The Week in Women
India reserves parliament seats for women, abortion decriminalized in Western Australia, and new extreme laws targeting women in Iran
Hi readers, and welcome to The Week in Women, a rundown of this week’s major women’s rights stories from around the world. Here we go!
India’s government passed a bill to reserve one third of seats for women in the lower house of parliament and in state legislatures.
Former President Trump criticized Florida’s six-week abortion ban for being “a terrible mistake” and refused to commit to a national 15-week ban, despite appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices who made it possible to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Western Australia’s parliament decriminalized abortion and passed sweeping reforms to increase access to abortion care in the region.
Brazil’s Supreme Court opened a vote on decriminalizing abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy. The country currently only allows abortion in cases of rape, an evident risk to the pregnant person’s health, or if the fetus has no functioning brain.
Iran’s government enacted new extreme legislation many are calling “the hijab bill,” in which women can face up to ten years in prison for not complying with a conservative dress code.
Vassar College, one of America’s first women’s colleges, is being sued by current and former female professors for systematically being paid less than their male counterparts.
A Nebraska woman was sentenced to two years in prison for helping her daughter get an abortion. Her daughter was sentenced to 90 days in prison and two years of probation in July for taking the abortion pills.
The Feminist Foreign Policy Plus group, a UN caucus of 19 nations committed to gender equality and empowerment, made its first multilateral political declaration on advancing feminist foreign policy.
The Catalonia region in Spain will offer free period products at pharmacies starting in 2024 and will benefit more than 2.5 million people with periods.
…and that’s it for now. Have a great week ahead!
xx Tamar + Jill
The Week in Women comes to you thanks to research from Tamar Eisen (she/her/hers), an advocate for reproductive justice and gender equity. She lives in New York City where she works for the Center for Reproductive Rights and teaches yoga.