From Asahi Shimbun:
Domestic violence victims often find it hard to ask for help--especially older women, who often believe that "women must be patient," say people working to help them.
Experts suspect that Japan has many "hidden" cases of domestic violence, as problems lurk deep inside seemingly normal relationships.
In fiscal 2007, of 5,121 victims of domestic violence placed under temporary protection nationwide, 269 were 60 or older, an Asahi Shimbun survey found. The newspaper gathered the figures from women's consultation centers run by each of the nation's 47 prefectures.
The total victims figure is from 46 prefectures, while the age figure was from the 45 prefectures that list data by age. In Tokushima Prefecture, 10 out of 44 victims, or more than 20 percent, were 60 or older.
Abuse of the aged is being recognized more clearly in Japan.
From Gulf News:Thousands of government troops patrolled the streets of Indian Kashmir on Wednesday in an attempt to stop days of protests that began after the discovery of the bodies of two women locals say were raped and killed by Indian soldiers.
Police and paramilitary soldiers laid razor wire and erected steel barricades at street crossings in Srinagar, the main city in the Himalayan region, and other major towns, as hundreds defied restrictions on assembly.
Demonstrators clashed with police and soldiers who fired tear gas to break up the protests, said a police officer on condition of anonymity in keeping with department policy.
No fresh injuries were immediately reported on Wednesday, although more than 200 people have been wounded since Saturday when authorities recovered the bodies of the women.
The bodies of the 17-year-old woman and her 22-year-old sister-in-law were found in a stream on Saturday in Shopian, 60 kilometers south of Srinagar.
Police have said the women appear to have drowned, but their families and locals accuse Indian government forces of raping and killing them. The military and paramilitary groups have not responded to the allegations.
Human rights groups and separatist leaders have long accused the Indian military of using rape and sexual molestation to intimidate the local population.
Shops, businesses and government offices remained closed in much of Kashmir for the third day on a strike called by the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, Kashmir's main separatist conglomerate of nonviolent political groups.
From the Mail Online:A group of 'Blair Babes' stands accused today of being the catalyst behind the crisis engulfing Gordon Brown.
Around Westminster they are known as 'the Sisterhood' - a body of female Labour MPs more loyal to each other than their party.
Jacqui Smith, Hazel Blears, Beverley Hughes, Patricia Hewitt, Caroline Flint, Margaret Hodge and Tessa Jowell were at their core; the most highly-promoted - some would argue over-promoted - beneficiaries of the controversial 'women-only' candidate shortlists which saw 101 female Labour MPs elected in Tony Blair's May 1997 general election victory.
But some of the female Labour grandees are now accused of being the driving force behind the unravelling of Mr Brown's premiership.
Back in the halcyon days of New Labour, they were happy to pose en masse for photographs as 'Blair's Babes'. How they all loved Tony and basked in the warmth of his patronage.
But when he stood down two years ago, the Blairite Sisters grew disgruntled at the diminished role women were given in Gordon Brown's Cabinet.
And so they came to acquire a new nickname: The WAGs - the oh-so-witty acronym that played on the 'Wives And Girlfriends' of overpaid footballers tag and which stood for 'Women Against Gordon'.
Now, months of seething rancour and regular WAGs' 'whingeing sessions' over pesto and pasta meals washed down with glasses of chianti coalesced into something more lethal - a concerted assassination attempt on the Prime Minister. The Night of the Long Stilettos.
From the Times of India:Between 1950 and 2003, AI airhostesses' flying age limit had been hiked in phases from 30 to their male counterpart’s 58. But each time this was done with a condition of regular medical checks to ensure their airworthiness while the male flight pursers did not have any such rules.
They only had to undergo an annual weight check, without the risk of being grounded if found overweight. Now AI management has reached an agreement with its cabin crew officers association that will make regular health checks mandatory for basic factors like heart condition, BP, diabetes and stress both for males and females.
Also, a male purser will no longer be the only one acting as inflight supervisor. Airhostesses will also get to head the division. And most importantly, the concept of interchangability of duties has been introduced for cabin crew.
Confirming these developments, AI’s executive director (customer services) Manjira Khurana said: “There can be no compromises with gender equality. Male and female cabin crew will be treated at par both in ground and in air.”
From Modern Ghana:The Taifa Area branch of Christ Apostolic Church International (CAC), has ended the quarterly women’s week programme of the Good Women Fellowship of the Ministry, with a call on members to make a positive impact on society with their religious virtues.
Mrs Mary Osafo, a teacher and the spouse of the local Minister, Rev Enoch Osafo, who preached the sermon, to climax the week- long programme on Sunday, at the Taifa Assembly, asked Christian women to use their influence as leaders, teachers, politicians or social workers, to reflect positively on society.
