…”There is a particular crisis for women—a vast confidence gap that separates the sexes. Compared with men, women don’t consider themselves as ready for promotions, they predict they’ll do worse on tests, and they generally underestimate their abilities.

This disparity stems from factors ranging from upbringing to biology…” Read more in the Atlantic.

‘Poles Apart’

“Directed by Samar Minallah, the short documentary focuses on individuals who managed to escape forced marriages amongst Pakistani families across the country and in Norway, to maintain links with their roots or other social cultural reasons.” Read more in the Dawn.

1000 girls forced into marriage every year

According to a report by the Movement for Solidarity and Peace in Pakistan, up to 700 of these women are Christian and 300 are Hindu. Read more in the Dawn.

28, Female and Unmarried

“A regular day at home starts with mother blaming father for not getting his daughter married. Cousins and friends who are my age and even younger are married with more than one kid. My parents, though supportive of my study and career aspirations, are not able to swim in a society where they have a daughter who has crossed the ‘marriageable’ age.”  Read more in the Hindu.

Start up your love life

An online platform helps singles out there stay positive and passionate about life, despite their status. Intended for Indonesians between 16 and 25 years old, the social network website targets the online dating site’s market, yet focuses on profile-matching people, as well as communities and activities. Read more in the Jakarta Post.

Legal marriage age contributes to mortality

Indonesia has one of the highest percentages of child marriage cases in the world and the second-highest in ASEAN after Cambodia. The number of married females aged between 10 and 14 years has reached more than 22,000 or 0.2 percent of the population, while married females aged between 15 and 19 account for 11.7 percent. Read more in the Jakarta Post.

Afghan police deny that shooting of female MP was political

Maryam Koofi was recovering in a Kabul hospital from after being shot twice in the leg Tuesday night as she left her office. Her bodyguard was more seriously wounded, with shots to his head and leg. Read more in the Daily Star.