Features
Women Caught In The Crossfire Of The Drug War In Ecuador
TV shows often depict women involved in drug trafficking as the cartel leaders or bosses. However, like many other industries of power, women are workers who stand at the lowest level.
“The Green Scarf, Emblem Of The Struggle For Legal Abortion, Has Already Transcended Borders,” Mariela Belski, Amnesty Argentina.
“Women’s struggle for autonomy over their bodies and their lives transcends any political, social and religious dispute,” affirms Mariela Belski from Amnesty International Argentina.
A Warning In the Face of Possible New Quarantines: Actions to Prevent Gender Violence
“Violentadas en cuarentena”, published en Distintas Latitudes, is a regional collaborative research carried out in 19 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean on violence against women for reasons of gender during the quarantine by covid-19.
Female Journalists Covering Mexican Feminist Protests Face Harsh Police Response
In recent months, covering such protests has become increasingly fraught with danger as police respond with overbearing force, intimidating, corralling, and harassing protesters.
Portraits: Girl Activists From Around The World Talk About Freedom Online
Abuse and harassment driving girls off Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, according to the largest global survey on online abuse showing that one in five girls (19%) have left or significantly reduced use of a social media platform after being harassed.
Kenyan Girls Face FGM And Early Marriage After Schools Closed Amid COVID-19
The closure of all schools in Kenya including some rescue centers where girls had sought refuge after running from their families who wanted to force them to undergo FGM or get married has taken the country a step back in the fight against these traumatic, painful cutting practices.
“Only for the Brave? Uncovering Your White Supremacy”
“White supremacy applies to you, to me, to all in a white-centered society,” affirms Darcia Narvaez, Professor of Psychology of the University of Notre Dame.
“COVID-19 Causes Surge in Violence Against Girls and Women in Latin America and the Caribbean”
“Widespread lockdowns have resulted in horrific conditions where girls and women have no one to turn to and nowhere to go. They are trapped. A catastrophe is unfolding in Latin America,” said Debora Cobar from Plan International.
“Two Of My Children Were Fathered By Sex Tourists”
In the Dominican Republic, girls as young as 12 are exploited for sex year-round by tourists from North America and Europe. This is what happened to Punta Cana-native Ana, when she was just 17.
A Powerful Chilean Feminist Street Protest is Rocking The World
The feminist group LasTesis collective, from Chile protested on International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women and their struggle is replicated all over the world
Kenya: Periods of Shame
Across Sub-Saharan Africa, access to menstrual products is still a big problem for many girls who choose to avoid school because they can’t afford tampons or sanitary napkins.
The Dark Secret Of Lake Malawi: Trading Sex For Fish
Along the lakes of Malawi and Kenya, men catch fish and women sell the fish. But there’s a controversial practice that’s part of the business.
Features from Issue 6 “Urban Feminism”
How Vienna Designed A City for Women
The whole idea of designing a city that works for women as well as men started in Vienna.
Everyone Has An Equal Right to Access Public Spaces—That’s Why They’re Called “Public”
In Sydney most young women experience street harassment on almost a daily basis.
Montreal: Confronting the Sexist City
Kathryn Travers from Safer Cities discusses how women activists made Montreal a safer and more inclusive city.
The Perils of Saying ‘Me, too’ in Egypt
“After participating in Safer Cities for Girls, I’ve become a different person,” says Nada. “It’s increased my self-esteem and self-confidence. Now when I walk down the street, I’m no longer frightened because I know how to protect myself.”
#MeToo, Say Domestic Workers in the Middle East
While the #MeToo outcry is exposing sexual harassment mostly in the West, we must remember that abuse, often by employers, happens across the globe, writes Rothna Begum.
Many Venezuelan Women Who Flee Crisis at Home Turn to Prostitution Abroad
Venezuelas migrants Reina, Sofía y Karol are hoping to acquire legal status in Ecuador where prostitution is illegal. These are their stories.
Meet The Courageous Women Fighting FGM In Maasai, Kenya
“When I was 13 years old, my parents organized the FGM ceremony without my knowledge”, says Nasieku who later became a fierce fighter of this practice.
A Dialogue On Abortion in the US
“We can’t hope for better legislation on abortion If we don’t have an accurate conversation about it,” affirms Columbia Professor Carol Sanger.
Gold-For-Sex is increasing in the mining regions of Kenya
Stories about vulnerable women who sleep with fishermen in exchange for fish.
