Women in the Military

The War on Women Report: New Texas Law Targets Abortion Pills; More Planned Parenthoods Close Amid Federal Funding Cuts

PUBLISHED 9/30/2025 by and

MAGA Republicans are back in the White House, and Project 2025 is their guide—the right-wing plan to turn back the clock on women’s rights, remove abortion access, and force women into roles as wives and mothers in the “ideal, natural family structure.” We know an empowered female electorate is essential to democracy. That’s why day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

Since our last report:
—A judge in Missouri is currently deciding whether a proposed amendment that would ban abortion in the state’s constitution can appear on the 2026 ballot … even though Missourians voted just last fall to keep abortion legal in the state.
—The Trump administration announced in August that it would remove gender-affirming care from the health services offered to federal workers.
—Mississippi declared a public health emergency as the state’s infant mortality rate soars to a rate nearly double the national average.

… and more.

Hegseth’s Tacit Endorsement of Disenfranchising Women Should Alarm Every American

PUBLISHED 8/21/2025 by

Pete Hegseth’s church’s doctrine is clear: It teaches that wives should submit to their husbands and allows male church members to cast church votes for the whole household. Its co-founder Doug Wilson says that adopting the 19th Amendment—which granted women the right to vote—was a “bad idea.” 

When Congress returns in a few weeks, lawmakers should reject the SAVE Act—or be prepared to answer to millions of American women.

‘It Was Never Mine’: August, Autonomy and the America We’re Losing

PUBLISHED 8/7/2025 by

Welcome, August! When my kids were young, I used to refer to it as the juiciest month of the year, loving its bloated days, all sunshine and sweat.

In 2025, I have to admit this month is yet another joy I am doing my best not to let the relentless news-and-doom cycle ruin. Curating a round-up of breaking headlines about gender and democracy is surely not for the faint of heart or spirit.

I’ll be doing all I can to channel Taylor Swift (Trump only wishes he could) and trying to salvage August so that it is “sipped away like a bottle of wine.”

Fifty Years After War, Southeast Asian Communities Face a New Kind of Violence. Gender and Queer Justice Must Be at the Heart of This Moment.

PUBLISHED 7/29/2025 by and

Drawing on histories of war, displacement and resistance, Southeast Asian organizers expose how patriarchy fuels violence, erasure and division—and why intersectional justice must lead the way forward.

“Patriarchal power is regrouping, seeking to reassert its grip. If we do not recognize and resist this realignment, we risk losing hard-won resources, protections and, most importantly, people. 

“As a community, Southeast Asians’ trauma is compounded by war and displacement. Nearly 16,000 Southeast Asian refugees face deportation; many live in poverty and fear, underserved by traditional systems and are often overlooked in broader Asian American narratives. As the United States expands its deportation machine, refugees from the U.S.-backed wars in Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam are being re-criminalized and forcibly removed. These deportations fracture families, destabilize communities, and retraumatize those already targeted by the carceral state. Gender-based violence and anti-queer violence only intensify those challenges.”

(This essay is part of a collection presented by Ms. and the Groundswell Fund highlighting the work of Groundswell partners advancing inclusive democracy.)

The U.S. Draft Explained: Who Registers, Who’s At Risk, and What It Means for Women

PUBLISHED 7/24/2025 by

Last month, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu collaborated in an attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, thrusting America into the middle of a centuries-long conflict. Almost immediately, my TikTok feed filled with posts and videos expressing fear of a U.S. military draft. One user asked, “Trump dodged the draft—why can’t we?” Another wondered, “Why are we getting into business that is not ours?” With tensions rising and misinformation about a draft spreading on social media, young people—and especially women—are left speculating: Who will be called to serve, and who will be left behind?

While recent statements from both U.S. and Iranian officials suggest a preference for negotiations over direct military conflict, it begs the question: What happens if the U.S. formally declares war—on Iran or another nation? If a draft is implemented, who will be forced to serve? And what happens to those who don’t?

Documenting Harriet Tubman’s Leadership: Pulitzer Prize-Winning Edda L. Fields-Black on the Combahee River Raid

PUBLISHED 6/2/2025 by

The Combahee River Raid was a military operation during the American Civil War led by Harriet Tubman on June 1-2, 1863. Historian Edda L. Fields-Black—this year’s winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History—reflects on Tubman’s revolutionary Civil War raid and the power of preserving Black history in the face of political pushback.

