Asia Democracy Chronicles

The religious in one of Asia’s predominantly Christian countries, the Philippines, may be among the most persecuted in the world.

Rights advocates argue that including ‘gender apartheid’ in international legal frameworks may help make the Taliban accountable for their oppressive policies toward Afghan women and girls.

A new report reveals the predatory side of microfinance institutions, whose less than ethical ways of lending have led to many Cambodians dispossessed of their lands

As some countries in South Asia prepare for elections, their respective religious minorities brace themselves for trouble ahead.

As the global community celebrates the International Day of Democracy, the work and sacrifices of ordinary individuals who fight for democratic values, in Asia or elsewhere in the world, deserve must than a cursory glance.

It is an open secret in Vietnam that brutality and torture are rampant at police stations across the country.

A recent mob attack on a Christian community in Pakistan’s Punjab province once more highlights the dangers posed by the country’s blasphemy laws.

Indigenous communities in the Philippines’ mountainous north are having a case of déjà vu with a flurry of major dam projects there.

A long-marginalized community in Sri Lanka no longer wants to be persistently on the road to perdition.

Deeply ingrained gender norms continue to hinder women's leadership and exacerbate workplace disparities in patriarchal Japan. But more democratic approaches—like a national gender equality review or institutionalized parity policies—could lead to a more inclusive and economically robust nation.

Governments in Southeast Asia are putting the squeeze on rights activists and journalists online.

Hundreds of thousands of spoiled ballots spoil the election victory of Cambodia’s ruling party.

Feminism remains a controversial topic in China, but the country’s feminists — fledgling and otherwise — are forming communities online nevertheless.

The recent decision of the Vietnamese authorities to ban the film “Barbie” has generated much reaction from the Vietnamese public and international watchers. The decision was made by the National Film Evaluation Council, which cited the movie’s alleged showing of China’s nine-dash line.

Beijing is increasingly targeting Chinese diaspora communities across the globe to help propagate its political narratives – and more.

Debt bondage still has many victims in India, but a small enterprise owned and operated by former bonded laborers in Tamil Nadu may yet show how the cycle can be broken.

Pakistan’s people have become collateral damage in the raging war between the country’s armed forces and opposition leader and former Prime Minister Imran Khan.

‘Little people’ or poor and powerless communities in Thailand, alongside other communities surrounding the mighty vast river system straddling six countries, continue to bear the brunt of dam projects and their destabilizing impacts.

Almost eight decades since the August 1945 twin bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities in Japan, survivors – considered to be potent arguments against nuclear armament – are dwindling in number even as Japan steadfastly refuses to sign or ratify any anti-nuclear treaty.

Climate change is contributing to the reproductive-health problems of women in the Indian Sundarbans.