Asylum for ‘adultery’ accused
In a path–breaking step, the British House of Lords ruled last month that since they collectively suffer persecution from men, Pakistani women who become outcasts in their society after being accused of adultery can seek asylum in Britain. The ruling came on the plea of two Pakistani women living in London after being driven into exile by false accusations. Syeda Shah, 43, fled to Britain in 1992 with her child after her husband named her as an adulteress. Shahana Islam, 45, a former Pakistani schoolteacher, fled after a militant political group began spreading rumours that she was unfaithful to her husband. Both drew the attention of the Lords to the fact that Pakistan’s Islamic law classifies zina (adultery) as a criminal offence that is punishable by imprisonment, public flogging or stoning.

Pro–White bias in Canadian wages
Rrecent study published in the Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology revealed that visible minorities in Canada faced a "startling" level of wage discrimination. David Ralph Mathews and his PhD student, Jasson Lian, of the University of British Columbia, used 1991 census figures and found that non–Whites earned less at every educational level compared to their similarly educated White counterparts. The study concluded that the pay discrimination against visible minorities indicated that Canada, despite its vaunted multi–cultural policies, is a "racist society" when it comes to paying people for the work they do. "There’s equality of opportunity in Canada but inequality of results", Mathews said. He added, "We have a sort of a liberal presumption that education protects one from discrimination. That doesn’t seem to be the case. This study suggests we have a pattern of discrimination that is incredibly thorough. It flies in the face of how we regard ourselves as Canadians."

Japan whitewashes its history
Judging by the history taught in its schools, Japanese society seems keen to hide the unsavoury aspects of its own past from coming generations. Christopher Barnard, associate professor at Teikyo University, who has recently completed a linguistic study of 88 school history text–books, found a consistent ideological bias running through all but a few. The texts usually shirk the blame for wartime atrocities such committed by the Japanese such as the Nanjing massacre. Since the education ministry vets all text-books, Barnard believes the Japanese government is directly responsible for refusing to take responsibility for the past actions of Japan or the wartime Japanese government. The study revealed that the Nanjing massacre was usually cloaked in the passive voice and facts were presented so as to downplay the incident. Besides Nanjing, there is no record in these textbooks of Japan attacking another country during the Second World War. The attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 is ascribed to Japan in only half of the textbooks.

Saudi woman sues Viagra
Viagra may be the source of sexual bliss for some. But, as this story from Saudi Arabia shows, it could also be the source of serious marital conflict. A woman has sued the distributor of the anti-impotency drug claiming that her husband’s desire to marry a second woman after long years in wedlock has everything to do with his taking the ‘wonder pill’. The woman complained to an Islamic court in north-western Saudi Arabia that she had been her husband’s only wife for 35 years and it was not until he started taking the blue pill that he wanted to marry a second woman. The woman demanded compensation from Viagra’s distributor in Saudi Arabia and pleaded that the judge stops her husband from taking the drug and block his moves to marry a younger woman. The judge ruled that Islam allowed the man to take up to four wives, so long as they were all treated equally. But he also made the man promise not to pop the problem pill unless a Muslim doctor prescribed it to him!

The right to her name
Women in Thailand are claiming the right to retain their maiden names and recent developments suggest that they may soon succeed. In mid-June, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai’s office put forward a proposal for a new law that would meet this demand for gender parity. Thai women’s groups have been pushing for the passage of such a law for some years but the demand has faced opposition from the country’s powerful interior ministry and the council of state. These bodies have argued that the bill may weaken family unity since it may lead to disagreements between spouses as to whose name the child should adopt. They also claim that the child may feel alienated from the parent with whom he does not share his name. In the face of such opposition, the network for Women and the Constitution, a coalition of women’s and civil rights groups, plans a campaign to gain support for their demand from members of the Parliament.

Rs. 59 lakh for an ‘Islamic’ scarf!
Fifty-nine lakhs is certainly a lot of rupees for a single scarf. But if you happen to be as rich as you are religious, what’s cash before faith? Meet Maryam bint Ali bin Sultan al-Ali, daughter of a Qatari businessman, who thought nothing of offering U.S. $ 137,000 for the head scarf that cost a leader of the Turkish Islamist party her seat in parliament as also her citizenship. On May 2, the newly-elected 31-year-old Merve Kavakci turned up for the swearing-in ceremony to the Parliament wearing her Islamic headscarf, a garment that is banned in educational institutions and public offices by Turkish law. While offering the disqualified parliamentarian a hefty sum of money, Ms. Maryam said the scarf was precious as it had become a ‘symbol of Shariah’.