Scapegoated: Mexico’s Broken Justice System and its Impact on Women
Mexican women pay a heavy price when they become caught up in the country’s broken justice system
Ni Una Menos Attracts Thousands of Protesters in Rally’s Third Year
“It is fundamental to work with education and break through stereotypes and social mandates,” says Casa del Encuentro, a local women’s rights NGO
Estereotipas: The Hilarious Group That is Challenging the Conversation on Gender Equality
Through their hilarious and irreverent web series, Estereotipas started the conversation about gender equality and feminism in Latin America.
Features from Issue 5 (October 2016) “Women and Health”
Healthcare: A Privilege Refugees in Lebanon Cannot Afford
Female refugees carry the additional load of responsibility for reproductive healthcare. Pregnant women and mothers feel responsible for their health and that of their fetus and children, and often feel helpless in the face of this double and triple burden.
Global Lessons for Sex Education in America
While the United States is caught in a partisan divide over sex education, other countries are taking the lead.
The Importance of Physical Activity for Women in the Arab World
Physical inactivity, a major risk factor for poor health and chronic disease, is becoming increasingly prevalent in high-income Arab countries – and its consequences fall particularly heavily on women.
Websites and Apps Are Changing the Way Women Obtain Birth Control
Through various apps and websites, women are now able to fill their prescriptions through a few simple clicks of the mouse or taps on their smart phones.
The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Latinas in the U.S.
Despite the marked gains in coverage and access since the passage of the ACA, Latinas in the U.S. continue to be much more likely to be uninsured than other U.S. women.
The Stigma of Breastfeeding in France
French women just aren’t that into breastfeeding. Studies make French women rank among the least likely to breastfeed in Europe.
Yazidi Women Surviving Daesh: Between Psychological Traumas and the Struggle to Reintegrate to Society
Despite the liberation of many Yazidi women kidnapped by Daesh, most of them return with deep psychological problems.
The Other Refugee Crisis
Central American women and children, who are victims of domestic violence, child abuse, extreme poverty, state neglect, and terrorization in their home countries flee for their lives to their northern neighbor daily.
Refugee Poker
The news last month that Kenya would be closing the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab, and repatriating its 350,000 residents by November prompted two reactions – complete shock or dismissal.
Uganda: Refugee Women Create Economic Opportunities
Congolese women refugees are creating a vibrant bitenge market in Uganda and give back to their new homeland.
The Difficulties of Being an LGBT Refugee in Germany
The needs of one community within the refugee community, in particular, demonstrates the inadequacy of a cookie-cutter approach to the asylum process.
Israel’s Forgotten Refugees: African Asylum-Seekers Trapped in Limbo
According to official statistics, there are currently 42,000 asylum seekers in the country-more than 30,000 of whom are Eritrean.
Challenges for Migrant Women in Argentina
Argentina has seen the pattern of migration change in recent years. Among the current wave of newcomers are women who come seeking a better life than they have in their home countries.
No Refuge: Australian Detention Centers on Nauru
Nauru is a tiny, barren island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 2,800 miles from Australia and far from international scrutiny. Refugees are housed in the community on temporary visas, where they frequently suffer violence and discrimination.
Migrant Domestic Workers: Overworked and Underprotected
Millions of women migrate as the sole breadwinner for their families to work as domestic workers abroad. With few employment opportunities at home, this is often a choice of last resort.
Out of Nepal: Women’s Labor Migration
In 2011, there were over 237,000 Nepali women working outside of Nepal, about 12 percent of the total number of the 2.2 million Nepali migrants.
No Escape from Suffering: Syrian Refugee Women in Beirut
Hamra Street, historically regarded as the heart of the Lebanese capital, Beirut, has been recently populated by Syrians, including large numbers of women and children, who have fled war in their country only to face the harsh realities of working or even living in the streets of Beirut.
Dundee: The Caring City in the Refugee Crisis
A small group of young women in the city of Dundee began a movement that has catapulted the city to the vanguard of Scotland’s humanitarian response.
Empowering the Daughters of Migrant Workers in India
In a country in which women and girls suffer legal and societal discrimination, the daughters of migrant workers face particular challenges.
Health and Environmentalism in a Bronx Classroom
An innovative and effective science program with an emphasis on the environment, including growing and distributing fresh and healthful food to its students.
Philippines: From Victims to Life Savers
A story about empowering women in times of natural disasters in the Philippines.
Battling Climate Change in Rural China
Mrs. Ma and Liu Juan are two of the many women affected by climate change in China. Their stories of how they are fighting against natural disasters.
