Young Women and Girls

Rest in Power: Jane Goodall, the Gentle Disrupter Whose Research on Chimpanzees Redefined What It Meant to Be Human

PUBLISHED 10/7/2025 by

To the public, she was a world-renowned scientist and icon. To me, she was Jane—my inspiring mentor and friend.

Goodall spoke of animals as having emotions and cultures, and in the case of chimps, communities that were almost tribal. She also named the chimps she observed, an unheard-of practice at the time, garnering ridicule from scientists who had traditionally numbered their research subjects.

Goodall was persuasive, powerful and determined, and she often advised me not to succumb to people’s criticisms. Her path to groundbreaking discoveries did not involve stepping on people or elbowing competitors aside.

The Trump Administration Is Paying Children $2,500 to Give Up Their Rights

PUBLISHED 10/7/2025 by

The Trump administration’s latest immigration scheme offers unaccompanied children $2,500 to “voluntarily” give up their legal rights and return to the very countries they fled. Officials are calling it a resettlement stipend, but in reality, it’s a disingenuous and dangerous form of coercion. Children in federal custody—many without attorneys—are being asked to make life-altering decisions under duress, with money dangled as an incentive to abandon their claims. Far from empowering them with choice, this program undermines the legal protections Congress established to keep children safe.

It’s one more example of the administration’s incremental intimidation of children—this time, with a price tag attached.

‘We Need Equal Rights in the Constitution’: NOW’s New Leaders Kim Villanueva and Rose Brunache See ‘a Lot of Energy for Advocacy’

PUBLISHED 9/30/2025 by

Almost 60 years ago, in 1966, Pauli Murray, a queer Episcopal priest and legal scholar, approached noted feminist Betty Friedan about the need for an organization to push the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to enforce the Civil Rights Act. Although the Act had passed in 1964 and banned discrimination based on race, color, national origin, sex, and religion, Murray understood that the law’s promise would remain unfulfilled without vigilance and pressure from activists. Friedan agreed, and later that year, the National Organization for Women (NOW) was created.

Newly-installed president Kim Villanueva—the former president of NOW’s Illinois chapter, cofounder of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Caucus and chair of the National Election Committee—and vice president Rose Brunache, former president of the DC chapter, spoke to Ms. reporter Eleanor J. Bader one month after taking office.

The ACA Promised Access to Birth Control. The System Still Says No.

PUBLISHED 9/21/2025 by

Everyone has a defining memory that shapes how they come to see the world. For me, a Gen Z born in 2007, it was kneeling in front of the television, eyes fixed on the screen, watching Barack Obama take the oath of office.

However, more than a decade after the Affordable Care Act (ACA) promised access to birth control, I found myself at the pharmacy counter, forced to walk away without it. My insurance refused to cover the pills I need to regulate my hormones, to prevent a third surgery for cystic breasts, and to alleviate excruciating period pain. That was my first confrontation with a false promise—but hardly the first loss of what I considered a secure right.

In theory, the ACA requires most health insurance plans to cover all FDA-approved contraceptive methods without any cost-sharing. In reality, that promise breaks down at the pharmacy counter—whether on account of delays, rejections, cost-sharing and a host of exceptions. In addition, states are eagerly stepping in to empower pharmacists to decide who does not get contraception.

Vile Reactions to Strong Women Can’t Silence Our Voices

PUBLISHED 9/18/2025 by

Being on the receiving end of yet another violent and targeted email from a stranger hit a little differently this week, as the nation grapples with the murder of Charlie Kirk and its fallout.

Mostly what I’m feeling since receiving an email from Robert G. Smith—who signs off as “Bonecrusher Bob”—is a deep sense of obligation to the girls and women in my life. In his message, he attacked me with grotesque language, mocking my intelligence, my sexuality and my writing on menopause, telling me to “stick to brainwashing the little insurrectionist bastards who attend [my] shithouse skool.”

Much of my work is about developing leaders—running a law school center and fellowship program, mentoring high school and college students to become public writers, and helping grassroots leaders use the op-ed as a tool for advocacy. My own writing shines a light on women’s health issues that have long been ignored, like menopause, highlighting not just problems but solutions lawmakers can get behind.

The Bonecrusher Bobs of the world will not deter me, and I see the same resilience in those around me.

