Category: Global

The War on Women Report: Republicans Blame Unmarried Women for Midterm Results; 80% of Pregnancy-Related Deaths Can Be Prevented

U.S. patriarchal authoritarianism is on the rise, and democracy is on the decline. But day after day, we stay vigilant in our goals to dismantle patriarchy at every turn. The fight is far from over. We are watching, and we refuse to go back. This is the War on Women Report.

This month: Brittney Griner is released from a racist and homophobic penal colony; abortion access is still in shambles despite midterm victories; House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to step down; three high-profile mass shootings in a matter of weeks; and more.

Keeping Score: Brittney Griner Is Freed; Iranian Women Actors Arrested for Supporting Protests; Oregon Pardons Thousands for Marijuana Charges

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: Associated Press tells writers not to use harmful term “later-term abortion,” instead “abortion later in pregnancy”; advocates condemn the announcement of Trump’s 2024 presidential bid; Georgia’s six-week abortion ban is back; Iranian security arrested two women actors for supporting national protests; Oregon governor pardons 45,000 convicted on marijuana charges; VP Kamala Harris to swear in Los Angeles mayor-elect Karen Bass; and more.

December 2022 Reads for the Rest of Us

Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.

I want to do my part in the disruption of the “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.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: ‘We Are Meeting Because We Are Prime Ministers,’ Jacinda Ardern Tells Reporter; Ukrainian Women Are Vital in Fight Against Russia

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

This week: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern makes a male reporter shrink into a ball of shame; a new school is training women to fly drones—a key component to Ukraine’s resistance against Russian forces; an all-women referee trio for the first time at the World Cup;

Ending the Global Child Sex Abuse Crisis

For the first time in history, the United Nations General Assembly has designated a new annual World Day for the prevention of child sexual exploitation—and it couldn’t come soon enough.

One in five women and one in 13 men worldwide have been sexually abused as children, and 120 million girls and young women under 20 years old have been victims of forced sexual contact. Countless victims around the globe are silenced by bad laws and some countries’ legal agreements with the Roman Catholic Church that weaken, and at times completely dismantle, their opportunity for justice.

U.S. Overturn of Roe Will Embolden Anti-Abortion Movements Abroad

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which ruled that there is no U.S. constitutional right to abortion, will have ripple effects around the world. It will embolden anti-abortion movements abroad, contribute to global stigmatization of abortion, cause confusion for policy implementation and open the door for new restrictions—all of which will negatively impact the health, economic resources and well-being of women throughout the world.  

COP27’s Newest Headliner: Environmental Justice

As the U.N.’s COP27 conference wraps up, we encourage decision-makers to shift their focus to equity-centered solutions such as local clean energy workforce development and training. Governments and businesses can then financially invest in local communities of color after years of colonialism and environmental racism. In this way, those most likely to be impacted will see financial benefits from climate policy. The same way corporations do.

Environmental justice must be at the forefront of every conversation about climate change.

Weekend Reading on Women’s Representation: Colorado Elects Majority-Women Legislature; Karen Bass, LA’s First Woman Mayor

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

This week: 2022 midterms will be a status quo election for women in Congress; federal candidates and political committees are projected to spend $8.9 billion this election cycle; Ruwa Romman, 29, makes history as the first Muslim woman elected to the Georgia House; Los Angeles, the second largest city in the U.S., has elected Representative Karen Bass to be its first-ever woman mayor; and more.

Keeping Score: Democrats Maintain Senate Control in Midterms; Florida Bans Care for Transgender Youth

This week: state officials condemn election misinformation and voter intimidation; Massachusetts and N.Y. elect women governors; Maxwell Alejandro Frost will be the first Gen Z congress member; abortions permitted to resume in Arizona; Florida bans gender-affirming care for transgender minors; University of California workers go on largest academic strike; and more.