Women in Nepal Bear the Brunt of the Water Crisis
Women in the remote villages of Nepal’s Upper Mustang region struggle with erratic weather patterns and water scarcity.
The Fight Against Mining in Peru
Mining’s negative effects are felt by all members of the surrounding communities, but it is women who face the greatest social, economic, and physical impacts.
Women in Uganda are Leading Climate Change Adaptation
They are working at the frontline of climate change adaptation, though most don’t even realize it.
A Place To Recover: Creating Female Friendly Spaces in Post-Earthquake Nepal
Female Friendly Spaces are just one place in which Nepali women are seeking rehabilitation and recovery after the last devastating earthquake, while learning how to wage a longer fight against gender disparities.
Dangerous Work: Female Journalists in Mexico
“We are living in a state of total impunity: there are no investigations, no one in jail, no reparations made”, says Mexican journalist Laura Castellanos.
Children Having Children in Guatemala
What follows are three stories of girls —children themselves— who have been sexually exploited by coercion or outright violence in Guatemala and become young mothers while barely in their teens.
South Africa Slow to Respond to Cases of “Corrective Rape”
The acceptance of open displays of homosexuality in Thokoza, South Africa, is a big change for a township that has seen many acts of violence against members of the LGBTI community.
Femicide in Argentina
On August 21, 2015, a news story broke in Argentina that shocked the country and received wall-to-wall television coverage. Fernando Farré, a successful executive, had stabbed his wife and mother of his three children to death.
The Bride Price Tradition in Papua New Guinea
Incidents of domestic violence are common in Papua New Guinea, a Pacific Island state of about 7 million people. But some cases are so horrific that they have made headlines in the country’s media.
Mozambique Struggles to Contain HIV Epidemic Among Young Women
Mozambique’s numbers reflect the frightening reality: Young women have become the main drivers of the region’s HIV pandemic.
Statistics on Women Stay Silent in Cuba
Alina Saborit, a dressmaker and entrepreneur, tells her story. It’s a story that began 49 years ago in the Eastern edge of Cuba.
Against All Odds: In Search of a Home Away From Home
According to the UNHCR, a majority of refugees come from war-torn countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq and Eritrea. Germany, the biggest economy in the region, has so far received over 500,000 asylum applications.
The Challenges Facing Young Women Refugees
Escaping war as a refugee is no one’s dream. Many teenage girls escaping Syria to neighbouring Lebanon must also specifically contend with child marriage, sexual violence and a host of new burdens and responsibilities.
The Fate of Yazidi Women Captured by ISIS
Buthaina is from the village of Kucho in Iraq’s northern district of Sinjar, near the border with Syria. She is a member of the Yazidi.
The Children Left Behind
It is a cold, rainy day in Chunchi, a canton in the Chimborazo Province in southern Ecuador. Eight-year-old Nicole has just arrived at school in Ramos Lomas, one of the rural communities in Chunchi.
A Victory in the Path to Maternal Health Care in Uganda
An average of 16 women die every day giving birth in Uganda, victims of a health system that lacks doctors, drugs and facilities. But it is Nanteza’s death that became a rallying point for health activists
A Dream Fulfilled, but the Grandmothers’ Search Continues
After nearly four decades of searching tirelessly and refusing to give up hope, Estela Barnes de Carlotto finally met her grandson for the first time on August 5, 2014. Estela’s daughter, Laura, had been abducted
Ignacio, Estela’s Grandson
I had reached a comfortable place in my life, I found out that I am really the son of a family who was ‘disappeared’ during Argentina’s last military dictatorship, and that my grandmother is Estela de Carlotto
Claudia, Estela’s Other Daughter
Claudia Carlotto, the coordinator of the National Commission on the Right to Identity (CONADI), personally gives DNA results to the hundreds of people that have come searching for their true identity.
Afghan ‘Girl Power’
“My first love is coding. People think that girls can’t code, but I forget about the war and conflict in Afghanistan when I’m coding,” said Nooria Ismaelzade, a 25-year-old student from Herat, one of Afghanistan’s largest cities located near the border with Iran.
Women’s Activism Bears Fruit: Landmark Victory for Farm Workers in Mexico
In March 2015, San Quintin field workers’ frustrations boiled over into a massive strike—a move driven in large part by the efforts and determination of female field workers.
Marital Rape in India
India’s legitimized rape – The world’s largest democracy refuses to criminalize marital rape. Priyali Sur reports.