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Geopolitics

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing

ARABICA - A Daily Shot Of What the Arab World is Saying/Hearing/Sharing
Kristen Gillespie



A R A B I C A
ارابيكا

RAMADAN'S TOLL

*As Ramadan begins, the Syrian government's campaign to stamp out protests is intensifying, with more than 140 civilians reported dead in the past 48 hours. Meanwhile, the scale of protests is also intensifying as the military shifts its focus back to the central Syrian city of Hama. Here, a widow cries over her husband's body. The person who posted the clip writes, "Do not grieve, my sister. He has gone to a place where his head is held most high." Several comments under the clip extend blessings and prayers for the widow, with one writing, "May God send you and your family to the greatest paradise." Many gruesome post-mortem videos are posted on the Syrian Revolution Facebook site.

CASTLES MADE OF SAND
*Here, a cartoon of a member of Syrian security forces on a beach protecting a sand castle as an enormous wave is about to sweep them away.

NO THANK YOU
*The Egyptian Muslim-Christian organization called "Family Home" denounced the American appointment of a special envoy to the Middle East to specialize in protecting the rights of religious minorities. Egyptian news site Al Youm Al Sabaa quoted a Family House statement as saying that "Egyptian Christians and Muslims have respectfully lived side by side for 15 centuries. They are united and share each others' lives and support similar goals for the nation." The statement was signed by Mahmoud Zaqzouq, a former minister for Islamic affairs, and a secretary to the Coptic Pope Shenouda III.

ON TRIAL'S EVE
*Al Hayat reports on Egyptian security forces storming of Tahrir Square in Cairo, where they forcefully broke up a three-week-old sit-in demanding political reform and the prosecution of corrupt police officers. "Hundreds of soldiers entered the square, dismantled the tents and drove out protesters," the paper reported. "Military police used batons to disperse the demonstrators." Security personnel also fired into the air and beat protesters "with sticks when they refused to leave the square." Some protesters also hurled stones at police. On its facebook site, the Egyptian military stated that "military police have arrested a number of thugs in Tahrir Square." The move comes ahead of the trial in Cairo of ex-President Hosni Mubarak, accused along with senior officials of ordering the shooting deaths of more than 850 protesters during the January 25th revolution.


August 3, 2011

photo credit: illustir

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Society

Menstruation Must Be Talked About And Treated — Like Any Other Health Issue

In India, questions related to menstrual health are largely taboo, and routinely ignored by authorities. Elsewhere in the world, there is some progress on the issue, though much more is needed.

Photo of women in India making cotton cloth reusable sanitary pads

Women in India making reusable sanitary pads on International Women's Day 2022

Ashutosh Singh

-Analysis-

NEW DELHI — There have been some significant developments around menstruation across the globe recently. Spain became the first European country to approve ‘paid menstrual leave’ for workers in case of severe period pain. Other countries like Japan, Indonesia, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, Zambia and the Soviet Union introduced similar laws many years ago.

The Soviet Union introduced a national policy in 1922, Japan in 1947 and Indonesia in 1948. Scotland was the first in the world to make period products available to all who need them at relatively accessible places. A considerable milestone was achieved when the first-panel discussion on menstrual health was conducted at the 50th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva in June 2022.

Menstrual leave in India is not a Martian concept. A school in Kerala has been granting its students period leaves since 1912. Bihar has been providing two days of special menstrual paid leave to women in the workforce since 1992. Kerala approved menstrual leave for female university students in January 2023.

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