Australia

• Women Kept as Sex Slaves in Illegal Brothels. [The Canberra Times, Australia] Women are being kept as sexual slaves in Canberra, mostly in unlicensed brothels, as they are shuttled between Sydney and Melbourne. "Through anecdotal evidence, we know that it is occurring - but it is still difficult to quantify the size and severity of the problem, particularly in the ACT where our evidence is sketchy." The ACT had agreed to participate in a cross-jurisdiction working party to examine the extent of sex trafficking in Australia and the adequacy of measures to date. However, sex industry lobby group the Eros Association says the Federal Government could stamp out the practice by issuing work visas to foreign sex workers.

• Women-Only Cabs Plan. [Courier Mail, Australia] A plan to establish a female-only taxi service in Brisbane is gathering pace, with drivers, passengers and unions giving the idea the thumbs-up. Based on a South Australian proposal for "pink cabs", the taxis would be driven by women exclusively for women, in a bid to tackle the industry's poor safety image. The SA plan came after four male cab drivers were charged with assaults on women within a month. But there was also concern female drivers were at risk from male passengers.

• Women with Lower Incomes Live in Fear. [Telugu Portal, India] Women with lower incomes often live in fear after the age of 50 and experience increased feelings of vulnerability, says a new study. Jan Lovie-Kitchin and colleagues at the Queensland University of Technology, Australia, conducted a nationwide study where they studied 2,620 adults over 50 years of age. They looked at how different elements of a person's life contributed to active ageing. The researchers analyzed older women's perceptions of vulnerability and their expressed need to learn to protect themselves against violence, according to a release on the university's website. Women on lower incomes reported feeling vulnerable when managing their money, accessing transport, and ensuring their homes were safe and secure, the study found.

• Aboriginal Women 'Must be Protected'. [Daily Telegraph, Australia] The Government and its agencies must overcome the "tyranny of distance" to protect women in remote communities from abuse, a coroner has said. NT Coroner Greg Cavanagh made the comments as he handed down his findings in Darwin today at the inquest of a pregnant woman bashed to death by her partner. The Northern Territory Coroner's Court was told Ms. Palipuaminni had complained to health workers of being assaulted 29 times over 11 years. Mr. Cavanagh said women in remote communities lived far from the protections and resources available to most other women.

• Where Have Our Female Firebrands Gone? [Sydney Morning Herald] Australia is run by men. Our political, corporate, cultural, educational, media, scientific and sporting institutions are overwhelmingly male-led. Arguably the most powerful woman in the country is Janette Howard; arguably because her influence is hard to measure, exercised as it is via her Prime Minister husband, John. There is no growing class of women who wield influence openly in their own right, based on their own achievements and their own ability to affect the lives of others.

• Indonesia Bars Medical Workers from Performing Female Circumcision. [International Herald Tribune] Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has barred doctors and nurses from performing female circumcisions. The prohibition against the practice — also known as female genital mutilation or cutting — came in the form of a notice sent to doctors and nurses in April. There is no punishment for those who ignore it. The World Health Organization estimates that about 2 million girls are at risk of undergoing the practice, the WHO says. Most of them live in 28 African countries, although some live in Asia and the Middle East. But girls and women in Europe, Australia, Canada and the USA, primarily among immigrants from these regions, are also at risk.

• Indonesia Bans Doctors from Practicing Female Genital Mutilation. [Ms. Magazine] The Indonesian government announced this week that it is prohibiting doctors and nurses from performing female genital cutting. According to Reuters, some Indonesian groups encourage families to perform female genital mutilation, possibly to maintain chastity and virginity before marriage and to ensure faithfulness in the women’s marriage. Sri Hermiyanti, head of the Indonesian health ministry's family health directorate, said, “Hurting, damaging, incising and cutting of the clitoris are not permitted under the ban, because these acts violate the reproductive rights of these girls and harm their organs,” reports Kaiser. However, there are no punishments in place for those who violate the ban, and it is expected that it will take time for traditional communities to stop performing female genital mutilation.

