In the raw and unflinching drama Earth Mama, Olympian-turned-director Savanah Leaf centres a woman fighting to get her kids out of an oppressive system

Eleven years ago Savanah Leaf competed at the London games as a member of Team GB’s first ever Olympic volleyball team. But to hear the London-born, Oakland-raised film-maker tell it now, that was nothing compared to the pressure of making her first feature film. “It was really tough,” she says to the Guardian. “At times I was looking around like, damn, how are we going to finish today?”

That A24-stamped indie – Earth Mama – hits US theaters this weekend after a warm reception at the Sundance Film Festival. And, well, “tough” is definitely one way to sum up this 100-minute heart render. Another: Gia, a pregnant single mother, is straining to recover from past drug use and the two small children put in foster care as a result, and barely has strength remaining to keep pushing.

Gia is bogged down inside a crappy apartment with her call-girl sister, stuck working a soul-crushing job at a mall portrait studio staging portraits with newborns and young moms. She has to endure case workers giving her a hard time about being late to supervised visitations, and for not sacrificing enough time to participate in reunification programs. She seems fated to end up like too many Black woman left to fend for themselves in Oakland’s concrete jungle. And yet she keeps going. “She’s definitely an Olympian, too” says Tia Nomore, who plays Gia. “A street Olympian. Shorty is jumpin’ through hoops, OK? She’s absolutely persevering.”

Proper sex education, change in perceptions of single motherhood needed, experts say

A series of alleged infanticide cases that have emerged in an ongoing nationwide investigation into “ghost children” has laid bare the dark stories of South Korea’s mothers of unwanted pregnancies and how the country lacks protective measures and adequate sex education, according to observers here.

Mothers not wanting to confess their pregnancies to their parents or endure economic hardships, in particular, have contributed to the infanticides, according to a study published by professor Kim Youn-shin at Chosun University’s medical school. The study, which analyzed recent court rulings on infanticide cases, showed that many women -- mostly single mothers -- hid the pregnancy from family as they feared becoming a single mom. The stigma of being an unwed mother has persisted in Korean society and, in most cases, leaves an indelible mark on the mothers’ lives, according to the study. Many women also resort to foul play as they are not equipped with economic resources, it added.

In light of increasing infant homicide cases, the research team stressed the need for comprehensive sex education programs that offer age-appropriate information about sexual health, such as birth control and safe sexual intercourse, which could prevent unwanted pregnancies. The research team suggested that conventional measures that reflect women’s rights should be introduced.

Sex education in Korean schools mostly consists of a single-session lecture with an hourlong video covering broad concepts of sex, lacking specific information about sexual intercourse, puberty, reproduction, clinical services, abortion and contraceptive use for safe sex in the real world -- all of which could help prevent unwanted pregnancies.

While denying custody to Ariha’s parents or the Indian Welfare Services, the court relied on two injuries that she had suffered — a head and back injury in April 2021 and a genital injury in September 2021

A district court in Pankow, Germany, has in two judgments dated June 13  denied the custody of Ariha Shah — the 28-month-old — to her biological parents and handed her over to Jugendamt, the German youth services.

Rejecting the application of Dhara and Bhavesh Shah to return the child to them directly or at least hand her over to a third party, the Indian Welfare Services, the court awarded Ariha’s custody to Jugendamt and ruled that “the parents are no longer authorised to decide on the whereabouts of their child”.

On June 3, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi urged the German authorities “to do all that is necessary to send Ariha to India at the earliest, which is also her inalienable right as an Indian national”. Earlier in June, 59 MPs from 19 political parties, including the BJP, Congress, the Left and the Trinamool Congress, had written a joint letter to German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann and asked him to do everything possible to ensure that Ariha was repatriated to India at the earliest.

With the Central Youth Welfare Office of Berlin being appointed Ariha’s provisional guardian by the court, it said the authority shall decide on her whereabouts. The parents had initially sought Ariha’s custody but had withdrawn the request. They had then requested that the child be given to the Indian Welfare Services and to restore parental custody in full, with the understanding that she would be moved to the foster home run by Ashok Jain in Ahmedabad. The parents also planned to move back to India with her.

