Ms. Global: Millions in Sudan Face Ethnic Cleansing, Mexico Elects First Woman President, 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 Sudan, Mexico, Kazakhstan, and more.

Why Women Will Be Hardest Hit by President Biden’s Executive Order

President Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that will temporarily close the United States border to all border crossers—including asylum seekers—if the number of border crossings reaches a certain threshold.

Many people are likely to suffer as a result of Biden’s action—especially women from Mexico and Central America desperate for safety because of gender-based violence in their home countries. 

Southern Baptists Pursue a Mission of Misogyny

This weekend, thousands of Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) delegates will assemble in Indianapolis, and one of the most misogynistic gatherings in all of Christendom will be on display. With 13 million members, the Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant faith group in the country. Considered as a bellwether for white evangelicals, and enmeshed with the Republican Party, the SBC carries an outsized influence disproportionate to its numbers.

When you combine the SBC’s misogynistic, authoritarian theology, which relegates females to second-class status, with an institutional structure lacking in effective accountability systems, you wind up with an institution in which abuse can run rampant.

Honoring Queer Feminist Trailblazers: Octavia Butler, Marsha P. Johnson and Margaret Cho

Women throughout history have been inventing, leading, organizing, creating and making the world a better place despite gender injustice. If women knew about these inspiring stories that have been kept from them, would they be bolder and have more willingness to persevere?

In honor of Pride Month, we spotlight three queer feminist trailblazers: Afro-futurist novelist Octavia Butler; activist and drag queen Marsha P. Johnson; and actor and comedian Margaret Cho.

Texas Ruling and Louisiana Abortion Pill Restrictions Are Bad Omens for Pending SCOTUS Decisions

Even as we wait for U.S. Supreme Court decisions in two cases set to come down this month that could have massive impacts on abortion access, I fear that a court decision out of Texas and a new law passed in Louisiana foreshadow how the Court might rule.

The cases pending before the U.S. Supreme Court involve whether federal law requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions in cases when a woman’s health—not only her life—is threatened supersedes state abortion bans, and whether the FDA acted properly in its decision to ease regulations making it easier to dispense abortion pills without in-person visits. 

Mexico’s Next President Is the Country’s First Woman, First Jewish President—And a Feminist

Mexico just elected its first woman and first Jewish president: former Mexico City Governor Claudia Sheinbaum.

She bested her opponent, Xóchitl Gálvez, winning between 58.3 percent and 60.7 percent of the vote, according to the National Electoral Institute. Gálvez had between 26.6 percent and 28.6 percent.

Thanks to three decades of political innovation in Mexico, Sheinbaum, Gálvez and hundreds of other women received the chance to run for and serve in office.

War on Women Report: Trump’s Mistreatment of Women Is His Downfall; Louisiana Labels Abortion Medication a Dangerous Substance; Mississippi’s Anti-Trans Bathroom Law

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: Harvey Weinstein made his first appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court after his 2020 conviction was overturned; FDIC chair Martin Gruenberg will resign once a successor is confirmed; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer placed the Right to Contraception Act on the Senate calendar for a vote in June; the Minnesota Supreme Court rejected attempts from an anti-abortion activist group to retry Doe v. Minnesota; and more.

Texas Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Abortion Laws

The Texas Supreme Court has unanimously rejected the most significant challenge to Texas’ new abortion laws yet, ruling Friday that the medical exceptions in the law were broad enough to withstand constitutional challenge.

The initial lawsuit was filed in March 2023, and unlike previous wholesale, pre-enforcement challenges to abortion bans, this case focused on a very narrow argument—women with complicated pregnancies were being denied medically necessary abortions because doctors were unclear on how and when they could act. Amanda Zurawski, the named plaintiff in the suit, was 18 weeks pregnant with a daughter they’d named Willow when she experienced preterm prelabor rupture of membranes. Despite the condition being fatal to the fetus and posing significant risks to the pregnant patient, her doctors refused to terminate the pregnancy because there was still fetal cardiac activity. Eventually, Zurawski went into sepsis and spent three days in the intensive care unit. While she survived, the infection has made it difficult for her and her husband to conceive again.

“The people in the building behind me have the power to fix this, yet they’ve done nothing,” Zurawski said. “So it’s not just for me, and for our Willow, that I stand here before you today—it’s for every pregnant person, and for everyone who knows and loves a pregnant person.”