Asia

Porntip wanted out of her abusive marriage and filed for divorce. But her husband wouldn't leave. Then the Thai government's COVID-19 response locked them both behind the same front door in the northeastern Khon Kaen countryside. His drug abuse continued, and the tensions between them increased. As did the beatings. He often told their two daughters he wanted to kill their mother.

Despite the Thai government’s ban of four more types of single-use plastics in 2022, up to 250,000 tonnes of imported plastic waste from other nations continues to flow into the country annually through the international plastic waste trade. Thailand is trying to stay the course with further efforts to mitigate plastic pollution, but there are still challenges in waste sorting and collection on the ground.

This dossier provides a diverse selection of strong civil society voices from Cambodia. We hope that the analyses and contributions included will lead to a better understanding of the results, impacts and successes of the actions of Cambodian civil society.

Violence against women and environmental pollution: current social issues are embodied in contemporary and symbolic pieces by the dance company New Cambodian Artists.

Elections in the Philippines is a time of alliances, pundits, politicking within and across party lines. A range of candidates have put themselves forward for the upcoming 2022 elections, though their agendas and positions may still be too cloudy for voters to make a clear bet. Persistent problems around politics are present, although reform via the Commission on Elections (COMELEC) is slowly taking place. There’s still plenty of time ahead for unpredictability, by prospective candidates and the voting population.

Poetry is an important form of expression for everyday and social issues in Cambodia, providing an important voice in increasingly shrinking spaces. The award-winning poem by Chhoy Phanith gives insights into the aspirations and hopes of young Cambodians.

Gender-based violence, participation in political and social processes and shrinking spaces: How do women's rights activists work under increasingly constrained circumstances in Cambodia?

While political and social avenues for free speech are limited and prohibited, Cambodian visual artists find limitless forms of creative expression to critically examine many complex urban, social and environmental concerns.

Starting from October 2021, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will begin using a newly revised but still problematic environmental and social framework. This framework contains the right words and appears to tick all the boxes, but it includes too many loopholes and caveats that undermine early disclosure of environmental and social risks.

Mr Rayyan Hassan, Executive Director of the NGO Forum, urged the ADB to take the coal moratorium ahead and move towards a full transition to renewable energy finance as soon as possible. In this interview, he shares what happened next and what still needs to be done.