In discussions about gender and mental health, it is easy to become focused on the differences of rates of psychological pathology between men and women — the “gender gap”. Often cited are statistics indicating that women are more likely than men to be depressed, women have higher rates of anxiety disorders than men, and men are more likely to be diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder than women. The very state of being a woman is a supposed risk factor for developing certain mental illnesses. However, gender and mental health have far bigger concerns than statistics and vulnerabilities alone. The very history of mental health and psychology is steeped in gender and stereotypes of gender differences.

What has gender equality got to do with religious freedom? In this paper, the writer offers a gendered response by drawing from her research interests and expertise in women’s human rights in religions as well as sexualities and religions within a Southeast Asian context.

The recent ruling of the Federal Court in Mohd Ridzwan bin Abdul Razak v Asmah binti Hj Mohd Nor (Civil Appeal No: 01(f)-13-06/2013(W)) has introduced the tort of sexual harassment into our legal system. This article was first published in Issue 2/2016 of Legal Insights, a Skrine Newsletter. Reproduced with permission of Skrine.

The Malaysian Government has, in recent years identified the health tourism industry, including reproductive treatment as one of the national key economic areas for promotion by the Malaysian Healthcare Tourism Council for increasing revenue for the country. This article’s focus will be on the civil law surrogacy vis-à-vis non-Muslims.