Who made it to the headlines this week and which women’s issues got the media’s attention? Read on for more.

Copyright: Murali Krishnan

It was an eye-opener to return to Vrindavan, a holy and dusty town in northern India steeped in the lore of Lord Krishna. For years, this town, christened the ‘city of widows’ has been the home of women from many parts of the country’s rural hinterland, particularly from West Bengal.

A still from Sumathy Sivamohan’s “Ingrinthu” or Here and now about the minority Tamil tea plantation community in Sri Lanka

The setting and even the timing was appropriate as women film makers from a range of genres, fiction, non-fiction, animation and television features, gathered in the Indian capital New Delhi to showcase and share their works. Coinciding with International Women’s Day, many talented filmmakers from 15 countries were happy to be back.

In Manipur, India, there is a market run by and for women called the Ima Keithel. This market is over 100 years old and a place where women call the shots.

During World War II, hundreds of thousands of Asian women were forced into sex slavery for Japanese troops. Conservative groups argue that this accusation is false. A Berlin university has opened courses for women and the Afghan president seems to be willing to change a law which was described as a setback to women’s rights. Read on for women’s news that made it to the headlines.

Women’s rights are in danger, especially in countries where the government does not want to change its laws because of pressure from conservative groups. A group of pink ladies in India literally “beats up” people who torture women and several cases of uterine prolapse reveal severe gender discrimination in Nepal. Read more for the latest women’s themes.

We hope you had a wonderful transition into the new year and we wish you all the very best for 2014! The new year has started on a pretty unhealthy note for women. To know more and to check which themes made it to the headlines, click on this post.