Spotlight International

Mutilated Women + Pharma Bullies + Queer Foster Families

The best of journalism – with investigations from ARTE, ProPublica, The Bureau of Investigative Journalism and many more

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Mutilated Women

On March 8th, the world celebrates International Women’s Day. This year, the United Nations wants to celebrate “the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic”.

Sometimes the global contributions of women remain invisible, especially when there are significant sacrifices involved. A documentary from ARTE tells the story of exploited sugarcane harvesters in India, who suffer so much pain due to long working hours and a lack of hygiene in the shacks they are forced to live in, that they undergo surgery to have their uterus removed.

Hysterectomies in India (??/??)

Deathly World Cup

In December 2010, it was announced that Qatar would host the Football World Cup 2022. Since then, everything related to the event has been surrounded by scandals. The Guardian adds another brick to that wall: According to the British newspaper’s calculations, at least 6,500 workers from South Asian countries died while constructing dozens of major projects in preparation for the tournament. Many times, deaths are attributed to natural causes, despite most workers being young.

Revealed: 6,500 migrant workers have died in Qatar as it gears up for World Cup (??)

Political dilemma

After a showdown in Australia, Facebook can add another chapter to its long list of attacks against freedom of speech worldwide. ProPublica revealed that when faced with the decision to ban the account of a Kurdish militia at the request of the Turkish government, Sharyl Sandberg, Facebook’s No. 2 executive, had no doubt: “I am fine with this”, she wrote. The company risked seeing its services in the country completely shut down.

Sheryl Sandberg and Top Facebook Execs Silenced an Enemy of Turkey to Prevent a Hit to the Company’s Business (??)

Pharma bullies

Pfizer has been intimidating governments in Latin America when negotiating contracts to deliver the COVID-19 vaccine. According to a joint investigation by Ojo Público, Stat, and The Bureau of Investigative Journalism, the pharmaceutical behemoth wanted to protect itself against any claims citizens might file if they experience adverse effects after receiving the shot. Pfizer even demanded that some countries put up sovereign assets, such as embassy buildings and military bases, as a guarantee.

Las exigencias de Pfizer: pide a gobiernos utilizar activos soberanos como garantía para acuerdo de vacuna (??)

‘Held to ransom’: Pfizer demands governments gamble with state assets to secure vaccine deal (??)

Another kind of family

Despite widespread discrimination against the queer community, social workers throughout the U.S. discreetly placed queer teenagers with queer foster parents throughout the 1970’s, The New Yorker reveals. Today, there are only 25 states that have laws which explicitly prohibit adoption and foster-care agencies from discriminating on the basis of sexual or gender identity.The Untold Story of Queer Foster Families (??)