Alma Feenstra will start as head of the Policy Implementation department at the Service, Partnerships and Implementation (DSU) department at the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment with effect from 1 July 2023.

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Alma will lead the Policy Implementation department. This department implements a large number of European regulations. Examples include the European Social Fund +, the European Migration and Security Funds and the Just Transition Fund (JTF).

Ingrid Vanhecke, director of DSU: “I am very happy with Alma's appointment. Alma is an energetic and experienced manager who, with her style of situational leadership and working from trust, fits well with the team leaders and employees of the department. In addition, she brings in knowledge and insights from outside, about applicants and users of schemes, and she has a relevant network outside SZW. Alma also brings political and administrative insight, with which she will make a valuable contribution to the department, management and SZW.”

Background to the study In 2021, 

Yves Denéchère, professor of contemporary history at the University of Angers and director of the TEMOS research laboratory (CNRS UMR 9016), proposed to the Mission de l'adoption internationale (MAI) that a historical study be carried out on illicit practices in international adoption in France. On the basis of a scientific project that he had drawn up, the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (DFAE, Direction des Français à l'étranger et de l'administration consulaire - MAI) agreed to fund a 12-month post-doctoral mission (year 2022) and signed an agreement with the University of Angers and the TEMOS laboratory. Fabio Macedo, a PhD in history with a thesis on the history of adoption (EHESS, 2020), has been recruited by the University of Angers as a postdoctoral researcher to carry out this work under the supervision of Yves Denéchère. The agreement binding the parties, signed in December 2021, stipulated that the research work was to produce a "Historical study of illicit practices in international adoption in France". It was agreed that the scientific direction and orientations of the research would be the sole responsibility of the laboratory, that the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs would not be involved in its drafting, which was strictly respected, and that the research report would be disseminated freely. This is why the document has been posted on the HAL SHS portal. After an introduction defining the purpose of the research and placing it in the current context, particularly European, this document is divided into four parts. A review of the academic literature analyses how, by whom and why illicit practices in international adoption have been studied (I). The bibliography lists the books and scientific articles published on the subject (II). The main part of the research report consists of an annotated guide to the sources - archives, audiovisual sources, the press - used to document illicit practices (III). Finally, t

New Delhi, Jun 13 (IANS): A petition in the Delhi High Court challenges the modifications made to the Adoption Regulations under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

Justice Pratibha M. Singh was hearing a plea by Jesi Jeevarathinam, who has two biological children and had applied to adopt a child in December 2020.

The changes in the Regulations prevent parents who already have "two children" from adopting a child without any disabilities, as defined by the Rights of Persons With Disabilities Act.

It is Jeevarathinam's case that she had applied for the adoption of a third child under the Adoption Regulations, 2017, which was in effect at that time and only prohibited parents with "three or more children" from adopting a child without any disabilities.

The petitioner has argued that the decision by the Steering Committee Resource Authority to implement the Adoption Regulations, 2022 with retrospective effect is arbitrary, unreasonable, and violates Article 14 of the Constitution.

Srinagar, June 16: Child Welfare Committee (CWC) today rescued 13 children from an orphanage at Bypass here.

CWC Srinagar chairperson Dr Khair-un-Nissa said acting on a tip off, she raided an orphanage at Bypass and rescued the children.

“An inmate has died under mysterious circumstances in the orphanage and police has lodged a case. I have during my earlier visit to the orphanage given notice to the owner as he was running the orphanage illegally. We will be taking action against him for mistreating the inmates,” she added.

“The role of child care institutions is to provide a safe, secure and family environment to the children. Abandoned, surrendered, orphan, victim of abuse, conflict children are registered in these orphanages. We have certain provisions for these enrolled children like sponsorship in which we can sponsor, adoption or foster care, “she said.

