At work and play, women forge independence from men – from India to Brazil

1. United States

Parking reform is beginning to transform American cities and deliver to residents the benefits of less car dependency. At all levels, governments are examining both street parking and the mandates attached to development of new buildings, as well as how new policy can impact housing affordability and livability of urban areas.

In San Francisco, “demand-responsive” parking meters vary the rates charged and encourage people to park in underused spaces – a system in place since 2011. During the pandemic, “streateries” sprang up in former parking spots outside their host restaurants in cities such as Cincinnati, expanding the idea that these outdoor spaces can be used for other purposes, including bike and bus lanes or parklets.

For new construction, builders are often required to include space for parking. Such mandates, studies say, make housing more expensive and encourage more driving. Last November, in an 8-2 City Council vote, Austin, Texas, became the largest city to ban mandates. California and Oregon reformed mandates at the state level, and in Minnesota a bill was introduced in January. Last May, legislation was introduced in Congress to ban parking minimums.

Parking reform isn’t the only way cities are trying to reduce car use. New York plans to introduce the country’s first congestion tolls after a public comment period ends in March. Proceeds will fund improvements to the city’s public transit system.
Sources: Yale Environment 360, The Texas Tribune

2. Brazil

Brazil’s first all-female “samba school” is challenging gender stereotypes and discrimination. Though women have long held important roles in groups performing Afro-Brazilian music and dance during Carnival, they’ve rarely held leadership positions or garnered widespread recognition. With women showcasing their talents in roles from percussionist to director, Turma da Paz de Madureira (The Madureira Group of Peace) performed in a second Carnival parade in Rio de Janeiro in February.

Barbara Rigaud started the group in 2013 to help women feel seen and valued in a country where sexual assault is commonplace and where women spend twice as much time as men on domestic chores, yet they edge out men as breadwinners – 50.9% to 49.1%. The group faces some challenges related to financing and rehearsal attendance, which has been sparse owing to the women’s home commitments. But in this year’s parade, the group planned to have costumed performers pay tribute to female trailblazers and everyday women. Some men ridicule the group, particularly for the abbreviated version of its name, which is also the acronym in Portuguese for premenstrual syndrome.

Ms. Rigaud brushes off the laughs. “We face a lot of prejudice and mockery because we’re being innovative, you see?” she said.
Sources: The Guardian, Valor International

3. Switzerland

Engineers created a device that allows people with prosthetic limbs to feel temperature for the first time. Unlike other systems that create sensations for people with prosthetic limbs, the MiniTouch sensor does not require surgery. The fingertip sensor, made from off-the-shelf electronics, is installed on an existing prosthetic in a few hours.

In a previous study in 2023, the same team found that subjects could “feel” temperature on their missing, often called phantom, hands when researchers placed thermal electrodes on their residual arms and stimulated them with an attached sensor. For the advanced test, the scientists fitted Fabrizio Fidati, whose arm was amputated at the elbow, with fingertip sensors connected to a patch of skin on his upper arm. The electrodes relayed temperature information to his upper arm, stimulating pathways once linked to his hand. Mr. Fidati was able to differentiate between three identical-looking bottles of different temperatures with 100% accuracy. He could also tell whether he was touching a prosthetic or human hand while blindfolded, though less accurately than with his uninjured arm.

Not all people in the 2023 study were able to feel the phantom sensations that allow MiniTouch to function.

“Feeling the temperature variation is a different thing, something important ... something beautiful,” said Francesca Rossi, who participated in the original study. “It does not feel phantom anymore, because your limb is back.”
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, Med

4. India

Solar pumps are helping women grow diverse crops and gain economic independence from men. Farmers in the northeastern Indian state of Bihar contend with water scarcity that limits the crops they can cultivate. By pooling their finances, some self-help groups have paid for bore wells and installed solar pumps to draw water – allowing for more profitable yields and larger income streams.

In 2016, 10 women of the Shiv Ganga Samuha Sichai Samity (whose name means group irrigation committee) contributed about $156 each toward the construction of a solar pump system. Local nonprofit Aga Khan Rural Support Program-India provided the remaining 80% of the cost. Now, the group’s solar pump runs for seven hours per day during the summer, providing water for up to 35 acres of land. One member, Babli Devi, said the extra crops allowed her to purchase a sewing machine, further boosting her personal income and reducing her dependency on her husband. Other women in various irrigation groups report using profits for expenses such as their children’s education.

Maintenance for the equipment is not always locally available, and the cost of pump systems can be prohibitive. Yet solar pumps in some cases replace expensive diesel machinery that causes pollution. And according to Mukesh Chandra, project lead for the support program, revenue for farmers in Bihar has increased by at least 30% in the past five years, and irrigation costs a third less.
Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful

5. Madagascar

Madagascar’s contemporary art scene is growing with the opening of more venues that celebrate the accomplishments of African artists. Though the island has a rich artistic tradition, it has been without public museums or schools of contemporary art to nurture artistic expression.

The art space Hakanto Contemporary launched in the capital, Antananarivo, in 2020 with the goals of putting artists from Madagascar on the world stage and promoting the unique contributions of Malagasy culture. Its founder, Hasnaine Yavarhoussen, sponsored the first Malagasy exhibit at the Venice Biennale in 2019. The center hosts artist residencies and is free to all visitors.

Another art venue, Fondation H, was launched in 2017 by French Malagasy entrepreneur Hassanein Hiridjee and is housed in a soaring, newly renovated brick building in Antananarivo. Its inaugural show opened in December, celebrating the work of internationally recognized textile artist Madame Zo. The foundation supports an artist residency in Paris and, like Hakanto, is free to visitors. It plans to host one major show a year.

With Madagascar ranking poorer than 95% of countries, art brings “a note of hope, to show beauty, creativity, and provide nourishment for the mind and imagination,” said Hobisoa Raininoro, a Fondation H curator.
Sources: The Guardian, The Art Newspaper