Five women from the same family in Pakistan's Punjab province have refused to be "united" with their prospective husbands as ordered by tribal elders. The village council has told them to "honour" 1996 childhood marriages, when the youngest of them was just five ( Read more... )

By Shashank Bengali, Knight Ridder Newspapers

PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa - Wearing tight braids, dark sunglasses and a trendy white tracksuit, Nokuthula Shezi looks like your typical, appearance-conscious 17-year-old.But she's careful not to attract the wrong kind of attention. She's a virgin, and so determined to remain one that every month ( Read more... )