Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change, has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year for 2019.

The 16-year-old is the youngest person to be chosen by the magazine in a tradition that started in 1927.

Shortly before the announcement, she told a UN climate change summit in Madrid that the next decade would define the planet’s future.

She urged world leaders to stop using “creative PR” to avoid real action.

Last year, the teenager started an environmental protest outside the Swedish parliament building, sparking a worldwide movement that became popular with the hashtag #FridaysForFuture.

Since then, she has become a strong voice against climate change and an internationally recognised figure and, earlier this year, was nominated as a candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Announcing Time’s decision on NBC, editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal said: “She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement.”

The magazine’s tradition, which started as Man of the Year, recognises the person who “for better or for worse… has done the most to influence the events of the year”. Last year, it named killed and imprisoned journalists, calling them “The Guardians”.

This article originally appeared on BBC It was reposted in the interest of our readers. All rights reserved with the respective owners of the information.

Earlier today, 5 December, three female Appeals Court judges were elevated to hold the highest posts in the Malaysian Judiciary system

According to Bernama, the three female judges were promoted to the post of Federal Court judges, the apex court in Malaysia.

They are Datuk Zaleha Yusof, Datuk Zabariah Mohd Yusof, and Datuk Hasnah Mohammed Hashim.

Another female judge was named as the President of the Court of Appeal

Datuk Rohana Yusuf, who is a Federal Court judge, was sworn in today, making her the first woman to reach the second-highest position in the judiciary, reported Malay Mail.

Rohana’s swearing-in was said to be witnessed by Chief Justice (CJ) Tan Sri Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat, who created history earlier this year after she was appointed as the first female CJ in Malaysia.

Other than the aforementioned female judges, the other female Federal Court judge is Datuk Nallini Pathmanathan.

Following the promotions, there are now a total of six female Federal Court judges – a first in Malaysian history

“For the first time, the apex court will have a total of six women judges,” Free Malaysia Today quoted a source as saying.

According to AskLegal, there are 10 positions in the Federal Court, namely Chief Justice, the President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of Malaya, Chief Judge of Sabah and Sarawak, and six Federal Court judges.

Meanwhile, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong expressed his happiness at the appointments

Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah conveyed that the appointment of many female judges reflects the efforts and sensitiveness of the national administration in featuring the involvement of women in the judiciary, Chief Comptroller of Istana Negara, Datuk Ahmad Fadil Shamsuddin said in a statement.

The Agong gave out eight official appointment letters at the Istana Negara earlier today, out of which only three were male judges.

One other female judge from the High Court, Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, was appointed as Appeals Court judge.

Go, go, female power!

This article originally appeared on SAYS.COM It was reposted in the interest of our readers. All rights reserved with the respective owners of the information.

The Arts Council of Pakistan has been forced to backtrack after it emerged that a discussion on feminism it is hosting was to have an all-male panel.

An outcry on social media resulted in two women guests being added, and Friday’s event in Karachi was renamed.

The original title, Feminism: The Other Perspective, drew derision and has now been recast as Understanding Feminism.

Organizers say male decision-makers were to share views on feminism, but many critics questioned the very idea.

In overwhelmingly patriarchal Pakistan, having an all-male panel discuss feminism didn’t seem the obvious way to tackle gender inequality.

These men wanna give the ‘other perspective’ on feminism. Maybe the intention here was to use their privilege for the cause – but this isn’t how allyship works. This is, however, what taking up space looks like.

It is also what men exploiting feminism to build capital looks like

After sustained criticism on social media, two women speakers were added to the panel – feminist Mehtab Akbar Rashdi and journalist Quatrina Hosain – and Uzma al-Karim’s name were made more prominent in the amended literature.

Many criticised the men who’d agreed to take part, accusing them of using feminism to further their own interests.

The writer of this article and others acknowledged there was no reason why men shouldn’t give their views on feminism – it just seemed wrong to invite a panel that included no women at all.

One woman, Erum Haider, tweeted: “The men I know who are feminists would be embarrassed to be on this panel.”

Discussion host Uzma al-Karim told BBC Urdu: “Our purpose was to get men having decision-making powers in major media houses and those with a following to talk about their understanding of feminism.

“We wanted to register their perception because they were in a position to influence public opinion. And that’s why we called it ‘the other perspective’.”

One of the men taking part in the discussion, human rights activist Jibran Nasir, said he’d found the original title misleading.

“I was informed the panel is about men talking to other men about rethinking masculinity and why as men we need feminism. It wasn’t to explain feminism or talk about women issues as men,” he tweeted.Skip Twitter post by @MJibranNasir

Jibran Nasir declined to comment when asked by the BBC whether he was told clearly what was to be debated, and whether he had been told by the Arts Council there were to be no women on the panel.

“It’s not such a big issue,” he said. “People had raised some objections, following which the management made some changes, and I’m only a guest at the event.”

Nida Kirmani, professor of social sciences at Lahore University of Management Sciences, says the issue of men debating feminism is justified – but the Arts Council failed to clarify the concept and that’s why there was such a big reaction on social media.

“I think this reaction was also caused by the fact that we are getting sick of seeing male panellists endlessly debating frivolous issues on electronic media,” she said.

“Rarely do we see a woman protagonist, and this seems normal to most people.”

This article originally appeared on BBC NEWS. It was reposted in the interest of our readers. All rights reserved with the respective owners of the information.