Women's Rights, SSC-X-9 Skyfall, and the Mashco-Piro Indigenous People
#330 Outriders Magazine
Pakistanis, Masai, Zaparo, and Mashco-Piro and Climate Change
Extreme weather events are causing migration of Pakistani families, contributing to the increase in the number of child marriages. Parents are marrying off their daughters in exchange for money, as a way to obtain funds to support their families, such as around $700 for an underage daughter. Activists call these marriages "survival marriages" caused by the monsoon season.
At the beginning of 2023, the Kenyan National Drought Management Authority reported that 2.6 million livestock died, worth an estimated $1.75 billion. Due to several years of drought, some African pastoralists, including the Kenyan Masai, Samburu, Borana, and Somali, turn to camel and fish farming as their traditional staple food of cattle blood, milk, and meat becomes scarce. The Masai, who previously considered camel and fish farming practically inedible, are now considering these alternatives.
The Záparo are part of a shrinking indigenous community in the Ecuadorian and Peruvian Amazon. Only 600 are left, including three who speak the Záparo language. Oil exploration and the climate crisis threaten their lives and lands. A project called "In Between Dreams, the Forest Echoes the Song of the Burning Anaconda" explores the lives of the Záparo, their connection to the forest, the world of dreams, and spirits.
Meanwhile, members of the Mashco-Piro, one of the most isolated tribes, have murdered two loggers who trespassed on their land deep in the Peruvian Amazon. The Mashco-Piro live between two nature reserves in Madre de Dios. In January, Peruvian authorities relaxed restrictions on deforestation despite warnings of an increase in logging for agriculture, illegal logging, and mining.
Disputed Territories: Sabina Shoal, the Philadelphia Corridor, and the Nepal-India Border
Tensions have escalated in the South China Sea following an incident in which Chinese personnel allegedly rammed Philippine boats and fired water cannons and flares at Philippine aircraft near the Second Thomas Shoal. The Philippines asserts that both shoals fall within its exclusive economic zone, granting it the right to construct structures in the area despite a previous agreement with China.
The Central Bank of Nepal is preparing to issue new banknotes featuring a revised map that includes the disputed territories with India, namely Kalapani, Lipulekh, and Limpiyadhura, as part of Nepalese territory. Despite objections from India, Nepal introduced this new map in May 2020 to replace the previous version used in official documents. The border region of over 1,850 km between Nepal and India is significant for geopolitical and economic interactions.
Could the Philadelphia Corridor, a nearly 13-km-long passage separating the Gaza Strip from Egypt, impact ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel? Israeli authorities aim to maintain their military presence in the corridor, citing its strategic importance as a base for Hamas's military activities, including weapon smuggling tunnels. However, Hamas and Egypt oppose Israel's presence in the Philadelphia Corridor.
Education, Sex, and Online Dangers: South Korea and Paraguay
In Telegram groups, Korean users share images of young women they know and use AI software to turn them into pornographic images using deepfake technology. The messages feature university students, high school and middle school students, including minors. So far, more than 500 schools and colleges have been identified as operating groups spreading deepfake pornographic material.
According to a report by the British charity Internet Matters in cooperation with Opinium, seven in 10 children aged 9 to 13 say they have been exposed to harmful experiences or content online. These include online challenges, hate speech, disinformation, violent content or content promoting violence. In addition, a stranger has contacted one in five children online. Minors spend an average of 23.2 hours a week online.
In Paraguay, Catholicism is the dominant religion, and the Ministry of Education has approved the first national sex education program. The program promotes abstinence, treats sex as “God’s intention for married people,” warns about the ineffectiveness of condoms, and makes no mention of sexual orientation or identity. At the same time, Paraguay has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in South America and some of the world’s strictest abortion laws. Abortion is punishable by prison even in cases of incest or rape, although not in cases where the mother’s life is at risk.
The Impact of Air Pollution on Infertility and Brain Health
A study of more than 900,000 Danish women and men actively trying to conceive found that air pollution is linked to a higher risk of infertility in men. In comparison, noise pollution is associated with a higher risk of infertility in women. The study showed that exposure to PM2.5 levels 2.9 μg/m3 higher than the average over five years increased the risk of infertility by 24% in men aged 30 to 45. On the other hand, exposure to traffic noise levels 10.2 dB higher than the average over five years increased the risk of infertility by 14% in women over the age of 35.
Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are considered "forever chemicals" due to their poor degradability. They can lead to liver damage, obesity, hormonal disruption, and cancer. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) studied the effects of PFAS on the brain using zebrafish and identified the genes involved, which are also present in humans. The researchers found that exposure to PFAS has adverse effects, especially during sensitive stages of brain development.
According to Friends of the Earth, 27.5% of areas in England are "nature pollution hotspots," where air, water, noise, and light pollution exceed levels harmful to nature. In England, one in six species is threatened with extinction.
