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Despite Years of Pledges and Plans, Gender Gaps Persist on a Global Scale

This year, the status of women on many fronts, from political involvement to personal justice, will be evaluated in international forums. It is widely recognized, for starters, that women in poor countries need more access to information on basic health care for themselves and their families. Here, polio vaccination in Afghanistan. CREATIVE COMMONS

Indians Ask Why 21 Million Women Are Not on Voter Rolls

A first-time voter with her ID card at a polling booth during national elections in 2014, in Sikkim. This year’s national election in India spans 39 days across April and May. A new book reveals that 21 million women are not registered to vote, reflecting social resistance to women doing so.
Every national election in India is numerically mind-boggling, and this year is no exception. More than 800 million registered voters are expected to participate in an election spanning 39 days from April 11 to May 19.

Numbers Are People: Where Will They Be in 2050?   

The world is growing both older and younger, according to new population reports, which point out that unmanageably large populations can have detrimental effects in regions and in countries. By 2050, China is projected to be second in population globally, at 1.3 billion people. Above, the Beijing metro.
Right now, the population of the world is growing, paradoxically, at both ends of the age spectrum, for different reasons and with different results.

South Asian Health Care’s Dismal World Ranking

A health care worker in Pakistan for Marie Stopes International, which provides contraception services in 37 countries worldwide. Pakistan has one of the lowest overall health care rankings in South Asia, impeding the lives of women and girls.
South Asia, a vast region stretching from Bangladesh to Afghanistan, has produced and exported respected medical professionals, research findings and innovations with universal reach. The poor record in domestic health care in almost every one of the seven countries in the region is a different story.

Two Health Alerts: Resurgent Polio and Antibiotic Resistance

A national program officer working on polio eradication in Pakistan examines a child accompanied by his father. While polio remains endemic in only three countries, Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan, a new “weakened” virus, derived from oral vaccines, can be transmitted inadvertently. CREATIVE COMMONS 
Recent research reports published by The Lancet could make a lot of people rethink the assumption that once a disease has been declared eradicated, that’s it. Done.

Hungary Forbids Gender Studies, Enraging Academics

Viktor Orban, the prime minister of Hungary, has sent a directive to higher-education institutions in his country to ban the teaching of gender studies. The reaction from many circles opposing the rule has been swift. 
In the doldrums of a European summer, when many universities are mostly closed or short-staffed, the populist Hungarian government of Prime Minister Viktor Orban sent a directive to higher-education institutions on Aug. 9 forbidding the teaching of gender studies.