“This should not be seen in your family situations alone, but should be reflected on the larger society and at the national level so that posterity would always remember your good deeds.” Mrs Osafo was speaking on the sub- theme: “Woman, It is Time to Make an Impact” under the General theme: “Women and God’s Hour of Visitation.” The members clad in their white uniform, were led by the local Minister, Rev. Enoch Osafo to sing praises and offer intercessory prayers for the Church, the nation and its leaders.
Mrs Terricone who also led the members to pray for the patients said, it was necessary for Christians to be part of all the good works exhibited by the early men of God, whose dedication were worthy of emulation. Mrs Bertha Odoi, Principal Nursing Officer of the Hospital, who received the items, expressed appreciation for the kind gesture. Mrs Odoi appealed to Christian mothers to imbue their children especially the girls with Christian virtues, to enable them to become responsible leaders in future.
She appealed to other benevolent organisations to come to the aid of the Hospital. Present at the ceremony were Rev J.O. Adarkwah, Pastor incharge of the GWF and Rev Emmanuel Botwe, the Area Secretary of the Church and other members of the Fellowship.
From the Australian:A teenage US-Indonesian model has returned to her family in Indonesia with tales of abuse, rape and torture at the hands of a Malaysian prince, after her dramatic escape with the help of Singapore police.
Manohara Odelia Pinot, 17, told reporters she was treated like a sex slave after her marriage to Tengku Temenggong Mohammad Fakhry, the prince of Malaysia's Kelantan state, last year.
Her mother, Daisy Fajarina, said she would press charges against the prince and blamed the Malaysian and Indonesian governments for trying to cover up the abuse.
The Malaysian government had ignored her pleas for access to her daughter and had blocked her from entering the country, she said, while the Indonesian embassy had said that Manohara was fine with her new husband.
But the young woman - a well-known socialite in Jakarta - said her life at the royal palace involved a "daily routine'' of rape, abuse, torture and drug injections which made her vomit blood.
She said she secretly called Singaporean police and pleaded for help after the royal family took her to the city state when they accompanied Fakhry's father,Sultan Ismail Petra Shah II, for medical treatment.
A spokesman for the Indonesian foreign ministry said the Government would help Manohara if she wanted to file charges against her husband.
She has already filed for divorce.
There has been no comment from the Kelantan royal family or the Malaysian government.
From Gulf News:The inspiration that Indian democracy exudes was on full view as Meira Kumar became the first woman to become Speaker of the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.
With Kumar's appointment, the power and influence of women in India was underlined.
The top three posts in the country's constitutional and political sphere are now held by women - Pratibha Patil is the president of India; Sonia Gandhi is the president of India's ruling party and now Kumar, a Dalit (lower caste Hindu), earns recognition.
Kumar's background has never been an impediment to her ability. She has served her country both as a bureaucrat and as a politician with success.
Her appointment on Wednesday coincided with the fact that 59 women parliamentarians, a record number, will be doing business with her in the House.
From the Asahi Shimbun:An ancient tomb, constructed in traditional keyhole style denoting someone of very high rank, may well be the final resting place of Himiko, the legendary third-century queen of the Yamatai kingdom, say archaeologists who relied on radiocarbon dating for their finding.
Artifacts from near the earthen mound in Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, were examined by researchers attached to the National Museum of Japanese History (Rekihaku) in Sakura, Chiba Prefecture.
Using radiocarbon dating, they studied clay fragments from the rim of the mound and found that they were made between 240 and 260. Himiko, according to Chinese records, died around 250.
They determined that the tomb very likely could have been built for Himiko.
The discovery will also likely ignite further debate on the location of the Yamatai kingdom, which some say was in Kyushu and others believe was centered around Nara, an ancient capital.
From the Telegraph:Researchers from the National Museum of Japanese History presented a paper to the 75th annual meeting of the Japanese Archaeological Association on Sunday, claiming that evidence points to a burial mound in the town of Sakurai, near the ancient capital of Nara in central Japan, as the tomb of Queen Himiko.
Archaeologists had previously claimed that the tomb, built in the traditional keyhole-shape design, was built in the fourth century and therefore too modern for Queen Himiko.
But a team led by Professor Hideki Harunari has discovered new clay artefacts close to the site, which radiocarbon dating indicates were made between 240AD and 260AD. According to records from the Chinese court, with which the Yamatai kingdom had links, Queen Himiko died around 250 AD.
"She is a very important part of Japanese history as she was the first queen, ruled for many years - although we do not know exactly how long - and has gone down in history as a very popular ruler," said Professor Harunari.
From the Miami Herald:President Barack Obama says women don't have to make the same choices as men to be equal. He says a woman who chooses to cover her hair for religious reasons or chooses traditional roles is no less equal.
The U.S. president discussed women's rights in a speech Thursday about America's relationship with the Muslim world.
Obama says he believes women who are denied an education are denied equality. So, Obama is promising that the United States will partner with Muslim countries to support expanded literacy for girls and will help young women pursue jobs through a micro-financing program.
