In all, 148 Afghan women who had been college students in Bangladesh ended up in the U.S. They were able to flee thanks to an extraordinary effort orchestrated by their university, private businesses and government officials across the world. Sixty-four of them arrived at Arizona State University last December—including Oranous Koofi, 25, who escaped Kabul with only her cell phone, and Masooma Ebrahimi, 25, a refugee for the second time in her life.
Tag: Middle East
A region of 18 countries extending from Egypt to Iran, including the Arabian Peninsula and Turkey. The greater Middle East and North African (MENA) region also includes countries in northern and east Africa and east of Iran. Some European countries north of Iran are often associated with the Middle East because of socio-political reasons.
Ms. Global: Protests in Iran; Malta Offers Free Gender-Affirming Surgery; San Marino Legalizes Abortion
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 Iran, Jordan, Brazil, San Marino, Italy, and more.
The Eyes of the World Are on Iran
He is in Tehran. I am in Baltimore. The separation is unbearable. Right now, I don’t even want an answer. I want a sign that means he’s alive, that he’s not dead, that the internet has been restored, that he hasn’t been arrested or beaten.
The death of the 22-year-old Iranian woman, Mahsa Amini, at the hands of the “morality police” hasn’t just sparked spontaneous protests—it’s countrywide. Women are removing their headscarves and burning them because they are tired of being told what to do with their bodies. Men cheer them on, and some block the fists and batons crashing down on their sisters.
The Desperate Effort to Silence Iranian Feminists
Protests have raging across Iran over the last week after the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman in the custody of the Islamic Republic’s morality police due to her defiance against the strict dress code. The country’s desperate effort to silence Iranian feminists has taken the form of violent responses and crackdowns of both in-person demonstrations and online activism.
Ms. Global: Scotland Eliminates Period Product Fees; Poland’s Pride March; Nonbinary Joan of Arc Debuts at Globe Theatre
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: Scotland paves way for period poverty movement; volunteers provide menstrual products in Pakistan, amid floods; Pride marches in Poland; Spain passes “yes means yes” consent law; and more.
September 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us
Each month, I provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups—to do my part in the disruption of what has been the acceptable “norm” in the book world for far too long (white, cis, heterosexual, male); and to amplify indie publishers and amazing works by writers who are women, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, APIA/AAPI, international, queer, trans, nonbinary, disabled, fat, immigrant, Muslim, neurodivergent, sex-positive or of other historically marginalized identities—you know, the rest of us.
Here’s to all the great writers out there toiling away to make us think, learn, feel and fly … and to the 30 on this list.
Year in Review: The Taliban in Power
In the year since the Taliban took over Afghanistan, human rights were curtailed, women were relegated to their homes and the country plunged into economic crisis.
Ms. Global: Historic Kenyan Elections; Malaysia Passes Anti-Sexual Harassment Bill; Germany Introduces Self-Determination Act
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 India, Germany, Malaysia, Iran, and more.
A Year After the Taliban Took Over, Leadership Programs in Afghanistan Still Raise up Girls
In the face of Taliban occupation, young Afghan women are banding together to support each other, with the help of NGOs and leadership programs.
“Our goal is to become active and powerful women. We learn what our rights are, how we can define our rights, how we can raise our voices.”
Ms. Global: Iranian Women Unveil in Protest; Hungary Sued Over Anti-LGBTQ Law; Sierra Leone Overturns Abortion Ban
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.