Global

The People’s Bill of Rights 250 Invites Americans to Reimagine the Constitution

PUBLISHED 7/29/2026 by , and

A new online public platform—The People’s Bill of Rights 250—invites Americans to propose, discuss and vote on ideas they believe belong in the Constitution. As the U.S. marks 250 years, the bold, interactive project asks Americans not only to reflect on the nation’s founding, but to help shape its future.

The nonpartisan organization The People and executive director Katie Fahey, alongside a coalition of civic, advocacy and cultural leaders, spearheaded the People’s Bill of Rights 250. It invites Americans to answer a simple question: What freedoms, rights and protections should every person in the country be guaranteed over the next 250 years?  

From now until Friday, July 31, Americans are encouraged to vote and share their own ideas at the People’s Bill of Rights 250’s website.

Domestic Violence Is a Men’s Issue

PUBLISHED 7/28/2026 by

Nearly one in two women has experienced domestic violence (DV) in their lifetime, yet accountability remains limited, as nearly half of survivors never report their abuse to law enforcement. Out of fear of retribution, survivors often minimize harm and shield their perpetrator’s behavior, shifting responsibility away from them: “That’s just how men are,” or “He didn’t mean it.” DV affects almost everyone—directly or indirectly. Nearly half of people know someone who has experienced it, through personal experience, witnessing it in childhood, seeing loved ones endure it or encountering it in public spaces. 

DV has taught me about silence. The silence of victims who feared retaliation or shame. The silence of witnesses like me who did not know how to intervene. And the silence of communities that preferred to avoid conflict and not to disrupt the image of a functional family. Silence does not protect anyone; it allows the harm to continue. 

In America, toxic masculinity thrives in that silence. It discourages men from seeking help, discourages women from speaking out and discourages bystanders from stepping in. Over time, domestic violence becomes predictable as patterns emerge—slammed doors, raised voices, a tension that fills rooms before anyone speaks.

Over time, beneath their rage, I’ve come to understand that many male abusers are suffering too or have suffered. The problem is, intimate partner violence will not end by ignoring men. This raises essential questions beyond how did we get here, in a nation that champions violence and spends more on its military than on education and social services. For example, who is intervening to address husbands and boyfriends who batter? What tools are needed to support men in building lives free from violence? Let’s be clear, addressing these challenging concerns will not only benefit men, but also their families and society more broadly. Families deserve to heal from domestic violence, and men should be part of that equation.   

A Groundbreaking U.N. Resolution Calls Forced Pregnancy What It Is: Reproductive Violence

PUBLISHED 7/25/2026 by

It took until July 7, 2026, for the world’s leading human rights body to call forcing someone to be pregnant—or forcing them not to be—what it is: reproductive violence. In a landmark resolution adopted unanimously, the U.N. Human Rights Council formally recognized “reproductive violence” as a specific, systemic form of gender-based violence. 

This historic U.N. declaration has implications for the United States, where 41 states ban abortion at some point during pregnancy. These bans block medical providers from offering needed care, and enable police and state attorneys to arrest and criminally prosecute pregnant women whose reproductive decision-making they oppose.

Any law or government action that requires a person to carry a pregnancy to term against their will is a form of bodily assault. The dynamics mirror domestic violence and sexual assault. The core of rape is the violation of consent—taking control of another person’s body and forcing them to submit. Abortion bans likewise hijack a person’s body, stripping them of their bodily integrity and self-determination.

As anti-violence advocate Irene Weiser once asked: “How can we ever begin to end violence against women if the laws of our society will not even guarantee the most fundamental of human right to women—to say at all times, under all circumstances, what we allow to happen to our bodies?”

‘La Operación’: The Hidden History and Forced Sterilization of Puerto Rican Women

PUBLISHED 7/25/2026 by

In 1937, the U.S. began one of the largest sterilization campaigns in modern history in its colony of Puerto Rico. By the 1970s, one-third of all Puerto Rican women of childbearing age had been sterilized, most without being properly informed that the procedure was permanent. 

The decades-long campaign has haunted Puerto Rican families for generations and remains one of the clearest examples of the United States’ ugly history of reproductive coercion. 

That history is the focus of “Declared Unfit to Reproduce – Eugenics,” the newest addition to episode 3 of BC Voices’ docuseries Speak UP, Speak OUT, which explores how ever-changing reproductive policies have shaped the lives of women throughout the past half-century. 

Andrew Tate in His Own Words: On Men’s Rights, Anti-Feminism and How He ‘Threatens the System’

PUBLISHED 7/24/2026 by

Andrew Tate is not a garden variety misogynist. Nor is he a typical sexual assault suspect.  

Rather, he is a leader—and icon—in the global anti-feminist men’s rights movement who rose to fame and fortune over the past decade through a potent blend of personal charisma, overweening ambition and cynical opportunism.

And he is an alleged rapist and sex trafficker.

He is currently in U.S. federal custody in Miami, along with his brother Tristan, awaiting possible extradition to the United Kingdom on 59 criminal charges that include multiple allegations of violent rape and physical assault.