US Military Dominance and the Russian 9M370 Burevestnik
The University of London experts suggest that the US and its allies could potentially destroy all Russian and Chinese nuclear launchers using conventional weapons. Such action could lead to an unstable geopolitical situation, potentially sparking a new arms race and increasing the risk of misjudging the enemy's intentions during a severe crisis. They estimate that American JASSM and Tomahawk cruise missiles could reach 150 Russian and 70 Chinese nuclear launchers in just over two hours.
American sources have identified the likely location of the new Russian nuclear-powered cruise missile, known to NATO as SSC-X-9 Skyfall or 9M370 Burevestnik. The Russians claim it has an almost unlimited range and can evade American anti-missile defences. However, Western experts are skeptical. The new missiles are expected to be stationed at a facility called Vologda-20 or Chebsara, which is 475 km north of Moscow.
In response to alleged Western involvement in the war in Ukraine, Russia has announced a change in its doctrine for the use of nuclear weapons. While the 2020 doctrine stated that Russia would use nuclear weapons only as a means of deterrence, the new doctrine appears to lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons in response to aggression against Russia using conventional weapons, especially when the existence of the state is threatened. Experts suggest that Russia may want to keep these changes secret, as they could want the world to believe that it is on the brink of a nuclear war to manipulate perceptions. Keir Giles of the Chatham House think tank expressed this view.
Religion, Customary Law, and Women’s Rights: The Philippines, Iraq, Chad
Filipino women in the Philippines are advocating for the right to seek divorce in certain situations, challenging the country's ban on divorce. In May, the lower parliament approved a bill allowing citizens to pursue divorce, now pending the Senate's approval. The proposed bill aims to establish legal grounds for divorce, such as abuse, infidelity, and abandonment.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliament is considering changes to the law that would grant religious authorities more power over family law. This could potentially enable clerics to enforce Sharia, or Islamic law, instead of domestic law, raising concerns among rights groups about the possibility of underage marriage for girls. The push for these changes is being driven primarily by Shiite Muslim political factions, with backing from religious leaders who oppose what they view as Western cultural norms imposed on Muslim Iraq.
In Chad, women face limitations in owning, inheriting, and making decisions about land despite spending significant time working on it. Men in Chad typically control access to land. A women's collective called N-Bio Solutions is challenging these traditional norms and advocating for women's land rights by engaging in negotiations with community chiefs and seeking opportunities for women to lease land.
How Countries and Cities Cope with Overtourism
New Zealand has nearly tripled its tourist tax to almost $62 a day, following the lead of destinations like Venice and Bali to counteract overtourism. Iceland reintroduced a tourist tax this year, increasing the fee and extending it to cruise ship operators. At the same time, Amsterdam has raised lodging taxes, prohibited new hotels, and limited the number of overnight stays. Barcelona will raise its tourist accommodation tax to almost $4.50 a night. Bhutan imposes one of the highest tourist taxes in the world, at around $100 a day.
Meanwhile, Santo Domingo de Silos in Spain is open to tourists. The abandoned Sad Hill Cemetery on the outskirts of town has been restored by the local community and a group of enthusiasts from around the world who unearthed it. This is no ordinary cemetery: no bodies and the gravestones are fictional. In reality, it is the set for the final scene of Sergio Leone’s 1966 film The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The tourist attraction is a stone square surrounded by 5,000 graves. A new hiking trail connects the cemetery to three other attractions known from Sergio Leone’s film.
The Himalayan town of McLeodGanj in India, known for its temples, meditation courses, and ashrams, is famous among domestic holidaymakers seeking relief from the heat. Over the past four years, more than 150 new hotels have been constructed or opened here, putting additional strain on already limited water supplies. Another issue is the climate crisis - Triund, one of McLeod Ganj’s primary water sources, dried up this summer.
Racism in the US and on Platform X: The Advertiser Exodus
In the U.S., over 200 cities and counties have declared racism a public health crisis in recent years. Some health departments have developed recovery plans focused on racial equity, addressing issues such as the disproportionate number of COVID-19 deaths and racially biased infant and maternal mortality rates. Studies reveal that racism can have harmful effects on people of color, including chronic stress, anxiety, and higher rates of heart disease and asthma.
The World Bank has ceased running all paid ads on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, after a CBS News investigation uncovered that the organization’s promoted ads appeared under a racist post from an account known for frequently posting pro-Nazi and nationalist content, boasting over 115,000 followers. This account had posted a racist photo alongside praise for Europe’s colonization of Africa. CBS News also discovered over a dozen verified accounts on X with large followings regularly sharing nationalistic or pro-Nazi content, with promoted ads for recognizable brands appearing in the comments.
According to Kantar research, more than a quarter of advertisers plan to reduce spending on the X platform in 2025 due to concerns about content and declining trust in the information being disseminated. Meanwhile, eMarketer estimates that the company’s global revenue will plummet from $4.46 billion in 2021 to $1.9 billion by the end of this year.