allies for women make good Americans, and I strive to be both for my young daughters. That’s why I can’t think of anything more American than wanting equitable systems in the United States that afford my daughters the same “unalienable rights” as men for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. As our nation celebrates the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment’s ratification and remembers the legacy of Justice Ruth Bader...

In last jobs report before election, nation’s recovery is leaving women behind and other takeaways The American job-generating machine slowed down for the third straight month in September. In an ordinary month in an ordinary year, the addition of 661,000 workers would be extraordinarily good news. In topsy-turvy 2020? Not so much. In an ordinary month in an ordinary year, the addition of 661,000 workers would be extraordinarily good news. In topsy-turvy 2020? Not so much.(Rogelio V. Solis) By The Associated Press 2:10 PM on Oct 2, 2020 Just how resilient is the U.S. economy’s recovery from the coronavirus recession? The weakening of the nation’s job-generating machine in September — for a third straight month — reinforced doubts. In an ordinary month in an ordinary year, the adding of 661,000 workers would be extraordinarily good news. In topsy-turvy 2020? Not so much. Last month’s gain looks worrisome because it marks a sharp falloff from 4.8 million added jobs in June, 1.8 milli...

Iraq urged to investigate attacks on women human rights defenders File photo: Humanitarian partners distribute emergency assistance in Ibrahim Khalil village in Iraq.OCHA/Themba Linden File photo: Humanitarian partners distribute emergency assistance in Ibrahim Khalil village in Iraq. 2 October 2020 Human Rights UN-appointed independent rights experts have urged the Iraqi authorities to investigate the murder of a female human rights defender, and the attempted killing of another, targeted “simply because they are women”. In a joint appeal on Friday, the seven experts also called on Baghdad to ensure that it was safe for everyone who stood up for people’s rights in the country. The development follows the deadly shooting in August of Dr. Riham Yaqoub and the attempted assassination of Lodya Remon Albarti, in Basra. Both rights defenders had led women’s marches within the protest movement against corruption and unemployment that began in 2018 in the southern city. Survival, an...

Redouble efforts against ‘global scourge’ of gender-based violence, intensified by pandemic: Guterres A woman survivor of gender-based violence in Kalemie, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. UNOCHA/Alioune Ndiaye A woman survivor of gender-based violence in Kalemie, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 29 September 2020 Women From domestic violence to sexual abuse, online harassment and increased child marriage, gender-based violence (GBV) is “a global scourge” that is being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN chief said on Tuesday. “Millions of women are living in fear, with long-term consequences for families and communities, and for all our efforts for peace and security, human rights and sustainable development”, Secretary-General António Guterres said in a video message to a virtual high-level GBV event in the context of COVID-19. Against the backdrop of his global call for a ceasefire and an end to all violence – from war zones to people’s homes – he ...

  For Conservative Christian Women, Amy Coney Barrett’s Success Is Personal Judge Barrett is a new kind of icon for some, one they have not seen before in American cultural and political life. President Trump with Judge Amy Coney Barrett and her family at the White House after he announced on Saturday that he was nominating her for a seat on the Supreme Court. Credit... Al Drago for The New York Times By  Ruth Graham Sept. 28, 2020 Updated  6:29 a.m. ET 18 Ruth Malhotra had just arrived in Florida for a vacation with some girlfriends from high school and their families when President Trump was scheduled to introduce his next nominee for the Supreme Court on Saturday afternoon. A college football game was on the television at their rented beach house. “Turn off football and turn on CSPAN!” she told her friends. “We’ve got to watch this; this is historic.” Ms. Malhotra, 36, a lifelong evangelical Christian who works in communications for a Christian ministry, has little per...