Activists (from left to right) Valentina, Hilda, Jelena and Željka in Srebrenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina (May, 2020). Photo by Ahmedin Đozić/Balkan Diskurs, used with permission.

This story by Ahmedin Đozić was originally published on Balkan Diskurs, a project of the Post-Conflict Research Center (PCRC). An edited version is republished by Global Voices as part of a content-sharing agreement.

A monk using his phone at the Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo and caption by Remko Tanis, Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

This article was written by Aye Min Thant, Tech for Peace Manager at Phandeeyar, an innovation lab in Myanmar. 

Every person in Myanmar above the age of 10 has lived part, if not most, of their life under a military dictatorship characterized by an obsession with achieving autonomy from international influences. Before the economic and political reforms of the past decade, Myanmar was one of the most isolated nations in the world. The digital revolution that has reshaped nearly every aspect of human life over the past half-century was something the average Myanmar person had no personal experience with. 

Recent reforms brought an explosion of high hopes and techn...

Kibera Primary School, Nairobi, Kenya, September 18, 2012. Photo via ARC / Flickr CC BY 2.0.

Editor’s note: This post was co-written by Global Voices contributor Bonface Witaba and guest contributor Sri Ranjini Mei Hua, a researcher and writer from Singapore.

In March, the Kenya government announced the suspension of schools as part of its measures to curb the spread of COVID–19. The announcement threw the school curriculum into disarray, affecting 18 million learners nationwide. It also threatened to derail progress toward inclusive, equitable and quality education as described in Agenda 4 of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

As part of efforts to ensure continued learning while protecting the health, safety, and well-being of learners and educators, the Ministry o...

A clash between riot police and protesters, embroidered in traditional Belarusian style by Rufina Bazlova. Image (c): Rufina Bazlova, used with permission.

At first glance, no two words may seem as far removed as protest and embroidery. But in Belarus, where the opposition is disputing Alexander Lukashenka’s hold on power after the August 9 presidential election, the revolution is not being just being broadcast over social media — it’s being embroidered.

The official results of these presidential elections, announced on August 10, gave Lukashenka over 80 percent of the vote, while the leader of the recomposed opposition Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya gained less than 10 percent...

جمعیت در مقابل دادگاه جنایی سکس سه انگشت ‘بازی گرسنگی’ سلام پس از حکم Anon و Daus را بازداشت موقت درخواست. عکس و عنوان از Prachatai یک محتوای شریک Global Voices به فارسی.

از تاریخ 31 ژوئیه چندین فعالان حقوق بشر و روزنامه نگاران در سراسر آسیای جنوب شرقی دستگیر شده اند محکوم و با تجربه آزار و اذیت که منعکس کننده افزایش خارجه-حمایت از حمله به آزادی بیان است.

در تایلند یک وکیل و فعال دانشجویی بازداشت شدند خود را برای مشارکت در دموکراسی تظاهرات...

Screenshots of attempts to access Apple’s App Store, YouTube, and the Golos website during presidential elections in Belarus on August 9, 2020. Photo (c): Franak Viačorka. Used with permission.

A loudspeaker on a stage in Minsk plays Viktor Tsoi‘s “Change,” as a man in a suit tries frantically to pull out the power cable. The video recording shows that he succeeds, only for other loudspeakers nearby to continue blasting out the classic late Soviet era rock song. He flounces off, exasperated. According to onlookers, he is a Belarusian security agent from the Belarusian government attempting to silence their protest anthem.

That anthem is being sung by Belarusians enraged at an attempt by longtime president Alexander Lukashenka to win a sixth consecutive term...

Jeanine Áñez assuming Bolivia’s presidency on 12 November 2019, with her daughter Carolina Ribera to her left. Image by Wikimedia Commons, open content modified by Global Voices.

Throughout her campaign and current presidency, President Jeanine Áñez has created an image of herself as a pious Christian, a mother, and an assertive authority in Bolivia.

Despite leading a constitutionally secular country, Áñez has built her Christian image through political practice and religious speeches, earning her comparisons to President Trump and President Bolsonaro. 

In an April 15 Instagram photo with the caption, “Flight of blessings...

عکس از سیب در روز حساب توییتر.

هنگ کنگ رسانه ها, سرمایه دار خیلی مهم جیمی لای برجسته حامی از شهرستان دموکراسی تظاهرات دستگیر شد در اوایل صبح روز 10 آگوست برای “تبانی با نیروهای خارجی” است که یک تخلف جدید امنیت ملی قانون است.

لای بنیانگذار بعدی دیجیتال که دارای اپل اخبار روزانه و بعدی مجله. او دو پسر هستند که در کسب و کار رسانه ای و چهار دیگر بالای اعضای خود اخبار شرکت نیز دستگیر و تحت سخت گیرانه قانون است. او دستیار شخصی مارک سیمون در حال حاضر در داخل است تحت تعقیب پلیس هنگ کنگ...

A rare golden Indian flapshell turtle found in Nepal. Photo by Dev Narayan Mandal. Used with permission.

After news of the existence of a yellow turtle in India’s eastern state of Odisha went viral this past July, Nepalis wanted to remind the world that they made a similar discovery first — on April 14, 2018, to be exact — when a rare, golden turtle was found for the first time in south-eastern Nepal’s Dhanushadham municipality.

According to a research paper by Kamal Devkota, Dev Narayan Mandal and Hinrich Kaiser, which was published in the journal Herpetology Notes, the turtle was released into its natural habitat after pictures were taken as proof.

In an email interview with Global Voices, Devkota explained:

Our team member, Chandradeep Sada, rescued this rare golden turtle fro...

Photo by Donald Tong/Pexels. Used under Pexels License.

A 57-year-old man was shot dead in a Peshawar courtroom as he was being trialed for blasphemy on July 29. The killer, 24, was arrested immediately — it’s unclear how he managed to bypass the court’s security with a fire weapon.

Tahir Ahmad Naseem was a Pakistani-American citizen who used to post videos online claiming he was some sort of prophet. In 2018, he was arrested by Peshawar police and charged with multiple counts of blasphemy after a madrassa student lodged complaints against him.

The student presented to the authorities private online conversations in which Naseem claimed to be a prophet of Islam, which is a violation of Pakistan’s blasphemy laws.

Muslims believe that Prophet Muhammad was the last messenger of God and...