• Japan Must Unlock Its Female Productivity. [Asbury Park Press] Abe's to-do list is a daunting one that will require considerable attention. It includes reducing Japan's mountain of debt, increasing productivity, boosting entrepreneurship, shoring up the pension system and better utilizing the female work force. This last task … empowering women … is a bigger issue than meets the eye, as Abe takes the reins. While feminists may be miffed that Abe's cabinet includes just two women, they may be cheered by the importance of the two positions he has entrusted to women.

• Cosmeceuticals Tempt Female Heart Over the Counter. [Korea Times] Rejuvenating and preserving youthful skin has been the holy grail of beauty since ancient times. Two thousand years ago Cleopatra stepped into a bath of milk and the Romans used a cream composed of refined animal fat, starch and tin. However, in an age when plastic surgery and Botox are household names, women are more  It is women like Park, consumers in search of non-invasive alternatives to cosmetic surgical procedures, that beauty brands are after when they market ``cosmeceuticals.’’

• Only Female Instructors to Conduct Driving Tests for Women. [International Herald Tribune] Malaysia will allow only female officers to conduct driving tests for women learner drivers to meet Islamic guidelines barring close contact between unmarried people of the opposite sex.

• Nepal Provides Allowance to Women to Promote Safe Maternity. [People's Daily Online, China] The Nepali Health Ministry has initiated provisions to grant medical allowances to pregnant women to encourage them to give birth under the assistance of skilled birth attendants.  According to the National News Agency RSS Saturday's report, the provision, aimed to promote safe maternity services, could also reduce expenditure incurred in medical centers and fees to skilled birth attendants at the time of delivery. The Nepali government has commenced to provide stipulated lump- sum to enable women to bear cost for delivery in medical centers. This service is expected to help in enhancing skilled maternity health care and reducing maternal mortality rate and provide neo- natal health care to the newborn babies at the time of birth, the RSS said. The allowance is provided to women who give birth at district hospitals, primary health centers and medical centers where safe maternal health care services are available.

• Reports Suggest the First Women May Have Skied Everest. [Natives, UK] Rumors are filtering out of Nepal that Kit Deslauriers has become the first woman in the world to ski from the summit of the world’s tallest mountain. Commentators following the daily exploits during Kit and Rob DesLauriers’ adventures on Mt. Everest suggest that, although details are still not exact – owing to a kind of modest secrecy that has surrounded this expedition from the start – it’s not too hard to read between the epic lines.

• Female Circumcision Supported by Somalis. [Stuff.co.nz] A decade after New Zealand banned female genital mutilation, Somalian women have told researchers the law is "unfair" and too harsh. And they say New Zealanders don't understand how important or positive the procedure is for Somali women.  Some are even risking prison terms, telling researchers they plan to take their daughters out of the country to have the procedure performed. Fifty-four women in four cities were interviewed for the research, by Dr Pauline Guerin and Fatuma Hussein Elmi, both at Waikato University when the research was done. "The majority said it was the most valuable thing (they) ever experienced in (their) life," said Guerin. All the women had been circumcised. More than 80% had the most extreme form of female circumcision, in which part or all of the external genitalia is cut away and the opening of the vagina is narrowed by stitching it up to a tiny opening. Nikki Denholm, director of a national program that educates health professionals and the Somalian community about female genital mutilation, said aspects of the study were "naive". She said while most Somali women saw the procedure as a positive thing, they were often not aware of negative physical side effects because they had no other experience of what was normal. For example, many had no idea that it was not normal to take 20 minutes to urinate.

• Women Boxers Pick Up Three Bronze Medals in Denmark. [Radio New Zealand] The four New Zealand women's boxers will return from Denmark with three bonze medals. The tournament held in Vejle, is part of the boxers build up to the AIBA Women's World Championships in India next month. Tauranga light welterweight Kelly Woolrich provided the gutsiest performance on the night, coming third to World number two Vinni Skovgard 22-8. But Dawn Chalmers, and Mairehau Bentson who also won bronze, were both outpointed a 15 point differential by their French and Indian opponents.