Africa

Stories about any of the 54 countries on the continent of Africa.

Offline and Overlooked: Why Girls’ Internet Access Is a Feminist Issue

PUBLISHED 10/9/2026 by and

Last summer, our Girls Learn International chapter set out with a mission to support girls in finding their own voices to lead their communities on issues they cared about. We organized an international public speaking webinar with Sierra Leone Rising, which helped us reach 40 girls in villages in Sierra Leone.

Even with nonprofit backing, internet barriers strained our capacity to communicate regularly, blurring the vision that had seemed so “doable” in writing. As students in well-resourced suburban towns, we had taken reliable internet access for granted.

Our surprise turned to anger: How could something so basic, so essential to daily life in the modern world, remain out of reach for so many school-aged children around the globe? In what world could a student in a small, remote village be promised equal opportunity without access to the digital tools other students take for granted?

Ms. Global: Sweden Ends Repro Health Support for Liberia; U.K. Bans Trans People From Bathrooms; Feminists Lament Far-Right AfD Win in Germany; and More

PUBLISHED 10/6/2026 by and

Ms. has always understood: Feminist movements around the world hold answers to some of the U.S.’ most intractable problems. Ms. Global is taking note of feminists worldwide.

This month:
—In major blow to sexual and reproductive health and rights funding, Sweden ends aid to Liberia.
—Twelfth woman’s body found near Johannesburg increases fear of potential serial killer on the loose.
—The United Kingdom has introduced sanctions on Israeli settlements in the West Bank. They target companies and people who support services for settlement expansion and individual settlers accused of violence against Palestinians.
—Liechtenstein changes its laws to allow women to inherit the throne.

… and more.

As World Leaders Gather at the U.N., the Push to Recognize Gender Apartheid Gains Ground

PUBLISHED 9/21/2026 by

Nearly 130 heads of state and government are expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level week in New York. From Sept. 22 to 28, world leaders will gather for the General Debate of the 81st session under the theme, “Restoring trust, managing transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all.”

For Afghan women and girls living under the Taliban’s systematic oppression, whether the United Nations can deliver is not an abstract question. It requires the international community to recognize gender apartheid for what it is: a crime against humanity.

The support for recognizing forced marriage and reproductive violence, while stopping short of naming “gender apartheid,” presents an opportunity for feminist organizations to continue advocating for the full breadth of gender-based oppression to be recognized by the United Nations.

Public Health Begins With Listening: Lessons From Zambia and Malawi on Reducing Maternal Mortality

PUBLISHED 9/20/2026 by

In the Zambian districts where it operated, the five-year Saving Mothers, Giving Life initiative helped reduce the maternal mortality ratio by 41 percent. Its success relied not only on expanding healthcare, but also on building trust and ensuring that interventions responded to the needs of local communities.

Charles B. Holmes, recently named dean of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, spent four years leading the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia. He credits women mentors, collaborators and successors with shaping his approach to maternal care, HIV prevention and sustainable public health systems.

As the United States faces its own maternal health crisis and the Trump administration sharply curtails foreign aid, the lessons from Zambia and Malawi are increasingly urgent: Effective public health requires local leadership, long-term investment and the voices of those most affected at the table.

Nine Books by Black Women About Travel, Belonging and the Search for Home

PUBLISHED 8/19/2026 by

Over the years, I’ve immersed myself in the stories of other Black women, not only as literary models, but as encouragement that the world might actually want to hear my story, my lessons and my truth. These books reminded me I am part of a long lineage of brave Black women who decided to leave home in search of adventure and themselves. The following memoirs, anthologies and novels explore movement across borders while grappling with history, race, identity, belonging, faith, joy and ultimately, home.

Hegseth’s Testosterone Bit Isn’t About Health

PUBLISHED 7/24/2026 by

The Trump administration has gotten rather … hormonal. As someone who cares deeply about the science and politics of all kinds of bodily matters, including and especially hormonal health and treatments, it is a truly bizarre exercise to unpack the latest news.

Last week, the defense secretary took to the airwaves to announce new mandatory screening of testosterone levels for all military members over 30, arguing the need to “optimize performance,” “combat Operator Syndrome” (a physical and behavioral condition uniquely attributed to soldiers who undergo intense training) and “maximize mission readiness.” Anyone deemed testosterone-deficient will be offered hormone therapy, presumably including the 230,000 women in active-duty service — who presumably may seek access to estrogen, progesterone and/or testosterone (hard to say given that women were not mentioned).

But of course, debate over optimal hormonal health is hardly the point. Only the most jacked-up soldiers fulfill Hegseth’s military fever dream — which he has made clear is devoid of women, whom he wants removed from combat roles altogether (he also has continued to block promotions of active-duty female Naval officers). The Trump administration has already banned transgender soldiers, at least based in part on the theory that their hormone treatments (though, in this case, they’d call it gender-affirming care, with a sneer) would be challenging to sustain.

It is not easy for me to put aside Hegseth’s distorted recasting of testosterone. That said, it happens to be true that federal regulatory guidelines for its usage are in need of an update and upgrade. As a menopause advocate, I fight hard for a world in which accessible, affordable hormonal care and treatment is a priority for all.

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.

Peace Without Women? Ongoing Peace Talks and War Negotiations Keep Leaving Women Behind

PUBLISHED 6/25/2026 by

As negotiations over conflicts across the Middle East continue, one pattern remains stubbornly familiar: women are largely absent from the room. From Gaza to Iran, women are bearing the costs of conflict, repression, displacement and economic collapse even as negotiations over security, governance, reconstruction and political transition move forward without their meaningful participation.

This exclusion has consequences far beyond representation. Decisions about who governs, who receives aid, who returns home and who is protected shape whether societies emerge from conflict more secure or more fragile. When women are kept outside these processes, transitions risk reinforcing the inequalities and grievances that helped drive conflict in the first place.

Ms. Global: Women Make Up Two-Thirds of Ebola Cases in DRC, Families Mourn Fishers Killed in Trump’s Boat Strikes and More

PUBLISHED 6/16/2026 by and | UPDATED 7/12/2026 at 2:31 P.M. PT

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 the Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Denmark, Mexico and more.