Stories about Human Rights from November, 2019
Exclusion in access to public information for marginalized groups in India
Subhashish Panigrahi highlights the challenges and opportunities relating to access to public information for marginalized groups in India.
Sexual harassment case in Trinidad & Tobago highlights need for better policies
A recent case has highlight Trinidad and Tobago's lack of laws protecting citizens from workplace sexual harassment, especially members of the LGBTQ community, who can be quite vulnerable.
Inside Kashmir's internet blockade: Video report with Kashmiri students affected by the crisis
48,000 High school students in Kashmir appear for public examination amidst complete internet blockage in the region.
Melanesian journalists decry growing threats against media freedom
"Melanesian governments cannot pay lip service to international conventions and commitments to democratic freedoms and in the same breath issue orders to clamp down on journalists' right to expression."
Chinese defector's spying allegations rock Australian politics
'What an utterly insane suggestion that Chinese Australians should “publicly show” their stance on anything related to China to prove their “loyalty”. '
Nigeria's social media bill will obliterate online freedom of expression
The proposed social media bill will annihilate online freedom of expression, criminalize criticism of the government and legalize internet shutdowns in Nigeria.
The Gambia confronts the nightmare of witch hunts under former regime
In The Gambia, alleged witches were held for up to five days in secret locations and made to drink ‘Kubehjaro’, a hallucinogenic substance, and then forced to confess to witchcraft.
Tanzanian rapper scolded for lyrics about nation's cashew crisis
Roma Mkatoliki's hit song criticizes the government's 2018 decision to deploy the military to purchase cashew nuts from farmers in an attempt to force an increase in market price.
Varakashi: Zimbabwe’s online brigade targets activists and dissidents
The overarching aim of the Varakashi is to push the narrative that anyone who disagrees with the Zimbabwean government is an agent of foreign powers, and therefore unpatriotic.
‘Suspension won’t silence me’: Teen speaks out after embedding message about Xinjiang Uyghurs in TikTok makeup tutorial
Feroza Aziz used a makeup tutorial as a disguise to criticise China's treatment of Uyghurs on Tiktok.
Activists in Angola continue to face repression for online and offline activities
Online activists in Angola risk tough reactions from authorities, particularly when their activities are connected to offline activism.
In Uzbekistan, where homosexuality is illegal, LGBTQ+ people must hide to survive
Global Voices interviewed one of the very few LGBTQ+ activists in Uzbekistan, who provide legal and psychological support to a deeply underground community.
An interview with ‘Siamese Intellectual’ Sulak Sivaraksa on the future of Thailand's democracy and monarchy
"The monarchy must introduce some transparency into its workings if it wants to remain. It must be open to criticism."
Will the upcoming Taiwanese presidential election bring an end to the death penalty?
Taiwan has ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that calls for the abolition of capital punishment, yet it has applied death penalty in 34 cases since.
Why is Central Europe leaning towards illiberal democracy? Interview with Czech author Radka Denemarková
"My biggest hope was that we would adopt the Western democratic values. Yet what we took from the West after 1989 was a model of consumerism and not a democratic lifestyle."
Will Uganda shut down the internet as opposition heats up for 2021 elections?
As the 2021 election approaches, Uganda authorities are very likely to continue to crack down on political dissent, including through social media shutdowns.
Explainer: How a U.S. Act on human rights and democracy can protect freedom in Hong Kong
The US Senate has unanimously voted for a Hong Kong Act which aims at protecting the city’s autonomous status and its residents’ civic rights.
Insights into Kashmir's crisis from a Kashmiri born in Nepal
Aquib, a graduate from Kashmir University, lives in Nepal for business. Global Voices Nepali Lingua talked with Aquib to learn why India repealed Article 370 which gave special rights to Kashmiris.
In Ethiopia’s disinformation epidemic, the crumbling ruling coalition is the elephant in the room
As acts of communal violence that took place in Oromia in October subsided, a new battle began online over interpretations of the violence — and who was to blame.
Victory for transgender students at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University
Prior to this development, Chulalongkorn University had no official protocol for transgender students wishing to dress according to their gender identity.
Iran protests: Flying bullets and internet shutdown
The current protests are more widespread, more diverse in terms of class, and characterized by a brutal government response that includes a near-total shutdown of the internet.
