The U.S. ranks as the 19th most dangerous country for women, 11th in maternal mortality, 30th in closing the gender pay gap, 75th in women’s political representation, and painfully lacks paid family leave and equal access to healthcare. But Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’s most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.
Iran
+ 175 killed in bombing of girls’ elementary school as war on Iran escalates
At least 175 people—most of them children—were killed on Feb. 28 in a strike on a girls’ elementary school in southern Iran, on the first day of the current U.S.-Israeli war with Iran. The head of Iran’s Red Crescent emergency services described the scene at the school as unprecedented, citing the extraordinary number of students killed in a single attack.
Footage circulating online shows roughly half of the two-story Shajarah Tayyebeh school reduced to rubble, as emergency crews and family members search for survivors. The school is reportedly located next to a naval facility operated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), one of Iran’s most powerful military institutions.
A preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment, reported by Reuters and CBS, suggests the U.S. is “likely” responsible for the strike but attributes it to faulty or outdated targeting intelligence rather than an intentional attack on a school.
U.N. human rights experts strongly condemned the strike as a likely violation of international humanitarian law and called for an independent, transparent investigation and accountability for those responsible. The United Nations Cultural and Education Agency (UNESCO) said in a statement on the attack that the killing of pupils in a place dedicated to learning constitutes a grave violation of protections afforded to schools under international humanitarian law, and is, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, considered a war crime.
The attack underscores how escalating conflict continues to take a disproportionate toll on women and girls. Malala Yousafzai, known globally for her advocacy of girls’ education in Pakistan, condemned the strike: “They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. Today, their lives were brutally cut short,” she wrote on social media. “The killing of civilians, especially children, is unconscionable, and I condemn it unequivocally.”
A second school, Hedayat High School in the capital, Tehran, was also struck the same day, killing two students. News of the attack quickly fueled political debate in the United States. Former Representative and Trump-ally Marjorie Taylor Greene denounced the strike on social media, writing, “I did not campaign for this. I did not donate money for this. I did not vote for this, in elections or Congress. This is heartbreaking and tragic. And how many more innocent will die? What about our own military? This is not what we thought MAGA was supposed to be.”
Afghanistan
+ Taliban leaders legalize domestic violence in Afghanistan—as long as victims don’t suffer “broken bones or open wounds”
A newly signed 90-page legal code in Afghanistan makes men the equivalent of “masters” of their households, and legalizes the use of corporal punishment on their wives, according to The Independent. The law also dictates who can issue punishment and how, based on an individual’s status in Afghan society, effectively maintaining a social strata that favors religious scholars. Not only do religious scholars receive the most limited punishment for crimes as compared to members of the lower and middle classes, but religious leaders, Imams, are also permitted to punish women with physical violence. What’s more disturbing is that the code has not openly prohibited psychological or sexual violence against women or children, according to Rawadari, an Afghan human rights organization, which obtained a copy of the code.
Although women’s ability to seek justice for abuse is limited, the code does allow women to have their case heard in court. However, Rawadari asserts that the code is “incompatible with even the most basic standards of fair trial.” Women who are fortunate enough to present their case to a judge must also show their injuries to the court as evidence—which is nearly impossible under Taliban law, as women must remain completely covered in public and must always be accompanied by a man, in many cases likely the same man who might be her abuser. For women who receive a verdict in their favor, men face a maximum of 15 days in prison. However, according to Article 34 of the code, women who try to escape domestic violence “and [do] not return home despite her husband’s request” could sit behind bars for nearly three months.
The code also defines corporal punishment directed at children. While it prohibits certain kinds of bodily harm against children by teachers, like fractures and torn skin, it states that a father can punish his son “when the child is acting against his own interest, such as for abandoning prayer and other matters,” Rawadari wrote in a statement.
“The totality of these provisions stands in clear contradiction to the principle of equality, the prohibition of gender discrimination, the prohibition of violence against women, and the right to human dignity, and seriously increase the risk of intensifying and institutionalizing violence against women,” Rawadari said in the statement.
Sudan
+ Families living in war torn cities of Sudan have little, if nothing, to eat for holy month
Thousands have fled war in northwestern el-Fashur, Sudan, after the intense destruction carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The city was captured by the RSF last October, and on Feb. 19, the United Nations declared the group’s actions as bearing “the hallmarks of genocide.” Since the declaration from the U.N., there have been constant drone strikes in the Kordofan region, leaving dozens dead. The war, now in its third year, has been called the “one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises,” according to The Guardian. Millions of people have fled the country since the war began, but tens of thousands have reportedly been killed as the war rages on.
