The DuPont Clinic, a critical provider of complex abortion care in Washington, D.C, was targeted as the site of protests and harassment two times within five days by prominent antiabortion extremist groups: the Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust (SAH) and Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising (PAAU).
Category: Violence & Harassment
‘I Begged Them Not to Harass Me’: Women Accuse Taliban of Sexual Assault After Arrest for ‘Bad Hijab’
In late December 2023, 16-year-old Zahra* said a goodbye to her mother as she left home wearing a long, ankle-length dress. She went to her cousin’s shop in west Kabul, home to more than one million Hazara-Shias. Her mother didn’t see her again for two weeks.
They were among the untold numbers of young women arrested for what the Taliban deemed to be violations of their dress code or “bad hijab.” In January, some of those women told Zan Times about their horrific experiences of detention, abuse and torture in Taliban custody.
Under Gender Apartheid, Taliban See Afghan Women as ‘Child-Bearers, Child-Rearers and as Objects Available for Exploitation’
Gender apartheid, the most extreme form of gender discrimination, has left Afghan women feeling like the walls are closing in.
At the center of this issue is the question of justice. Because the spaces for women are so slender and the oppression of women so pervasive and institutionalized, almost any act can be characterized as an act of resistance in Afghanistan today.
Ms. Global: Increasing Access to Contraceptives in Sub-Saharan Africa, Taliban Demands Afghan Women Be Left Out of U.N. Conference, and More
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 health care. 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.
This week: News from Afghanistan, South Korea, Bulgaria, Serbia and more.
Keeping Score: States Threaten Church-State Separation; Doctors Avoid States With Abortion Bans; N.Y. ERA Will Be on November Ballot
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: the Supreme Court ruled on the EMTALA abortion case, presidential immunity and criminalizing homelessness; Louisiana requires public classrooms to display the 10 Commandments; medical residents are avoiding states with abortion bans; Gen Z swing voters care about the cost of living, healthcare and housing; college-educated women now outnumber college-educated men in the workforce, but women’s wages still lag behind; and more.
Read Sonia Sotomayor’s Dissent: ‘The President Is Now a King Above the Law’
In a 6-3 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that former President Donald Trump has “absolute immunity” from criminal prosecution for all “official acts” he took while in office. The case, which began last year, is related to charges against the former president for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol.
“With fear for our democracy, I dissent,” Justice Sonia Sotomayor concluded in a scathing dissent, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Read more of our favorite takes from her dissent.
Take Action for Afghan Women Facing Gender Apartheid
A United Nations (U.N.) report released last month exposes the Taliban’s brutal gender-based system of discrimination, exclusion and oppression against Afghan women and girls.
Take action: Send an emergency action email urging the U.S. and U.N. to continue their non-recognition of the Taliban until they end gender apartheid and their crimes against humanity.
My Daughter Was Assaulted in a Hospital. Body Cams Could Have Brought Us Justice.
Six people assaulted or aided the assault on my daughter for no medical outcome. Her first experience with penetration in her private area was by an adult male, decades older, who overpowered her and refused to listen to her.
Especially when male doctors are going to be in the vicinity of female private parts, there must be consent, at all ages, at all times. If the ER staff wore body cams, if I had a video of that hospital room to offer as evidence of the sexual assault of a minor—a toddler—as evidence that the Hippocratic oath was breached, then I would be less likely to be seen as a mother overreacting.
Nowhere to Turn: Survivors are Unsafe at Home and Criminalized on the Streets
As domestic violence and housing costs skyrocket, the Supreme Court’s answer to the crisis of homelessness is more cruelty.
Now, it’s up to state and local governments to invest in proven strategies that help end abuse and homelessness, such as broad investments in affordable housing and targeted investments in survivor-specific housing programs. Survivors can’t wait any longer for the safe, affordable housing they need.
War on Women Report: Supreme Court Fails to Deliver Abortion Wins; Senate Republicans Block Contraception and IVF Bills
U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.
Since our last report: New Hampshire became the 13th state to outlaw child marriage; parents sue Louisiana for new law requiring 10 Commandments be displayed in schools; Republican-dominated legislatures continue to attack rights, introducing further restrictions on abortion, contraception and IVF; Trump defends state-level abortion bans and the overturn of Roe at the debate; Iowa’s six-week abortion ban approved by the state Supreme Court and more.