🌏 Another Earthquake Struck A Turkish City Near Syria, Kenyan Woman Politician Went To Parliament With A Period Stain And More

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Another earthquake has struck a Turkish city near the border with Syria, just two weeks after two massive earthquakes devastated both countries, killing more than 44,000 people and leaving tens of thousands of others homeless.

The new 6.4 magnitude quake, which struck near the Turkish city of Antakya at about 8:04 pm local time on Monday Feb. 20, killed at least six people and injured 294 others, including 18 who are in critical condition, according to AP.

The tremor – which was felt as far away as Egypt and Lebanon – was then followed by 90 aftershocks, including a magnitude 5.8 tremor three minutes later, according to Reuters.

“To me this is one of the signs of the apocalypse. I felt that we were going to die, that we would be buried here,” 47-year-old blacksmith Murat Vural told Reuters.

“I thought the earth was going to split open under my feet,” another local resident, Muna al-Omar, told Reuters.

The latest earthquake toppled buildings and left rescuers once again searching for people trapped under rubble in Turkey.

The death toll on Monday had been significantly lower as the region had already been left in ruins and largely uninhabitable following the two quakes on February 6.

Most of the injuries had been caused by people jumping from structures or falling over rubble when trying to flee, according to the Guardian.

Also Happening Around The World

🇳🇿 New Zealand was struck by its worst storm in a century, leading to severe flooding that has left hundreds stranded and displaced.

🇧🇷 Brazil’s São Paulo state also experienced severe flooding that has killed at least 40 people and canceling carnival celebration in several cities.

🇬🇧 A 21-year-old Polish woman has gained widespread attention after she started sharing what she said was evidence proving she is the missing British toddler Madeleine McCann on social media.

🇩🇪 Marco Goecke, the ballet director of the Hanover State Opera in Germany, has been fired after he smeared dog poo on a woman critic’s face over a negative review.

Gloria Orwoba, a Kenyan woman politician, was asked to leave the parliament after she arrived in white trousers stained with fake menstrual blood as a protest against period poverty and stigma.

On Tuesday Feb. 14, Orwoba arrived at the parliament in a white trouser suit that had a visible red stain in the crotch area.

Several senators then interrupted the parliamentary session to protest her “inappropriate” dress code, with some calling it “indecent”.

In response, Orwoba, a nominated senator, said she was disappointed to be questioned over “an accident that is natural”.

“I think I’m dressed as per the standing orders – I’m covered, I have a suit, I have collars, I’m just short of a tie,” she told the Senate, according to the BBC.

“I’m shocked someone can stand here and say the House has been disgraced because a woman has had her period,” she said, according to Africa News.

The speaker eventually asked her to leave the building and change before she could reenter.

“Unfortunately I have been kicked out because I’m on my period and we are not supposed to show our period when we are on our period and that is the kind of period stigma girls and women are having outside,” Orwoba told journalists outside.

Instead of changing, she then visited a school to distribute sanitary pads.

Orwoba has been pushing for a bill for free sanitary pads for people who can’t afford them – known as period poverty.

The period stain – which was actually artificial coloring – had been a part of her efforts to raise awareness around the issue.

“Since I am always advocating against period shame, I thought I should go ahead and walk the talk,” Orwoba told the BBC.

Period poverty is a serious issue in Kenya, with less than 65% of Kenyan women able to afford sanitary products, according to 2020 statistics from Menstrual Hygiene Day.

Others have to resort to using toilet paper, pieces of blanket or cloth as substitutes, or even having sex to pay for period products, according to a 2015 study.

The lack of access to proper products is also forcing young girls to miss school every month out of shame.

More Women You Should Know About

🇯🇵 Women Japan who had campaigned for an end to sexual exploitation and abuse of girls saw the justice ministry propose raising the country’s age of sexual consent from 13 to 16 as part of a wider reform of the country’s laws on sex crimes.

South Korea’s supreme court has ruled that its national health insurance must cover same-sex partners, recognizing the rights of same-sex couples for the first time.

It comes after So Seong-wook and Kim Yong-min, a same-sex couple, brought forward a case when one partner was denied insurance cover as a dependent of his partner.

In South Korea, a spouse or partner can be considered a dependent under their partner’s health insurance plan and are not required to make separate health insurance payments, if they meet certain criteria.

So and Kim, who held a wedding ceremony in 2019 and live together, managed to register as a dependent with the national health insurance in February 2020, making them the first same-sex couple to do so successfully, according to Amnesty International.

However, the national health insurance revoked So’s dependent status eight months, arguing that same-sex partners did not qualify for the social benefit.

The couple filed a lawsuit at a lower court, which sided with the national health insurance, but they appealed the decision to the Supreme Court.

On Tuesday Feb. 21, the high court ruled in favor of the couple, arguing that the decision to deny the benefit to same-sex couples could be considered discrimination, given that the national health insurance had previously granted the benefit to civil unions.

The decision has been hailed as a landmark one that will hopefully bring South Korea closer to marriage equality.

More Good News For Your Week

🇻🇳 A Vietnamese cosmetic brand has gained praise for its decision to feature models of different skin tones in its promotional images, challenging beauty standards in Asia, where white and pale skin are considered the ideal and preferred over darker skin tones.

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