J Lo on killer’s trail

Two American journalists ? Jennifer Lopez and Antonio Banderas ? are in hot pursuit of a modern-day Jack the Ripper, who operates with devilish ruthlessness in a shanty town.

The invisible assassin has raped and murdered countless women, and the authorities can hardly do anything about it but wait for the next strike. Time is running out fast, and Lopez and Banderas must act before another girl loses her life?

That’s Bordertown for you, Hollywood’s take on the murder of hundreds of women in the Mexican border-city of Ciudad Juarez. Official figures say 340 women have been murdered in the last 12 years. But human rights groups argue that the number is much higher. Most of the deaths fit a pattern ? a young woman is sexually assaulted, strangled and then dumped in the desert outside Juarez.

The slayings have been the subject of scores of books and documentaries, but Mexican authorities are yet to be shaken out of their slumber. On the contrary, Juarez mayor Hector Murguia Lardizabal launched a scathing attack on Hollywood. His irate comment was: “Such films bend facts and distort the city’s image. They do not show the real face of Juarez.”

Net trap

As more and more women access the Net, they lay themselves open to being stalked in cyberspace. In fact, over 75 per cent of the victims of cyberstalking are said to be women. And the menace is growing in India, as the recent arrest of Manish Kathuria by the Delhi police ? officially, our first case of cyberstalking ? proved. A barrage of obscene calls hit the victim, Ritu Kohli, after Kathuria furnished her personal details online. So do think twice before furnishing your personal details in a chatroom.

A mouthful of sky

For a country where women once bound their feet to fulfil men’s erotic fantasies, the recent white paper on gender equality and women’s development was a big step forward. In line with Mao Zedong’s assertion that ‘women hold up half the sky’, China recently launched poverty alleviation programmes for women. The government also vowed to crack down on the trafficking of women which is a blot on the country’s image.

Defenceless?

It seems even the US army is poorly equipped to deal with the problem of sexual harassment against women. In fact, a recent Pentagon report holds it guilty of that offence. The report says that most of the US defence academies promote a culture that ‘devalues’ women, increasing the likelihood of abusive sexual behaviour by men in the armed forces. A review of the academies by the US Congress has revealed that sexual assault is a “part of life” for cadets and nearly 150 women have registered official complaints. Now that’s shocking, considering that these defence schools are supposed to churn out men and women who will liberate people everywhere!

IT’S PLAYTIME!

What is that thing between women and Playboy? The cover, you would say. Or is it the feminism that denounces Playboy’s brand of pornography? Feminists feel it’s an unreal depiction of women ? the playmates are like waxed and polished commodities of desire. However, Playboy has always argued that the models are ‘real’ women. Now, here’s your chance to form an opinion. The Playboy Book, celebrating Playboy’s golden jubilee has all the covers ? from Marilyn Monroe to Carmen Electra. You could denounce it for propagating sexual slavery of women or you could wonder how come we don’t yet have a magazine where men pose in little or no clothes.

Overheard: Scientists in Edinburgh have found that redheads have a higher threshold of pain than blondes, or women with any other hair colour, and so can bear suffering with stoical calm. Yo redheads!