Andrew Tate is also a right-wing political figure who has vociferously and repeatedly attacked feminism, and has had an outsized influence globally in the normalization of overt expressions of misogyny by men and boys.   

Much has been written about Tate over the years. A recent piece in The New Yorker that has attracted much attention is entitled “Andrew Tate’s Empire of Abuse,” by Heidi Blake. The article’s subtitle reads “How the defining figure of the manosphere built a fortune—and became a political force—by systematically exploiting women.”

But for anyone who wants insight into the ways in which the former professional kickboxer has been able to assemble an enormous following of boys and men, there’s another valuable source of information: Tate himself.

How Corporate Finance Took the Fun—and the Values—Out of Ben & Jerry’s

PUBLISHED 7/23/2026 by

I still remember standing in line outside the original Ben & Jerry’s, trading neighborhood gossip while debating which new flavor to try. Back then, the company stood for more than ice cream—it was proof that a business could put people, workers and communities alongside profits. That’s why watching its social mission slowly unravel under corporate ownership has felt like losing something much bigger than Cherry Garcia.

Ben & Jerry’s story isn’t just about one beloved brand. It’s a cautionary tale about what happens when Wall Street’s demand for ever-higher returns collides with a company built on “caring capitalism.”

The result is a lesson in how corporations redefine sustainability—not as a commitment to people or the planet, but as a strategy for maximizing shareholder value.

Christopher Nolan’s ‘The Odyssey’ Reclaims the Diversity of the Ancient World

PUBLISHED 7/21/2026 by

Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey validates the culture through this quarter-billion-dollar Hollywood production—best seen and appreciated in movie theaters. So, why did some react to this latest retelling of The Odyssey as if the mere presence of a Black woman would delegitimize its place in history? And should we ignore them as out-of-touch fringe extremists? 

Before The Odyssey even reached theaters, Nyong’o’s casting as Helen of Troy ignited predictable outrage from white supremacists and anti-“woke” commentators who claimed a Black actor had no place in one of Western civilization’s foundational myths. But as scholars of antiquity make clear, that backlash says far more about modern racial politics than it does about the ancient world itself.

Nolan’s sweeping adaptation arrives at a moment when the fight over history is also a fight over power. By embracing a multiracial cast, The Odyssey challenges centuries of whitewashing and reminds us that the ancient Mediterranean was far more diverse than many have been taught to believe.

The diversity of the ancient world is our collective heritage—not the exclusive property of those seeking to rewrite the past.

Ms. Global: Genocide in Sudan, Withdrawal of HIV Funding in South Africa, Two Killed in Protests in Afghanistan Over Arrests of Women

PUBLISHED 7/20/2026 by and

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.

This month: news from Sudan, South Africa, Afghanistan and more.

Climate Change Hits Women Hardest. It’s Time Our Solutions Reflected That.

PUBLISHED 7/19/2026 by

Imagine being nine months pregnant with no clinic to give birth in and no skilled birth attendant anywhere within reach. This was the reality for 73,000 women who were weeks away from their due date in my native province of Sindh, Pakistan, when catastrophic floods submerged the region in 2022. At that moment, there were a total of 650,000 pregnant women living in the disaster zone. Those women were not a statistic to me; they were my community members. What happened to them is what happens to women everywhere when climate disasters strike, and most countries are not prepared for it.

Decades of working in women’s health and human rights have made one thing clear: Climate change is not gender neutral. Climate change accelerates violence against women. It accelerates poverty that disproportionately affects women and young people. And it puts women and girls at profound reproductive health risk, especially in communities where rights and resources are already fragile. Treating this as a footnote is not just a moral failure; it is a strategic one.

Policymakers and governments must ensure disaster response plans treat gender-based violence as a public health emergency. They need to ensure climate adaptation plans protect girls’ access to education, because when schools close after a disaster, it is the girls who don’t return. They need to ensure that when climate disasters strike, access to contraception and reproductive healthcare does not disappear overnight. And they need to make sure that when they talk about climate resilience, they are prioritizing the health and safety of women and girls.

The climate movement has fought hard and made strides. But a movement that does not center the people bearing the heaviest burden is an incomplete one. Climate leaders, negotiators and policymakers must do more than acknowledge that women are disproportionately affected; they must build solutions into every plan, every policy and every dollar spent. The infrastructure and the expertise exist. What is missing is the political will, and the funding, to match the scale of the crisis.

Hegseth Rolls Back Progress for Military Women; Darline Graham Nordone, Sister of Lindsey Graham, Heads to the Senate

PUBLISHED 7/17/2026 by

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation in politics, on boards, in sports and entertainment, in judicial offices and in the private sector in the U.S. and around the world—with a little gardening and goodwill mixed in for refreshment!

This week:
—Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recently blocked the promotions of seven senior Navy officers, five of whom are women or people of color.
—Darline Graham Nordone, the younger sister of the late South Carolina Rep. Lindsey Graham, was appointed by the state’s governor to complete his U.S. Senate term.

… and more.