 Hello and welcome to Around the World in 8 Minutes, a brand new show by People's Dispatch. People's Dispatch, formerly the Dawn News, is an international media organization with the mission of bringing to your voices from the working class and popular struggles across the globe. The southern Indian state of Kerala delivered a double blow to the right-winged forces over the first two days of the new year. On January 1, around 5 million women gathered across the length of the state to form a wall upholding progressive values and struggle for gender justice. On January 2, two women in their 40s finally entered the shrine of Shabdimala. This was over three months after a historic court verdict in September struck down the tradition that women between the ages of 10 and 50 could not set foot in the shrine. Ever since the verdict, Hindu fundamentalist groups have sought to polarise the state terming the decision and attack on Hindu customs. These fundamentalist groups were led by the far-right Bhartya Janta Party, which is in power at the centre along with the priestly community. The religious custom associated with the temple sees menstruating women as impure and prohibits their entry. The right-winged groups launched a series of campaigns in an attempt to block any women between 10 and 50 from entering the temple. The Communist Party of India Marxist-led government in the state met the attack head-on declaring its intent to implement the court verdict. Led by Chief Minister Pinaraya Vijayan, the CPIM and the ruling alliance, the Left Democratic Front, organised mass rallies and door-to-door campaigns about the significance of the verdict. It also reached out to a wide variety of religious, social and cultural organisations to mobilise support on this issue. Over the past few months, various right-wing leaders have made provocative and inflammatory statements threatening to cause chaos if women enter the temple. On Wednesday, a stunned silence was the first response from many of these sections. They later resorted to sporadic protests and organised a state shutdown on January 4, which witnessed massive right-wing violence and destruction of public property. The shutdown was unsuccessful as people came out in large numbers against this hooliganism. So, dance mass protests continued into the new year with thousands hitting the streets, demanding an end to President Omar al-Bashir's 30-year-long rule. The protests were sparked by the rising food and fuel prices and increasing state crackdown on the citizens. A large number of people took to the streets across the country on Monday on the eve of Sudan's Independence Day and the new year. Over 60 protesters have been killed by security forces since the beginning of the uprising on December 19. In response to the call given by Sudan Professionals Association, doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals protested in the capital city of Khartoum. Dozens were detained and many more were injured as the police and paramilitary forces used live bullets and tear gas to stop the march from reaching the presidential palace. On reaching, the association intended to deliver a memorandum to the president, asking him to step down. As protesters in Omdurman, the second largest city about 25 kilometres to the north of the capital, began marching towards Khartoum city, security forces closed connecting bridges to stop them. 300 kilometres to the southeast of the capital in the town of Sinar, lawyers took out another procession towards the code buildings demanding that the judiciary remove Bashir from the presidency. A number of doctors also participated in this procession. Condemning the use of live bullets and the use of excessive force against the unarmed protesters, the Sudanese Professionals Association said in a statement on New Year's Eve that they will continue every day in order to accelerate the goal of eliminating the rule of Bashir and his regime. The association also signed a charter which demanded that Bashir step down and hand over power to a transitional government. It also outlined a number of tasks this transitional government should be undertaking, which includes stopping the ongoing war in the Darfur region in western Sudan and in the southern states of South Kordofan and Blue Nile. The charter called for the trial of those members of the security forces who have violated the right to life in accordance with relevant national laws and international conventions. Another task given to the transitional government is the establishment of a comprehensive constitutional conference to resolve all national issues. This conference will also work to form a national committee of the constitution. In Pakistan's Balochistan area, a blast in the Chamalang coal mines on Jandari II led to the death of four miners and caused one miner to be critically injured. The injured miner and the bodies of those killed were retrieved by the fellow workers. According to the Pakistan Central Mines Labor Federation, the four coal miners belonged to the same family and all hailed from Afghanistan. The victims were identified as Habibur Rahman, Mohamed Sadik, Javed, and Khalid. The injured miner was identified as Rehmatullah. Another death was reported on December 31 in the Shahrik mines in the coast area. The death was caused due to poisonous gas leakage. The incident occurred days after the mines labor federation and the all Pakistan labor federation staged a demonstration at a rally in front of the Ketah Press Club to protest government negligence and abysmal working conditions in the mines. These conditions have led to nearly 120 deaths and injuries to nearly 117 workers in the past few months. According to estimates made by the Mines Labor Federation, mine-related accidents lead to nearly 100 to 200 deaths every year. In Pakistan, miners usually begin work at the age of 13 and continue till they are about 30 years old. At this age, they are usually forced into unemployment due to chronic respiratory illnesses, tuberculosis, loss of eyesight, injuries, et cetera, caused due to the hazardous working conditions. They are often forced to work for over 10 hours a day without adequate safety gear, which is in violation of Pakistan's labor laws. Mines in this region are highly susceptible to gas leakages and explosions, collapse, technical malfunctions, and other accidents. In the absence of well-equipped emergency response teams, other workers often end up being the first responders, which often leads to further casualties. Many workers retire under certain circumstances, often without pension or unemployment benefits. In the demonstration held on December 31, the Mines Labor Federation demanded rigorous punishments to those found guilty of negligence. They also demanded the implementation of the Mines Act of 1923 and the ratification of the International Labor Organization Convention on Safety and Health in Mines. That's all for this episode of Around the World in 8 Minutes. For more stories on people's movements, please check out our website peoplesyspatch.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.