These conditions have made Ramadan, the holy month for Muslims, nearly impossible in Sudan. Ramadan is meant to be a time of fasting to show devotion to God, with early morning prayer and bountiful meals eaten with family as the sun sets. But for many in Sudan, obtaining food has been difficult despite the occasional aid. Trucks from the World Food Programme have reportedly made it into camps in Kordofan, an area that had been cut off from receiving aid under the intense drone strikes. They bring food to prevent malnutrition in children along with sanitary kits, but according to those living in camps, health and sanitation is deteriorating, and Ramadan celebration is far from their minds.
“Back home, Ramadan was perfect,” a woman living in a camp said to Al Jazeera. “You would prepare everything a month or two in advance,” she recalled. “But here, we fasted the first day, not knowing what we would break our fast with. We ended up eating with neighbors because we had nothing.”
Japan
+ Pregnant candidate wins parliamentary seat, challenging workplace stigma for mothers
Hikaru Fujita became a powerful political symbol in Japan after campaigning for, and winning, a seat in Japan’s House of Representatives while pregnant. A member of the governing Liberal Democratic Party, Fujita kept her pregnancy private for weeks during the campaign. In January, she announced on social media that she and her husband were expecting their first child. On Feb. 8, she was elected to the lower house.
Fujita later said she feared that disclosing her pregnancy would hurt her chances. In Japan, women are often expected to prioritize domestic responsibilities, even when pursuing demanding careers, and the country’s rigid work culture compounds the pressure. More than half of women leave the workforce after having children, and many who remain fear taking maternity leave. While many online commentators celebrated her news, others suggested she should become a housewife or argued that maternity leave would waste taxpayer money.
National politics has rarely included visibly pregnant candidates, and only a handful of expectant mothers have run in local races. However, these stigmas did not stop Fujita’s campaign, and subsequent victory. “The idea that pregnancy should sideline someone’s ambitions is outdated,” Fujita told supporters after her win, framing her victory as part of a broader reckoning over gender roles in Japanese society.
Her election comes just months after Sanae Takaichi became Japan’s first woman prime minister, though Takaichi has not centered gender equity in her leadership. Women ran in record numbers in the February race, 313 of 1,285 candidates, yet won only 68 of 465 seats, about 15 percent of the chamber and down from 73 elected in 2024. On the campaign trail, Fujita focused on policies aimed at supporting women and families, including closing pay gaps and expanding child care. In contrast to Takaichi’s “suck it up and work harder” mantra, Fujita’s campaign slogan struck a different tone: “Trying her best without overworking herself.”
Bangladesh
+ Women march at midnight to protest violent oppositional party
On Feb. 13, the Bangladesh Nationalist party (BNP) won the country’s first free and fair election since the student uprising in 2024—an election that held only 4 percent of women candidates, not reflecting the success young voters were hoping for.
In July 2024, students called for the end of the country’s job quota system; an end to government corruption; and to break up the country’s two-party duopoly made up of the Awami League and the BNP. In August 2024, revolutionaries forced the authoritarian Sheikh Hasina, former prime minister and leader of the Awami League, to flee to exile in India. Since then, with the league banned from the election, the Jamaat-e-Islami party has re-emerged to become the main opposition to the BNP, winning 77 of 300 seats in parliament. Meanwhile, the National Citizen Party (NCP), created by student revolutionaries, only won six of the 30 seats it fought for.
The Jamaat-e-Islami party demands bringing Sharia law back to Bangladesh and is known to be openly misogynistic and violent. Many fear the party could set the country back a century. Thousands of women took to the streets in Dhaka before the election, carrying signs and chanting for more equal representation of candidates in future elections. In the more than 30 parties that ran in the election, very few had women as candidates, despite the fact that women played an immense role in the 2024 uprising.
“This was meant to be an election representing change and reform,” said Sabiha Sharmin, a 25-year-old protestor, quoted in The Guardian. “Instead, we are seeing women being systematically erased and their rights threatened.”
European Union
+ Lawmakers back full recognition of trans women ahead of U.N. talks
On Feb. 11, the European Parliament adopted a resolution setting the European Union’s priorities for the upcoming session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, which convenes in New York in March. The measure calls for the full recognition of transgender women as women, signaling that the EU intends to defend trans rights on the global stage.
The resolution urges the Council of the European Union to emphasize that including trans women is essential to effective gender equality and anti-violence policies, and to press for their equal access to protection and support services. The vote comes amid intensifying right-wing backlash against transgender rights around the world, including recent moves in the United States under President Donald Trump to define gender strictly within a binary framework.
The measure passed 340 to 141, with 68 abstentions. It drew support not only from left wing lawmakers but also from the powerful center right European People’s Party. Far right groups, including Patriots for Europe, which includes Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, sharply criticized the move. Though non-binding, the resolution marks a clear political stance by Parliament ahead of the U.N. forum.
