COMMENTARY
Building Feminist Cities
“In order for people to benefit from all the services a city can offer, the built environment itself has to be physically accessible to as many people as possible.” Leslie Kern, associate professor of geography and environment and director of women’s and gender studies at Mount Allison University.
“As A Superpower, The World Looks To the US for Leadership On Gender Equity And Foreign Policy Matters.” Dr Shirley Graham
Dr Shirley Graham, from the Elliot School analyzes in a powerful essay the role of the new Biden-Harris Gender Council and the need for a feminist foreign policy as she creates a call to action.
List of Resources to Help You Vote in the Coming US Election
As we get closer to election day in the US, make sure you have a voting plan in place. Here are some resources.
How the Coronavirus Pandemic is Accelerating the Telemedicine Industry and Affecting Women’s Health
While the telemedicine industry has taken leaps and bounds over the last few months to help fill in the gaps of an overwhelmed healthcare system, the benefits of telemedicine are not equally available to everyone due to a complicated patchwork of policies and regulation.
The Coronavirus Is a Disaster for Feminism
“But one of the most striking effects of the coronavirus will be to send many couples back to the 1950s. Across the world, women’s independence will be a silent victim of the pandemic,” argues reporter Helen Lewis from The Atlantic.
A Rapist In Your Path: The Political and Global Impact of Chile’s Feminist Activism
October 18 in London, I scroll through Chile’s news per usual since I’ve been in London only a month working on my master’s degree in gender studies at University College London. “Student ambushes metro stations in protests over fare hikes,” the paper says.
Venezuela’s Birth Control Crisis
Mired in an economic and political crisis since 2010, Venezuela has been experiencing a catastrophic shortage of contraceptives.
Nudity In Films Is Stopping Girls From Reaching The Top
“Changing the way films depict women – particularly women leaders – must become a crucial part of the movement to get more women into positions of power.”
World Leaders Won’t Deliver Gender Equality by 2030. It’s Time For Girls To Take Over.
“With just over a decade until the SDGs are due to be delivered, not one country on the planet has achieved full equality for girls, women, men and boys.”
Designing a Woman-Friendly City: Gender Mainstreaming and Urban Planning in Monterrey, Mexico
Monterrey is one of Mexico’s wealthiest cities and was voted Mexico’s “best city to live” in Mercer´s 2018 20th Quality of Living Ranking. Yet despite these accomplishments, the city hides many problems for the “regiomontanas”, as the city’s women residents are called.
STOP TRYING TO MAKE HOMOPHOBIA ETHICAL, MR. TRUMP
“Under the Trump administration’s new policy, domestic partnerships no longer qualify same-sex partners of foreign diplomats and UN employees to receive diplomatic visas for the U.S.”
Should Street Harassment Be Made Illegal? Young Feminists in Chile Say “Yes”
“Chilean women are increasingly mobilized and are now demanding change in the fight to ban street harassment,” argues Chilean analyst and social psychologist Tamara Drove.
Commentary Issue 6
Performing the “Just Princess Warrior” Symbolism and Strategy in Femen’s Emancipatory Activism
The naked feminist protest war seems far from over, argue WAF’s co-founder Sylvia Maier and NYY Center for Global Affairs Professor Jens Rudbeck.
Women in Venezuela: a Mirage Called “Feminist Revolution”
Women’s rights groups in Venezuela address the contradiction between the socialist pseudo “feminist revolution” and how women so often participate in their own oppression.
Another Social Media Is Possible: A Feminist One
“Facebook is not a space for much disagreement, I think the criteria ruling many groups on social media somehow follows the motto ‘show you are happy or go away'”, I once wrote, says media expert Flavia Fascendini.
Australia’s Fight for Marriage Equality
“The postal survey whilst ridiculously fragile and non-binding, provided an opportunity for change, which the community embraced wonderfully”, affirms Rachel Aitken, an LGBTQIA activist studying in Sydney.
Women War Reporters: A Rare Breed
“As a woman, a mother, and someone with a pre-war perspective, I could go where men could not, as well as tell stories most were not interested in telling.”
Airport Lawyering
“As an immigration lawyer and a person who has devoted her professional life to serving the public interest, I could not remain idle.”
Commentary Issue 5 (October 2016) Women and Health
My Country After Trump’s Election
The fear and despair that my closest friends felt after the 2016 presidential election didn’t hit me right away. I hugged my colleagues and friends tight throughout the day on November 9.
How a Trump presidency could harm women’s health worldwide
Major international women’s health networks are readying for a battle against the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump, which they fear will seek to block support for women’s reproductive rights worldwide.
A Call for Action: Legalizing Abortion in Cases of Rape and Incest
According to official statistics, 600,000 new pregnancies occur every year in Peru; 57% of which are unplanned and unwanted, often the result of sexual violence. As a result, more than 370,000 clandestine abortions are carried out every year.
Domestic Violence Reconceptualized
A change has emerged in the interpretation of government obligations on Gender Based Violence (GBV).
Commentary Issue 4 (June 2016) “Women and Migration”
Dangerous Migration: Women Search for Disappeared Relatives in Mexico
A high number of migrants have died or disappeared while attempting to reach the United States. These are the stories of the wives and daughters left behind.
Welcome to “Baby Jail”: Women Seeking Asylum in the United States
“Am I in prison?” This question was posed to me by a woman incarcerated at the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas, also known as “Baby Jail.”
Commentary Issue 3 (March 2016) ‘Women and Environment”
Where women and climate change meet: the gendered impact of natural disasters
Pre-disaster conditions, such as the gendered division of labor and control over assets, expose women and girls disproportionately to risk.
My Un-gendered world
The courageous voice of a young woman as she shares her vision – through a poem – of an un-gendered world and what would that look like.
The Gender Politics of David Bowie
While he might have not realized it at the time, Bowie, anticipated today’s continuing gender binary dialogue.
Climate Change Fuels Boko Haram
Since its emergence in 2009, Boko Haram has killed 20,000 people and forced over 2.5 million Nigerians from their homes.
Commentary Issue 2 (November 2015) “Gender-Based Violence”
Gendered Nationalism in Central Asia
In Turkmenistan, least globally integrated state of Central Asia, the survival of national identity generates through women.
After Baghdad, Beirut, and Paris, the Refugee Crisis Urges a Feminist Critique
It is necessary to query the way the DAIISH challenge is addressed by Western societies.
Commentary Issue 1 (August 2015) “Global Challenges to Women’s Rights”
The Need for More to Combat Campus Rape
Brought to national attention recently through the efforts of activists and legislative initiatives, this topic has become increasingly complex as colleges and the country at large react to the phenomenon. In many ways, an article that was meant to legitimize anti-rape activism ultimately had the opposite effect.
Hard-Won Gains by Afghan Women Are at Serious Risk
Afghan women have made enormous progress since the overthrow of the fundamentalist Taliban regime almost fourteen years ago. However, as domestic and international priorities have changed, and without sustained pressure and continued financial support from the international community, these hard-won gains are at serious risk of being reversed.