Just this past weekend, a teenager I mentor asked how to handle an op-ed she’d drafted about aggressive masculinity at her school; my answer was simple: We keep raising our voices with conviction, exposing lies, and showing up fully as ourselves. And when necessary, yes, we share screenshots.

Female Genital Mutilation in Infancy Still Common, Gambian Mothers Say

PUBLISHED 9/13/2025 by

Hulay Damba, 55, spent years performing female genital mutilation on girls in her community. Her role as a practitioner was passed down from her grandmother. “It was what I was taught,” she explained. 

Despite years of steady advocacy in the Gambia, rates of female genital mutilation remain high, even among younger generations. According to 2021 data, almost three quarters of girls aged 15 to 19 have been subjected to female genital mutilation, roughly the same proportion as women a generation older than them (aged 45 to 49). 

Surveys of mothers also show mixed progress: When women with daughters aged 25 and under were asked whether their daughters had been been subjected to female genital mutilation, 54 percent said no. But 22 percent said that their daughters had not only undergone the practice—they had experienced it by their first birthday.

Nevada Just Made Teen Abortion Way Harder—Even in the Worst Situations

PUBLISHED 9/12/2025 by

Imagine you’re a teen in foster care, and you’re pregnant. The father is your abusive foster parent. Nevada’s newly enforced parental notification law means you can’t get an abortion without telling him. 

“The assumption that a parent is always the safest and most trusted person in an adolescent’s life is a falsehood,” said Dr. Laura Dalton. “Sometimes parents are abusive. Sometimes the parent is the perpetrator of sexual assault. For these patients, requiring parental involvement can be dangerous.”

New Mexico Will Be the First State to Make Childcare Free

PUBLISHED 9/12/2025 by

In an unprecedented move, New Mexico is making childcare free. 

Beginning in November, it will be the first state in the nation to provide childcare to all residents regardless of income, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced this week. The state has been working to lower child care care costs since 2019, when it created the Early Childhood Education and Care Department and started to expand eligibility for universal childcare.

The initiative is expected to save families $12,000 per child annually. 

“Childcare is essential to family stability, workforce participation and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Lujan Grisham said in her announcement. “By investing in universal childcare, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”

Trump Administration Attacks Teen Pregnancy Prevention Just in Time for the New School Year

PUBLISHED 9/8/2025 by

The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPPP) is a nationwide, evidenced-based program working with diverse organizations to prevent teen pregnancy. It’s so successful, it’s become a target: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued a new policy this summer to restrict and possibly derail its own TPPP.

To receive TPPP funds for research and community programs, all grantees must recognize the “immutable biological reality of sex,” deny “radical gender ideology,” and refrain from promoting “anti-American ideologies such as discriminatory equity ideology.” They must also inform parents of any programs or services that “may burden their religious exercise.” Already, in the U.S., if kids get sex ed at all, it’s likely to be abstinence-only. The effect (and likely the intent) of the new policy will be to make the TPPP inaccessible to those who need it.

Young people are getting the message loud and clear: Religious ideology takes precedence over their health, well-being and rights.

Mayoral Candidates Tout Plans—But Feminist Infrastructure Is What New Yorkers Need

PUBLISHED 9/3/2025 by

Frantic, I keep checking my phone for the arrival of the New York City public bus I am waiting for. It finally arrives, 10 minutes after the scheduled time, meaning I will be late for school. With each stop it makes, the bus fills with students like me and people heading to work. Women and toddlers also board in force, lugging more baby strollers than I can count. As the strollers pile up, I scan the bus, wondering how many more can possibly fit. It is a Jenga-like ordeal, and I overhear a group of caregivers confidently affirm how five strollers can be tilted, folded and configured to fit in the bus.

This is the silent role public infrastructure plays in action. Infrastructure greets us on our daily commute, provides livable spaces for us outside, shepherds kids to and from school. Infrastructure is fundamental to our well-being as citizens, essential to a functioning democracy. And to work for all of us, it must be considered through a feminist lens.

Urban infrastructure loomed large in the New York City mayoral primary in June and will continue to be a major discussion point through the general election in November. I can’t help but question who is making decisions about urban transportation infrastructure and the people who use it.