Happy Friday, Below the Folders. Well, we can’t say we’re surprised. Out of last year’s 200 bestselling business books, it turns out women had as many titles on that list as men named John or Jon. Yeah, of the 200 books, only 17 were written by women, and that small group was overwhelmingly white. Here’s to supporting more diverse authors and stories in 2021!  

Banning virginity tests for rape survivors in Pakistan

Tue Jan 5

A province in Pakistan has ended physical checks for hymen and other “virginity tests” in rape examinations. The judge in Punjab, the country’s most populous province, said the tests were invasive, had no forensic value, and were humiliating. The World Health Organization has also debunked the tests saying they not only lack any scientific merit, but are a human rights violation.

What did these tests involve?

The current protocol involved a manual test where a medical examiner inserted one or two fingers into a woman’s vagina to check for the presence of a hymen. The “two-finger test” was an attempt to determine whether or not the woman was sexually active, even though virginity has no scientific bearing on whether a rape occurred and the testing methods are unreliable. These tests often ended up hurting and discrediting survivors, especially in countries such as Pakistan where premarital sex is criminal though rarely enforced.

In 2018, the U.N. called for a ban on virginity tests, but it’s still being documented in at least 20 countries, including the U.S. The virginity test ban in Pakistan now applies to 110 million people, but activists hope this sets a precedent for other courts and provinces. The tests themselves are based on myths, are unreliable, and sexist. 

In related news: Pakistan also passed a controversial measure that would allow men convicted of rape to be chemically castrated. This decision came in response to protests where thousands showed up to condemn a top police official saying a woman who was raped on a deserted highway was partly to blame for her attack.

SOURCES: CNN, Al Jazeera, BBC News, The New York Times, CNN

Using caffeine to fight diseases like the coronavirus

Sponsored by

What if a cup of coffee could fight viruses in your body? Well, that’s what a team of researchers in Texas are working to make happen. The group developed a molecule called COSMO: caffeine-operated synthetic module. 

How could caffeine help against viruses such as Covid-19?

Caffeine is being used to trigger COSMO into action in your body. In the case of viruses, they are pairing COSMO with antibodies to attack the disease. It’s already being tested on pseudoviruses with a similar spike protein structure to Covid-19. 

And this is different from a vaccine. The science is geared towards treating patients who have already become infected because COSMO is being used with antibodies to effectively fight off disease inside your body. The hope is that it can be applied to many different diseases even after the pandemic ends. 

Speaking of coffee... we’re trying out Explorer Cold Brew, a super concentrated cold brew that comes in four different caffeine levels. The team makes it easy to order directly from their website with free delivery nationwide.

SOURCES: KBTX-TV, Texas A&M Today, Advanced Science

SCOTUS ruling on Native American land in Oklahoma upends criminal cases

Mon Jan 4

A historic Supreme Court ruling may result in the release of dozens of Native American prisoners. The July ruling declared that most of eastern Oklahoma (three million acres) had always belonged to the Muscogee (Creek) Nation. It restores Native American jurisdiction over the reservation and is seen as a victory for the Five Tribes. It will also have major implications for the criminal justice system. 

What does this mean?

• Now that the state no longer has authority, tribal courts and federal prosecutors are facing a flood of new cases. 
• If the original crimes took place on Native American land, Native Americans convicted by the state are now appealing for retrials with the argument that the state didn’t have the right to prosecute in the first place.
• Without authority over Native people on newly defined Native lands, a new procedure is required for local police officers and prosecutors following arrests.

Previously, Tulsa county court alone saw roughly 6,000 felonies a year. Now many of these cases will need to be passed off. Federal prosecutors are being handed larger criminal cases, such as murder, sexual assault, and robberies, while tribal courts are receiving the lighter offenses. 

SOURCES: The New York Times, Vice News, NPR, The Marshall Project