It was very late in the night when my mother woke me up and asked me to take her to the hospital. She was sweating heavily and obviously not feeling well. We women were alone at home because my brother was out with his friends. I tried to call him but he was out of reach. Instead of wasting more time knocking our neighbors’ doors or calling our relatives to come and help us, I simply took the car and drove to the emergency unit at the nearest hospital.

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As an Indian living in Germany, I try to hold on to as much “Indian-ness” I can possibly get. During one of my efforts to try and stay in tune with India, I went to a Bollywood dance workshop in Cologne. My curiosity grew when I found out that a German woman was conducting the workshop.

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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.

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A Pakistani TV programme gives away orphaned babies, a team of young women from India take the third place in a football competition in Spain and violence against civilians has increased in Afghanistan, the main targets being women and children. Read on to know which South Asian women’s themes made it to the headlines in the last few days.

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What makes people happy? And how does happiness impact health? Dr. Katrin Beckmann has the answers.

If asked to relate Pakistan’s political situation to a literary work or character, my first suggestion would be, something Orwellian. Or maybe, an Aldous Huxley novel. What I would not compare it to, is Dickens’ Miss Havisham from Great Expectations; the old, frigid woman who is impossibly fixated on her past and refuses to let go. On the eve of elections 2013, however, I came across an article that did just that.

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Eva-Marree, 27, a Swedish sex workers’ rights activist was murdered earlier this month by her ex-boyfriend when she went to visit her children. Marree had lost custody of her children because she is said to have “romanticized prostitution.” The Swedish authorities allegedly denied her custody of children because of her profession. Prostitution is illegal in Sweden. Sex workers continue to be stigmatized by the society and have few platforms to voice their problems and concerns. They are barred from state welfare benefits and any kind of protection if they choose to continue their work as sex workers.

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