Category: Violence & Harassment

Erased From Public Life: Women Under the Taliban Regime

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Afghanistan has plummeted to last in global rankings of gender equity and women’s security since the withdrawal of international forces in 2021. A second Taliban regime has issued increasingly harsh decrees entrapping millions of women and girls in a system of repression that violates their basic human rights, segregates them from broader society and keeps opportunities and independence out of reach.

But even as the situation for Afghan women grows more dire, the international community is inching closer to recognizing the Taliban as the legitimate leaders in Afghanistan, leaving Afghan women with diminishing hopes that their oppression will end.

(This article originally appears in the Fall 2024 issue of Ms. Join the Ms. community today and you’ll get issues delivered straight to your mailbox!)

Documentary ‘Preconceived’ Exposes Horrors of Crisis Pregnancy Center Industry: ‘I Came to You for Help. Why Did You Lie?’

Since the fall of Roe, anti-choice politicians have rushed to champion “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs) as a legitimate alternative to qualified reproductive healthcare. As they funnel millions of taxpayer dollars into these unregulated clinics, abortion ban states suffer high rates of maternal and infant mortality and widespread maternal care deserts.

A new documentary, Preconceived (now available to stream), shines a clear light on this evasive industry, deftly navigating a complex landscape of deception, privacy, finances and faith.

Surprised a Colorado Mom Was Jailed for Protecting Her Kids? Don’t Be.

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Rachel Pickrel-Hawkins was jailed for objecting to court ordered “reunification therapy” that sought to mend the relationship between her children and their father, a man charged with sexually assaulting three of their daughters and physically abusing their son.

As a divorce coach and coercive control expert, who are both domestic abuse survivors, we see these mind boggling, trauma-inducing decisions by family courts every day. This Colorado mom could be any mom. That’s why it’s time that America deals with our family court crisis head on.

Keeping Score: Liz Cheney Calls Trump and Vance ‘Misogynistic Pigs’; Women Break Barriers at Paralympics and Emmys; Taylor Swift Endorses Harris

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose admits anti-abortion groups helped him write abortion rights ballot language; Kamala Harris and Donald Trump spar over abortion, Project 2025 and immigration at the presidential debate; Paralympics athletes and Emmy winners break records; Taylor Swift endorses Harris and Walz; Montana Supreme Court protects minors seeking abortion care; attacks on women journalists and LGBTQ people; new pay gap data is worse than last year; and more.

Reflecting on Mahsa Amini’s Short but Meaningful Life—and the Future of Iranian Women’s Rights—With Nasrin Sotoudeh

Monday, Sept. 16, marks two years since the murder of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini made international headlines and sparked an uprising in Iran. Her death triggered the longest citizen-led rebellion in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. 

Nasrin Sotoudeh and her husband Reza Khandan are no strangers to brutal and violent government suppression. The two Iranian activists and attorneys have faced harassment, violence and imprisonment from a government that will do virtually anything to crush women’s rights and freedom of expression. 

Thirty Years of the Violence Against Women Act Shows Progress Is Possible

On a long list of issues in the newly released survey, women identified domestic and sexual violence as the third most important one facing U.S. women collectively, behind abortion access and cost of living.

As we mark the 30th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act today, it’s worth remembering one lesson that law teaches: Progress is possible.  

The Sonya Massey Case Was a Microcosm of Systemic Failures and Mistrust in Law Enforcement

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The tragic shooting of Sonya Massey underscored profound systemic issues within law enforcement—especially police conduct and excessive force when it comes to Black women.

Massey, a Black woman with a known mental health condition, was shot and killed by a deputy from the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office in Springfield, Ill. This incident has intensified scrutiny of racial bias, inadequate mental health crisis responses and the erosion of trust between marginalized communities and police. 

‘It Ends With Us’ Promos Treated the Audience the Way Ryle Treated Lily: With Gaslighting and Deception

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The promotional campaign for It Ends With Us, the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel, was so off-balance it became harmful. What should have been an opportunity to raise awareness about the complex and painful reality of domestic violence instead turned into a misguided showcase that trivialized survivors.

Keeping Score: Court Blocks Student Loan Relief Plan; Former N.Y. Cop Sentenced 10 Weekends in Jail After Child Rape; Trump’s ‘Tampon Tim’ Jab Backfires

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week: Kamala Harris reaffirmed her candidacy for president at the DNC; Republican-appointed judges strike down Biden’s student loan relief plan; a new law bans women from speaking in public in Afghanistan; working moms earn just 71 cents per dollar earned by dads; understanding the orgasm gap; gold-medalist boxer Imane Khelif fights back against racist and sexist abuse; new reproductive rights bills signed into law in Illinois; and more.

New Taliban Law Mandates Afghan Women Be Silent and Completely Covered in Public. It’s Time to Codify Gender Apartheid.

Afghan women’s voices and bodies are deemed ‘intimate’ by the Taliban and banned from public.

While the international community condemns these brutal and oppressive restrictions, it now faces a critical challenge: how to effectively respond to the Taliban’s gender apartheid policies and increasing human rights abuses. The need for the international community to codify gender apartheid as a crime against humanity grows more urgent.