Jaahnavi Kandula Did Not Deserve This Death

On Jan. 23, 2023, Jaahnavi Kandula was crossing the street when she was brutally struck by a police cruiser going 74 miles per hour. It is difficult to believe that we aren’t hearing this story until nine months later, but that’s how it goes.

Jaahnavi Kandula was a 23-year-old graduate student at Northeastern University’s Seattle campus raised by a single mother in Andhra Pradesh, India. She was due to graduate in three months with a masters in information systems. In a demographic analysis, Kandula and I are no different.

Our lives will always be worth more than a few thousand dollars.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Women’s World Cup Becomes Battleground for Gender Equality; Ranked-Choice Voting Comes to Boulder, Colo.

Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation. 

This week: Anti-abortion Republican women lawmakers hope supporting legislation to expand access to birth control will provide them with political cover from abortion bans; feminism and the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup in Australia; the modern fight for the ERA; “A womanless history no more”; and more.

The History of Asian American Labor Activism Is Essential for Today’s Students

The impact that Asian immigrants and Asian Americans have made in labor history is frequently missing from the media and textbooks, despite numerous roles of unionizing, rallying and organizing to inspire workers to fight for justice and better workplace conditions.

As legislation to teach Asian American history in schools increases, teaching Asian American labor activism is essential to prepare the next generation of leaders and civic actors concerned with solidarity and coalition building.

Ms. Global: Taliban’s Leader Says Women Prosper Under His Rule; Singapore Pride Returns; Disabled Women in DR Against Obstetric Violence; Kenyan Workers Forced to Strip in Period Shaming Incident

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 time with news from Afghanistan, Peru, India, Colombia, Kenya and more.

Reproductive Justice for AAPI Women: The Ms. Q&A With Dr. Sophia Yen

The pandemic brought a surge of barriers for people seeking access to reproductive care and abortion, especially among women who identify as Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI)—from increased disease severity and mortality rates, to xenophobia and acts of violence.

For Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Ms. spoke with Dr. Sophia Yen about the disparities that different racial groups face when it comes to medical treatment in reproductive health and how AAPI women and their allies can advocate for themselves and their communities.

The Patriarchs’ War on Women

Assaults on women’s and LGBTQ+ rights—and attempts to put women “in their place”—constitute a backlash against feminist progress expanding women’s full inclusion in public life.

As women’s participation becomes more prominent in domestic and international politics, here’s why political sexism and gender policing are also becoming more virulent—and what to do about it.

(This essay is part of Women’s Rights and Backsliding Democracies project—a multimedia project made up of essays, video and podcast programming, presented by Ms., NYU Law’s Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Network and Rewire News Group.)