The Week in Women
Czech feminists are doing the most. Texas women speak out. And most Chinese women aren't going the three-child route anytime soon.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, April 2014
Hello, readers, and welcome to The Week in Women, a roundup of women’s rights news from around the world, followed by links to a few good features, long-form pieces, podcasts, and radio stories in the universe of gender equality, international human rights, politics, and whatever else is interesting on the internet.
Enjoy, subscribe (or upgrade your subscription!), and share.
What to Know
Last week in UnHerd, I wrote about the long tail of Trump’s Global Gag Rule — even though Joe Biden lifted it, the money still hasn’t come back, and women the world over are still not getting the contraception and care they need.
China now has a three-child policy, and the government wants Chinese women to have more babies — or, perhaps more accurately, the party wants to continue its long history of controlling women’s reproductive choices. Chinese women don’t seem interested. But some are worried that the policy could become less an allowance and more of a requirement the more the government descends into demographic panic.
Venezuela is failing to protect women, and a new book by a kidnapping and rape survivor is bringing the focus back on the country’s epidemic of violence against women and girls.
The Czech Republic’s rape laws, which require a threat of violence, are shockingly insufficient. Czech feminists are trying to change that.
Also happening in the Czech Republic: A potential change to a gendered name law that would allow women to use gender-neutral last names, instead of the traditional (and patriarchal) naming convention that identifies all women as someone’s daughter.
Malala is on the cover of Vogue.
Cristiana Chamorro is challenging Nicaragua’s authoritarian president Daniel Ortega. For her trouble, she’s been arrested and placed under house arrest.
A 5,000 year history of the gender gap.
Doing laundry (or playing the quarter slots) just got a little more interesting with Maya Angelou and Sally Ride on US quarters, part of the US Mint’s American Women Quarters Program. More women will be added through 2025.
The next chapter of the story of Afghan women does not have to be a tragedy.
Female workers are more likely than male ones to work in industries that expose them to potentially dangerous chemicals. Are companies poisoning the world’s women?
If Florida lifted its abortion restrictions, women would see some $6 million land in their pockets.
In states across the US, conservatives are trying — sometimes successfully — to ban transgender athletes from competing on the sports teams that match their gender identities. The justification is that girls’ sports need to be protected. That doesn’t have much of a basis in science, experts say.
Turkey keeps moving toward becoming an authoritarian misogynist Islamic republic.
Peru’s presidential election is neck-and-neck. Unfortunately, even the leftist candidate is an anti-feminist homophobe.
Algerian feminists are pushing their government to fully protect women, and are demanding that the government reconsider discriminatory divorce laws.
Women are literally cut out of the picture by a religious right-wing Haredi publication in Israel. The Israeli ultra-Orthodox are also facing waning political power, which would certainly be welcome news for anyone who values women’s rights, LGBT rights, or even basic education for children.
Texas passed a law outlawing abortion after six weeks of pregnancy — so two weeks after a woman’s first missed period, and before most women know they’re pregnant. Women in El Paso took to the streets in protest.
Also in Texas, high schooler Paxton Smith used her time as her school’s graduation speaker to give an impassioned speech defending abortion rights, noting that stripping women of our right to decide when and if to give birth also strips us of our right to determine everything about our futures.
The sperm crisis: True or false? (A new study says false).
The Catholic Church has re-written its laws on sexual abuse of minors. It’s a small step, although still wildly inadequate. And the Church is dealing with another crisis: The discovery of the remains of 215 indigenous children in Canada, children who were removed from their families, communities, and cultures to be indoctrinated (and often abused and neglected) by the Church in what some groups have called a “cultural genocide.” The Church has never apologized, and in 2018, Pope Francis flat-out rejected a request for an apology from Canadian PM Justin Trudeau.
With abortion rights under threat in the US, a group of progressive politicians will introduce legislation that would codify Roe v. Wade, keeping abortion legal even if the Supreme Court guts the case.
What to Read
The Tiger Mom and the Hornet’s Nest: For two decades, Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld were Yale Law power brokers. A new generation wants to see them exiled. [New York Magazine]
An American Education [N+1]
Take a Break
…and come on a writing retreat with me! (Yoga is on offer, too). Retreats are mostly listed here, and I’ve just added another one in California from Oct. 28 - Nov. 1, 2021. Daily yoga, daily writing workshops, wine tasting, hiking, nature, and lots of good stuff. Just hit reply to this email if you want more information, or want to sign up for other retreats in Costa Rica or Kenya.
And that’s it! If you’re enjoying this newsletter and want to support feminist-minded reporting and opinion writing, please do consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
xx Jill