“What I speculate is that the Union told the enslaved people who she was. And her presence facilitated the enslaved people in trusting the Union. We know, from some of the sources I’ve brought together in [my latest book] Combee that Harriet Tubman was on the ground in the raid, that she participated in the burning of buildings, and that she went to the slave cabins and coaxed the people there to come onto the boats and come to freedom. So how she convinced them to do that, we don’t know, but they did trust her, even if they didn’t know her entire backstory.”

Profiles in Courage: IRS vs. ICE? Melanie Krause Quit Rather Than Hand Over Your Tax Data for Deportations

PUBLISHED 5/28/2025 by and

Profiles in Courage honors the extraordinary women and men who have transformed American institutions through principled public service. At a time when trust in government is fragile, these stories offer a powerful reminder of what ethical leadership looks like—from those who litigate for civil rights and resign on principle, to those who break military barriers and defend democracy on the front lines.

As soon as Trump took office, the administration unveiled a plan to share IRS taxpayer data with the Department of Homeland Security to accelerate immigration enforcement. On the morning of Tuesday, April 15 (coincidentally Tax Day), Krause convened her leadership team. With quiet resolve, she announced that she would accept a deferred resignation offer rather than lend her name or the agency’s credibility to a policy she believed threatened taxpayer privacy, undermined statutory limits and risked eroding voluntary compliance.

“If the public cannot trust that their confidential returns will remain sacrosanct,” she said, “the foundation of our tax system cracks.”

Profiles in Courage: Colonel Susan Meyers Defied Trump’s Greenland Annexation Push—And Was Relieved of Command

PUBLISHED 5/23/2025 by and

Profiles in Courage is a series honoring the extraordinary women and men who have transformed American institutions through principled public service. At a time when trust in government is fragile, these stories offer a powerful reminder of what ethical leadership looks like—from those who litigate for civil rights and resign on principle, to those who break military barriers and defend democracy on the front lines.

When Colonel Susan Meyers assumed command of Pituffik Space Base, America’s northernmost military installation, in July 2024, she inherited more than a remote outpost carved from the Arctic ice. She inherited an unbroken 70-year alliance with Denmark and Greenland, 200 airmen and guardians under her care, and a delicate diplomatic balance in an era of rising political tension.

On April 10, 2025, the U.S. Space Force relieved Colonel Meyers of command, citing “a loss of confidence.”

Profiles in Courage: Admiral Shoshana Chatfield Was NATO’s Voice for Equality. Then Came the Purge.

PUBLISHED 5/21/2025 by and

Ms.‘ Profiles in Courage spotlights women in the Department of Justice, federal agencies and the military whose careers have been defined by integrity, resilience and reform. Their quiet heroism—often at personal cost—reaffirms the enduring role of public servants who choose justice over self-interest. Through their stories, Ms. pays tribute to a tradition of service that safeguards democracy and inspires the next generation to lead with courage.

Vice Admiral Shoshana “Sho” Chatfield built a career on firsts: the first woman to pilot three Navy rotary-wing platforms in combat theaters; the first woman to command Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25; the first woman to lead a Joint Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan, earning the Bronze Star; and, in 2019, the first woman to preside over the U.S. Naval War College. In 2024, she shattered one more glass ceiling—becoming the sole female flag officer on NATO’s Military Committee and the senior American naval voice in allied strategy sessions.

Yet, on a quiet spring weekend in 2025, that historic ascent collided with partisan headwinds. Without warning, Chatfield received a call from Admiral Christopher Grady, acting chairman of the Joint Chiefs: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth—champion of the administration’s campaign to eradicate “woke” policies—had ordered her relief.

Profiles in Courage: A Political Hit Job on the Navy’s Top Officer? The Firing of Admiral Lisa Franchetti

PUBLISHED 5/14/2025 by and

Profiles in Courage is a Ms. series honoring the extraordinary women and men who have transformed American institutions through principled public service. At a time when trust in government is fragile, these stories offer a powerful reminder of what ethical leadership looks like.

Admiral Lisa Franchetti has exemplified unparalleled leadership, strategic expertise, and an unyielding commitment to national security for decades. A seasoned surface warfare officer, she commanded at all levels of the U.S. Navy, leading the U.S. 6th Fleet, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, and multiple carrier strike groups. Her distinguished career culminated in November 2023, when she became the chief of naval operations (CNO)—the highest-ranking officer in the United States Navy and the first woman in history to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.