Ukraine
+ Ukrainian women lead local services and emergency response as Russian missile strikes cause energy systems to fail
Feb. 24 marked the four-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Since then, energy security has been a main priority for the country as hundreds of Russian drone and missile strikes have been concentrated on Ukrainian energy infrastructure. These strikes have caused major disruptions in the country’s electrical systems.
Women working in fields like education, healthcare and social services have been some of the most affected by the outages, according to Georgetown University. Workers have struggled to maintain comfortable conditions for patients and students, sometimes working without reliable backup generators as temperatures have plummeted to -20°C (-4°F).
“When water and energy systems collapse, caregiving and survival burdens fall disproportionately on women—who are also leading local service delivery and emergency response,” reads a report authored by the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security.
Maternal healthcare workers have been working around the clock to keep newborns warm during frequent power fluctuations. Hospital staff have begun implementing “thermal chains,” moving a baby quickly from incubators to heated rooms, to ensure a baby’s temperature does not reach critical levels. Newborns are highly susceptible to hypothermia—their temperatures could drop by several degrees immediately after delivery. Doctors like Nataliia Heints, a senior doctor at the Kyiv Regional Perinatal Centre, are fighting to keep operations flowing even when the power goes out, as the United Nations Population Fund reported.
Despite initiatives by doctors to keep newborns and premature babies alive, UNFPA reports an uptick in both maternal death rates and premature births that have been linked to “acute and prolonged stress” from the war.
The Netherlands
+ Robert Jetten becomes country’s first openly gay, and youngest, prime minister
On Feb. 23, centrist Dutch leader Rob Jetten became the first openly gay and youngest prime minister in Netherlands history. At 38, Jetten campaigned on a pro-European Union, socially liberal platform that marked a sharp break from the country’s recent hard right turn.
“We want to find a majority that will eagerly work on issues such as the housing market, migration, climate and the economy,” he said after his election.
Prime Minister Jetten stands as a visible symbol of LGBTQ+ representation at the highest level of government, joining a small cohort of openly gay world leaders. Though he keeps his personal life largely separate from his politics, he has been open about his sexuality throughout his career. In 2020, he drew international attention after posting a video in which he read aloud the homophobic messages he received online. He has been engaged since 2024 to Argentine field hockey player Nicolás Keenan, who was himself the first player to publicly come out in the Dutch top division of the sport.
In the October elections, Jetten’s party, Democrats 66 (D66), a socially liberal, pro-European party positioned at the political center, narrowly edged out the far right Party for Freedom (PVV) led by populist Geert Wilders. His election stands as a significant symbol in European politics: Across Europe, far right governments have increasingly targeted LGBTQ+ communities as an electoral strategy, from Hungary’s PM Viktor Orbán to Italian PM Giorgia Meloni. The Netherlands’ main LGBTQ+ organization, COC Nederland, welcomed his appointment. “The new premier can be a role model for people from the rainbow community,” the group said in a statement. “It shows that your sexual orientation doesn’t have to matter. That you can become a construction worker, a doctor, a lawyer and even prime minister.”
Global
+ Latest Women’s Power Index shows global stall
As of Jan. 29, just 26 countries have a woman serving as head of state or government, according to the updated Women’s Power Index from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Produced by CFR’s Women and Foreign Policy program, the index tracks gender parity in political leadership across 193 U.N. member states, measuring women’s representation in executive offices, national cabinets and legislatures.
Only nine of the 193 countries have cabinets that are at least 50 percent women, and just seven have reached 50 percent in their national legislatures. The index’s aggregate political parity score places the United States in the lower middle of the pack, while countries such as Iceland, Mexico, Andorra and Finland rank near the top.
One of the most striking findings is the recent reversal in progress. Since 2000, the number of countries with female heads of state or gender balanced cabinets has steadily increased. This past year, however, saw a sharp drop, and parity in national legislatures has stalled at just six countries for three consecutive years. Many countries’ institutional structures and political systems still limit women’s ability to hold influence over policy, and gender discrimination and violence still persist: in a 2023 study, the Inter-Parlimentary Union found that 44.4 percent of women parliamentarians were threatened with death, rape or physical violence.
Research consistently links women’s political leadership to stronger democratic institutions, more durable peace agreements, expanded social welfare and economic growth. When women reach roughly 30 percent of legislative seats, policy priorities often shift toward health, education and equality. Still, equality alone does not guarantee progressive governance––in Italy, for example, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has faced scrutiny over far right policies, underscoring that women’s representation and feminist policy are not synonymous.