After living as a male for two years, a teen from Montana decided to detransition, realizing that she had been misled by online trends and influencers

In a case that highlights the influence of social media, a teenager from Montana has opened up about how TikTok led her to believe she was transgender. Ash Eskridge, now 16, revealed that after spending countless hours on the popular app during the pandemic, she became convinced that transitioning was the solution to her struggles with depression.

Ash Eskridge, now 16, revealed that after spending countless hours on TikTok, she became convinced that transitioning was the solution to her struggles with depression.

However, after living as a male for two years, Eskridge has decided to detransition, realizing that she had been misled by online trends and influencers. Her story sheds light on the complex issues surrounding gender identity and the impact of social media on vulnerable individuals.

TikTok Effect: Misleading Content and Vulnerability

If someone had said to me a few years ago that one of the most controversial subjects I’d ever write on would be women’s freedom to assert their rights to single-sex spaces, services and sports, I’d have thought they were crazy. I wouldn’t have believed that in a mature democracy people would lose livelihoods, be kicked off degrees or be issued with unlawful police warnings after expressing the belief that sex remains materially relevant in society, a moderate and widely shared view that remains the current legal position in the UK. But the bullying tactics of campaigners who believe that the gender with which someone identifies should, without exception, override their sex, plus the lack of leadership across many big institutions, means this is where we have ended up.

The latest entry in the so-mad-you’d-barely-believe-it column is the unsuccessful attempt by the trans charity Mermaids to get LGB Alliance stripped of its charitable status, in a legal fight that has gone on for years and cost both sides hundreds of thousands of pounds. They have opposing views on sex and gender, and what constitutes appropriate healthcare for children questioning their gender.

Mermaids is an established charity – it was awarded a grant of £500,000 from the national lottery fund in 2019 – which has lobbied the NHS to make puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones available to younger children with gender dysphoria.

LGB Alliance is a fledgling “gender critical” gay rights charity that says gender identity cannot replace sex in society. It argues that being gay is a matter of same-sex (not same-gender-identity) attraction and lesbians have the right, without being called bigoted, to assert sexual boundaries that exclude males who identify as lesbians. It is also concerned that gender non-conforming young people struggling with same-sex attraction are being encouraged on to an irreversible pathway to medical transition.

The Gujarat High Court has ruled in favour of using a duly registered adoption deed as valid proof to change the father’s name in a child’s birth certificate. The court emphasized the binding nature of a registered adoption deed on the Registrar of Births and Deaths, which cannot be ignored or disregarded.
The bench of Justices N V Anjaria and J C Joshi, stated, “The outweighing aspect in the facts of this case is that the change of the name of the father was prayed for on the basis of the Registered Adoption Deed. The petitioner became the adoptive father of the child in view of the execution of the Registered Adoption Deed. The Registered Adoption Deed is binding to the authority under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act.”
The court added, “Once it is a registered deed of adoption, its validity and effect cannot be called in question by the respondent authority. The Registrar is bound in law to incorporate change in the register of Births and Deaths on the basis of the Registered Adoption Deed. The same cannot be ignored or disregarded for its effect.”
The ruling was given during a series of appeals heard by the bench. These appeals were launched by the Registrar of Births and Deaths department against orders issued by a single judge of the HC permitting changes in birth certificates based on adoption deeds.
One such case concerned a man who married a widow and legally adopted her child. He drew up an adoption deed and requested to replace the child’s biological father’s name with his own. Despite this, the Birth and Death Department denied the application.
After taking the case to the Gujarat HC, the man received a favourable verdict. However, the Registrar of Births and Deaths then challenged this verdict before the two-judge bench, arguing that an adoption deed does not mandate the department to alter a name.
The registrar maintained that corrections could only be made if the entry was flawed, fraudulent, or improperly made. He contended that no grounds existed under Section 15 of the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969 to permit the name change.
The court, after careful consideration of prior judgments and legal principles, dismissed the appeal and rejected this argument. The court’s judgement sets a legal precedent regarding the weight and significance of adoption deeds.