In the wake of the fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban, many in the international community and media have said that efforts in Afghanistan to secure women’s rights and human rights were doomed to fail because of the traditions and culture in my country. This is absolutely the wrong lesson to take away from our experience in Afghanistan. Human rights and women’s rights are not “Western values.”
Category: Justice & Law
Corporate Backlash Builds Against Texas’s Abortion Ban: “Policies That Restrict Reproductive Health Are Bad for Business”
On Tuesday, over 50 companies signed a letter titled “Don’t Ban Equality,” which argues that abortion restrictions are bad for business.
“Economic losses from existing abortion restrictions, including labor force impact and earnings, already cost the State of Texas an estimated $14.5 billion annually. Nationally, state-level restrictions cost state economies $105 billion dollars per year.”
Understanding Christian Nationalism: Is the Constitution in Trouble?
The January 6 insurrection showed that forces in America are willing to shatter the Constitution. In order to understand why the insurrection happened, we need to know the history of Christian nationalists in America.
The Biden Administration’s Expulsion of Haitians Is Unconscionable—and a Missed Opportunity
“No one leaves home unless home is the mouth of a shark. … No one puts their children on a boat unless the boat is safer than the land.”
Recent expulsions of thousands of Haitian migrants showcase how far the U.S. has to go on immigration reform.
The proliferation of Haitian migrants at the Mexican border did not begin under this administration. But for Biden, this represents not only a missed opportunity to distinguish himself on immigration, but also an egregious lack of humanity and regard for Black lives in the Caribbean.
U.S. Health and Human Services to Protect Texas Abortion Patients and Providers: “We Have Your Back,” Says Secretary Xavier Becerra
On Friday, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra announced new resources and actions to protect reproductive health care for Texans after the state banned abortion at six weeks and the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the ban to go into effect on September 1.
“Every American deserves access to health care no matter where they live—including access to safe and legal abortions,” said Becerra.
The Taliban Further Tightens Its Grip on Afghan Women and Girls: “These Young Women Have Fought for Themselves”
As the world watches the Taliban seize and tighten their grip on power in Afghanistan, women’s lives come under greater threat each day. What is the reality for women and girls on the ground in Afghanistan? What do Afghan women stand to lose? How are feminists fighting back?
Rally for Reproductive Rights: Women’s March Returns October 2
The day after Texas’s new abortion law went into effect, the Women’s March announced its return to Washington and across the nation on October 2 to rally in support of reproductive rights.
Student Activists Are Breaking the Silence on Period Poverty
Student activists in the “Free The Period” coalition have worked to introduce California Assembly Bill 367, the Menstrual Equity for All Act of 2021.
Until menstrual products are as ubiquitous as toilet paper and talking about periods is normalized—the fight to #FreeThePeriod continues.
Texas’s Abortion Ban Is Already Causing a Brain Drain in the State. Will Companies Speak Out?
For many, Texas has a lot to offer. It’s no wonder then that more than half a million people relocated to Texas from other states over the last few years.
Then along came Senate Bill 8—one of the nation’s most extreme abortion bans that criminalizes abortions after just six weeks and deputizes private citizens to enforce the law. The brain drain has already begun, and is likely to continue, as a result.
“When you’re looking at the accumulation of anti-constitutional rights legislation being passed over and over again here, it’s got to have a chilling effect on people’s willingness to consider Texas as a place to come,” Texas state Rep. Donna Howard told Ms.
Policing and Surveillance: How Texas’s Abortion Law Could Add To Systemic Racism
Vigilante action in the form of policing, surveillance and violence has long endangered people of color. That reality worries some experts who fear Texas’s latest anti-abortion law—which empowers private citizens to sue anyone they suspect of providing, or aiding and abetting an abortion—will disproportionately target people of color.