Which themes made it to the headlines in South Asia this week? What books and films on women are making it big? Click on this blog to find out more and let us know if you think we missed out on some theme you think is really important.

Indian girls return home after scripting history in FIH Junior World Cup

The bronze-medal winning Indian junior women’s hockey team on Tuesday returned home amid fanfare and celebrations after scripting history at the seventh FIH Junior World Cup in Monchengladbach, Germany. Read more here.

A No is a No

“We should stop kidding ourselves that we are different… We have tried to gloss over some very disturbing subterranean realities and clear evidence of sexism. But pretending it’s not there is not going to make it go away,” Ghosh said. It’s perhaps fitting that JNU as a community is willing to look inwards and outwards at the rest of society where blatantly sexist and unequal practices dominate. Read more here.

Bangladesh Women’s right activist hails HC verdict to ban the rightist party Jamaat

Watch the video here.

Young People Use Tech to End Violence Against Women in Nepal

At 9 a.m. on June 16, a rainy Sunday, Binisha Shrestha, a 23-year-old computer engineering student and a hacker, was working aggressively with her four teammates to create a mobile application with the potential to help women. Read more here.

Nepali, but not in the eyes of Nepal

Ten years after she was trafficked to an Indian circus, 22-year-old Radha has returned home stateless, with no document to prove she is a Nepali citizen. Her parents are Nepali but she married a fellow Indian circus member, and does not qualify to be a Nepali citizen any more. Her husband died without supporting her for Indian citizenship, and now she has no proof she ever married him. Read more here.

Working Afghan women worry about future

Women – 150 of them – churn out military uniforms at a factory in Kabul. They are among scores of women who have recently joined Afghanistan’s labour force – something unheard of a decade ago. But many here are worried about the future. With foreign troops poised to withdraw from war-ravaged Afghanistan by the end of next year, there are fears opportunities like this will dry up. Read more here.

Afghan Radio Station Dedicated To Women Shut Down

The owner of an Afghan radio network dedicated solely to women says one of its regional stations has been shut down after he refused to pay bribes to officials. Read more here.

Watch out for:

India Dishonoured

When the gang-rape and subsequent death of a student in New Delhi shocked not just India but the world, thousands of women and men came out to protest. But their anger was not just about that incident but a wider problem in the world’s biggest democracy.  This e-book tells the story of why violence against women in India is increasing, and how it’s set to get worse – affecting every facet of Indian society. Approximately 65 million women are ‘missing’ in India, according to the 2011 Census. This is not only a genocide but a sign of worse problems to come. This e-book will open your eyes to a part of India most people barely recognise. Read more here.

Beneath the veil: Atiq Rahimi’s ‘Patience Stone’ charts an Afghan woman’s awakening

The Patience Stone is the story of a woman caring for her unconscious husband in a neighborhood engulfed in sectarian violence. As for the quails and the men who bet on them, they do appear in the movie, and play a role in the life of Rahimi’s female character. Read more here.