We reached out to four Muslim women activists and academics from Turkey, India and Afghanistan, to explore their perspectives on the #WomanLifeFreedom movement in a showing of transnational solidarity and friendship. Here are their voices.
Dr. Katalin Karikó’s Hope in Messenger RNA Helped the World Recover from COVID-19
Dr. Katalin Karikó’s 2021 discovery of messenger RNA (mRNA) technology led to the development of COVID-19 vaccines. Millions of people owe their health—if not their lives—to her perseverance.
“Science is 99 percent challenge,” said Karikó. “You are doing things you have never done, or nobody has ever done. You don’t even know if it is possible.”
Front and Center: Two Years Since Receiving a Guaranteed Income, Sequaya Says the Investment Still Helps Her Family ‘Weather the Storm’
Front and Center is a groundbreaking series published by Ms. and created in partnership with the Magnolia Mother’s Trust (MMT), which aims to put front and center the voices of Black women who are affected most by the often-abstract policies currently debated at the national level. Sequaya first shared her story with Ms. in 2021 after receiving a year of guaranteed income, no strings attached. We checked in with her recently to see how she’s doing.
“I worked the entire time I had MMT. Most of the 2020 cohort did. You have to keep going because MMT is going to end, we’re not receiving it for a lifetime. Politicians could be focusing on so much more than worrying about whether or not someone’s being lazy. … One of my biggest principles before I had children was I never wanted to rely on government systems. But then you have kids and have to be an adult. Reality hits and you have no choice.”
In Novel ‘Bessie,’ Linda Kass Takes on Antisemitism Through the Story of the First and Only Jewish Miss America
“Bessie was not raised to be a beauty queen,” said Bessie novelist Linda Kass of Bess Myerson, the only Jewish Miss America. “She sought to have a voice, to make a difference.
“Antisemitism, racism and sexism were virulent, and homophobia was taken as a given. The arguments voiced then are similar to what we’re hearing and seeing today.”
How Texas Plans to Trap Abortion Seekers
Anti-abortion activists and elected officials hope to keep abortion seekers walled in within the borders of their home states.
Today, Texas is home to approximately 50 sanctuary cities, and they have expanded into six other states, including the dreaded border state of New Mexico, which the Guttmacher Institute ranks as “very protective” of abortion rights, as well as the “protective” state of Illinois. If the campaign succeeds, those seeking cross-border abortion services may find their path out from under Texas’ draconian ban an increasingly risky one, especially if trafficking is defined to include the provision of financial assistance.
In Series ‘Front and Center,’ Moms Share How Guaranteed Income Changed Their Lives
Back for its third year, Front and Center is a groundbreaking Ms. series that offers first-person accounts of Black mothers living in Jackson, Miss., receiving a guaranteed income. First launched in 2018, the Magnolia Mother’s Trust is about to enter its fifth cohort, bringing the number of moms served to more than 400 and making it the longest-running guaranteed income program in the country. Across the country, guaranteed income pilots like MMT are finding that recipients are overwhelmingly using their payments for basic needs like groceries, housing and transportation.
Beginning tomorrow, then twice monthly, you’ll hear directly from MMT moms on how the year of guaranteed income has impacted their life. We’ll hear from MMT alumni, as well as women in the current cohort, who will share their goals for the year and hopes for their future.
‘Banned! Voices From the Classroom’: Reflections From a Small Liberal Arts College in New York
For those of us in so-called liberal states, what happens in our backyards is connected to the nationwide suppression of teaching about people of color, queer and trans folks, and women.
(To be featured in our “Banned! Voices From the Classroom” series, submit pitches and/or completed draft op-eds and reflections to Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com. Posts will be accepted on a rolling basis.)
At the National Mall, Artist Tiffany Shlain Is Rewriting Women into U.S. History
Tiffany Shlain’s Dendrofemonology, presented by the National Women’s History Museum and Women Connect4Good, remakes the historical tree ring into a timeline of the story of women and power in society.
The feminist history tree ring will be on display from Nov. 1-4, 2023, at the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Ms. on Tour! The Feminist Fight Forward: Lessons from ’50 YEARS OF Ms.’
We hope you’ll join us in a city near you to celebrate the extraordinary new anthology 50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION!
Need a Safe, Private Abortion? Ask Charley.
On Tuesday, Sept. 12, reproductive health experts launched a new online chatbot named Charley to help abortion seekers in all 50 states find quick, accurate and confidential abortion information, tailored to their individual needs and circumstances.
Charley only asks for a user’s zip code and date of their last period to determine how far along they are in their pregnancy. Charley also makes referrals to medical and legal support services, as well as community support networks. Co-founded by former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards and the former head of Planned Parenthood’s digital department Tom Subak, Charley launched in partnership with INeedAnA.com, Plan C and the Miscarriage + Abortion (M+A) Hotline.
“There’s a lot of fear and confusion out there about how abortion is available, especially in restricted states, and there are different resources out there. But there hasn’t been a single resource that includes all the information. Charley does that,” said Elisa Wells, co-director of Plan C. “Charley walks people through their options and then directs them to the resources that are available to help them find more specific information.”