Social Media Boosts Indonesian Women’s Rights Efforts
Women in Indonesia have long been rallying for equal rights in a country typically plagued by sexist attacks and comments towards women. Now, social media is behind them.
When a local official divorced his 17-year-old bride via text message after four days of marriage, equal rights groups and thousands of people took to the streets of Gamut in protest. News of the divorce had spread through Twitter and social media. Protesters in the streets demanded the official resign.
The Supreme Court recommended that the President denounce the official for violating marriage law, and that he did.
The case is growing more and more common in a country that largely follows Islamic Shariah law, where men can have up to four wives, and women are required to ride sidesaddle on motorbikes.
Thai law does not generally recognize divorce by text message. For the Thailand Muslim communities in the provinces of Satun, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala, there are special Islamic courts which provide for Thailand divorce in accordance to Islamic law.
Related blog posts: Divorce by Text Message in Indonesia
Airports Just Got Easier for Couples Traveling to Thailand
The Thai Tourism Authority is allowing couples – straight or gay – to fast-track through immigration at Suvarnabhumi InternationalAirport. The creation of “premium lines,” which would allow couples to skip long waiting lines, is part of the board’s “Amazing Thailand, Amazing Romance” campaign.
And that’s not all. Couples who register for the traffic-free route through immigration also get pink heart stickers and key chains that display the board’s new logo.
If that doesn’t make traveling to Thailand appealing, we don’t know what does.
Pregnant Teenage Wins Fight Against Parents
A pregnant 16-year-old in Hockley, Texas has won a legal battle against her parents to keep her unborn child. The teenager’s parents were coercing and threatening her into having an abortion, so she filed a lawsuit against them.
The lawsuit ended with an agreement that the teen’s parents would not use psychological coercion or physical force to threaten her. Her parents are also required to pay half of the hospital bill if she isn’t married by the time the child is born.
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