Tsunami brides

The tsunami came and went, and the survivors thanked their stars for being alive. But now teenage girls in the affected areas are faced with a new plight ? that of being married off, often without their consent. The tsunami killed four women for every man mainly because the men were stronger swimmers, and the women were slowed down as they tried to rescue their children. There is now a gender imbalance in many of these villages, which is why even 16-year-old girls are being married off, either because their parents are inundated with proposals, and sometimes even threats of kidnapping if they don’t relent, or because they’re terrified of their daughters being sexually molested in crowded relief camps. Some have even married off their girls because they can’t afford to feed an extra mouth.

The families have another good reason for marrying off their daughters. After the tsunami, the state government offered a wedding package worth Rs 40,000 to every bride. It was intended for girls over the age of 18 but parents of under-age girls saw the chance to cash in.

Rat trap

Furious South African women have called for a controversial new anti-rape device, dubbed a “rat trap”, to be banned. The tampon-like device, invented by a woman, supposedly protects women from rapists by cutting into a man’s penis. But activists are outraged and want to stop it going on sale in chemists and supermarkets next month. Charlene Smith, a leading anti-rape campaigner, said: “This is a medieval instrument and fundamentally misunderstands the nature of rape and violence against women in society. The woman who invented this needs help.”

The Times, London

Matching up

In the last 26 years, no woman in Iran had set foot on a soccer field, thanks to the country’s segregation laws, and the likes of Parisa Ghahramani would write about matches after watching them on television. Until last Friday, that is, when Ghahramani and 20 other female journalists and athletes were suddenly granted permission to watch their national soccer team play in the country’s main venue, the Azadi Stadium. They were also invited back to a game a few days later with another 50 women. A victory, no less.

Oh boy!

Any which way you look, the issue of sex determination of foetuses leaves a bad taste in the mouth. After having two sons, all Vinod Soni and his wife Sunita wanted was a daughter. And so, when they moved the Bombay High Court, challenging a ban on gender-selection test as an ‘‘infringement of their reproductive rights’’, one thought their intentions were honourable. But now it transpires that they had moved court at the behest of an infertility expert, Dr Anirudhha Malpani, who wanted the ban lifted because that would do wonders for his business at the clinic.

Sex and the pity

A study has revealed that young women in Britain are much more relaxed about concepts of fidelity and monogamy than their parents’ generation. And these are all people hooked to the TV show Sex and the City. So what’s the connection? Apparently, having followed the affairs of Carrie, Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha, they see at least part of their lives reflecting a new emotional confusion. According to the study, they find some degree of infidelity (their partners’ and their own) acceptable in the first six months of a new relationship. Experts think it is “a female response to a male commitment fear”!

Overheard... That an obese woman is likely to earn 17 per cent less than a woman of average proportions. And this, despite the fact that women are paid less in most organisations anyway.”