Taylor Swift is taking a break from releasing her re-recorded tracks to drop Midnights, her 10th studio album.
Increased Attacks in Afghanistan Target Women and Girls Attending School
Since the Taliban takeover, Human Rights Watch has documented 16 attacks against Hazaras, an ethnic minority group native to Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iran. On Sept. 30 a suicide bomber killed 53 people in a predominantly Hazara neighborhood, specifically targeting women and girls in school.
Standing Up for Water, Land and Climate: Meet 10 Indigenous Women Fighting the Line 5 Pipeline
Indigenous women leaders from the Great Lakes are sounding the alarm about the social and ecological impacts of a new Enbridge tar sands pipeline project, Line 5.
Share Ms. Magazine With Women in Prisons and Domestic Violence Shelters
We send Ms. to 5,418 women in federal, state and county prisons through the Ms. magazine Prison and Domestic Violence Shelter Program—funded by charitable contributions earmarked for this purpose, as well as Ms. community members who buy an extra membership and subscription for a friend they don’t know. Over the 18 years since this program’s birth, we’ve discovered that even this small gesture of recognition, support and information means a lot.
Need-to-Know Midterm Ballot Measures for Feminists
Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed constitutional amendment that would have allowed the Republican-dominated state Legislature to severely restrict access to abortion. In the midterms, there will be five more ballot measures on abortion across the U.S.—the most on record for any single year.
Other noteworthy initiatives include minimum wage amendments in Nevada and Nebraska; a collective bargaining measure in Illinois; a right to healthcare amendment in Oregon; Medicaid expansion in South Dakota; and a New Mexico amendment to direct public money to early childhood programs. Five states—Alabama, Louisiana, Oregon, Tennessee and Vermont—will decide whether to repeal language from their state constitutions that allows for enslavement as punishments for crimes.
The Wage Gap Persists—But Recent Reforms Are Making a Difference
Recent Biden administration and congressional policy reforms, including the Inflation Reduction Act and the student loan relief plan, will no doubt alleviate some of the financial pressures women are facing, and bolster their economic security in the long run.
Women Everywhere Are Standing Up Against ‘Gender Apartheid’
The loss of our freedoms is mounting—from abortion rights, to lack of access to education, to being told what we must wear. The tragic death of Mahsa Amini connects us all at a time when it has never been more important to band together and push back against all forms of oppression.
That’s why, as feminists, we will stand with our sisters wherever there is a need—in Afghanistan, Iran, the DRC or here in the U.S. We know, in the end, we must prevail. There is no other choice.
How Do We Build a World Where Every Girl Can Thrive?
The nearly-two decades prior to the pandemic saw 82 million more girls in school, girls’ primary school enrollment up 65 percent, and a 25-percent increase in parity between girls and boys completing primary school.
Among the pandemic’s worst legacies has been its ravaging blow to these decades of progress, with 20 million additional secondary school-age girls who may never return to school.
Progress for Girls’ Education Requires Menstrual Health Equity, Period!
Millions of girls struggle to participate in school at least once a month due to the lack of acceptable menstrual health products or facilities. “Lack of access to menstrual health information, supplies and support are barriers that stand in the way of advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights, gender equality and the full autonomy and sustained achievement of girls and women,” said Rahwa Weldemichael, Ph.D., associate director and gender justice specialist at PAI.
We see examples of this in the work of feminists around the world—like Copper Rose Zambia, a leading youth-focused, girls’ empowerment organization in Zambia. They offer menstruation education, training and product distribution programs with youth to normalize and increase awareness of menstrual health management.
A Century-Long Effort to Secure the ERA: ‘The Important Thing Is To Keep Fighting’
2023 will mark 100 years since the introduction of the Equal Rights Amendment to Congress. Of this milestone, Gloria Steinem remarked “I never thought we would still be fighting this battle after all these years.”
Steinem, along with Carol Jenkins, president emerita of the ERA Coalition, and Mona Sinha, board chair of the ERA Fund for Women’s Equality, formed a panel at Smith College on Sept. 16. Joined by moderator Becca Damante, legislative assistant to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), the four discussed the merits of the ERA and its relationship with democracy.