Stories about South Asia from July, 2020
Journalist's abduction raises concerns about media freedom in Pakistan
On July 21, renowned Pakistani journalist Matiullah Jan was abducted in Islamabad. Though he was released about 12 hours after, fingers are being pointed at state security agencies.
Sri Lankan wildlife threatened by poaching during the pandemic
During the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, rising unemployment has been linked to the surge in illegal wildlife poaching.
‘Invisible hands': How millions of domestic workers fare under COVID-19
"We are the invisible hands. Our work is not valued. We don’t exist for the families we serve nor do we exist for the state."
Construction of first Hindu temple in Islamabad faces opposition
The construction of the first Hindu temple in Islamabad was stopped after protests from different quarters, but rights activists and minority politicians are hopeful that the temple will be built.
#BlackLivesMatter resonates in South Asia as Unilever drops ‘Fair’ from ‘Fair & Lovely’ cosmetic line
In the wake of the Black Lives Matters movement, Unilever announced that they would rebrand their leading skin care product ‘Fair & Lovely’ to 'Glow and Lovely'.
The state of LGBTQ+ rights in India: An interview with Supreme Court Advocate Saurabh Kirpal
Global Voices interviewed Saurabh Kirpal, a Supreme Court advocate, to find out the state of LGBTQI+ rights in India two years after the country decriminalized homosexual acts.
Indian activists publish the first online magazine in the Santali language
Language activists from the eastern Indian state of Odisha have recently published the very first online magazine in the Santali language.
COVID-19 leads to closure of popular bookshops in Bangladesh
"There are so many second-hand books with probably no more copies in the world… many valuable documents of Bengali literary culture will be lost like this."
Indians create awareness with #DalitLivesMatter
Inspired by the activity of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, Indians are paying attention to one of the country's most disadvantaged populations.
India bans TikTok, 58 other apps amid rising anti-China sentiment, border clashes
The border clashes and the stand-off between India and China reached naught after India decided to ban video-creation platform TikTok and 58 other apps due to “security issues”.
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