More Than A Magazine, A Movement
A cultural region of 20 countries and territories extending from South America to Central America, including Mexico and most Caribbean islands. Most have a history of Spanish or Portuguese colonialism and a large presence of Spanish, Portuguese or French languages.
It is distressing to think that the United States, once a global leader in women’s rights, could erase 50 years of progress in a single moment. We’ve seen how anti-choice policies in the U.S. tend to embolden the opposition around the world.
We stand in solidarity with the millions of women in the U.S. who could see their reproductive rights cruelly stripped away, and with the many more across the globe who may see their national abortion laws tighten as a result.
In rural Guatemala, a group of survivors of sexual slavery won a remarkable legal victory—and have become respected activists for Indigenous women’s rights.
“I wish no women would live through what we have lived through.”
Argentina’s 1,000-Day Plan aims to reduce and prevent maternal and childhood mortality by providing state support in the form of direct payments and free food, milk, vaccines and medicine to pregnant people and infant children. If those championing U.S. anti-abortion laws are serious about reducing the absolute number of abortions, they should pressure Congress to pass national legislation that both makes pregnancy safer and provides support for early childhood development after birth. A law like this could provide some common ground for the two sides of the abortion debate in the U.S.
Traveling to Guatemala last month, the juxtaposition of situations was striking. The depth to which corruption has become entrenched in the government, driven by the perniciousness of wealth inequality, is despairing; the lack of viable solutions nearly hopeless. Yet, the strength of the advocacy and legal community, led by the heroism of scores of women who are in many cases putting their own lives and livelihoods on the line to relentlessly beat forward a path to justice is deeply motivating.
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: The Senate confirms Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court; why so many countries in Latin America are achieving gender parity; major barriers for women in China and South Korea; ranked-choice voting takes center stage in Alaska special election; the 2018 law that more than doubled the number of women on boards in California has been struck down; it’s National Poetry Month; and more.
Latin American feminists are connecting abortion rights, femicide and care work into a large political and economic framework that helps activists fight for gender justice in many different countries.
As the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) kicks off this week, there may be a chance to address the failures of the U.N. climate change negotiations through the lens of women’s human rights.
Just 16 years ago, Colombia had a total ban on abortions. Last month, Colombia’s Constitutional Court ruled to decriminalize abortion completely up to 24 weeks and unconditionally under three exceptions.
The case, brought by a collective of feminist movements known as Causa Justa, argued criminalizing abortion violates the human rights of women, girls and other pregnant people.
This week: LGBTQ Ukrainians fear for their lives during Russian invasion; Colombia legalizes abortion; Ketanji Brown could be first Black woman confirmed to Supreme Court; Florida poised to ban both abortion and discussion of sexuality and gender in schools; Ahmaud Arbery’s killers charged with federal hate crime; anti-Asian hate crimes hit record high; and more.
In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in in this biweekly round-up.
This week: Women brought home 17 of Team USA’s 25 Olympic medals in Beijing; Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Georgia Republicans target abortion rights, while Vermont passes Reproductive Liberty amendment; more Latina women are running for governor than ever before; a record 36 openly LGBTQ+ athletes competed in the Winter Olympics; and more.
