Women's Rights News
Emboldened ‘manosphere’ accelerates threats and demeaning language toward women after US election
New Taliban decree bans women from medical training: ‘devastating decision’
With a Trump Presidency, Grave Threats to Reproductive Freedoms Expected
Ohio’s six-week abortion ban permanently struck down as judge upholds referendum
Texas follows Louisiana’s lead to reclassify reproductive care drugs as controlled substances
Abortion pills may be FDA’s first test under Trump
How Do I Protect My Privacy If I’m Seeking an Abortion?
Hope amid heartbreak for Amendment 4
Featured Charities for Women's Rights
The National Women’s Law Center fights for gender justice—in the courts, in public policy, and in our society—working across the issues that are central to the lives of women and girls. They use the law in all its forms to change culture and drive solutions to the gender inequity that shapes our society and to break down the barriers that harm all of us—especially women of color, LGBTQ people, and low-income women and families. For nearly 50 years, they have been on the leading edge of every major legal and policy victory for women.
Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights is a feminist fund that protects, strengthens and sustains women and transgender human rights defenders at critical moments. They intervene quickly when activists are poised to make great gains or face serious threats to their lives and work. They respond to requests from women’s human rights defenders within 72 hours and have funds on the ground within 1-7 days.
Legal Momentum is a national nonprofit organization that leads action for the legal rights of women. Our targeted litigation, education, policy advocacy, and research help to shape the laws and policies that affect gender equality and ensure that they are properly implemented and enforced. Successful initiatives include judicial education programs on the realities of sexual assault and domestic violence; successful advocacy for the Violence Against Women Act; and representing women who have been subjected to workplace discrimination with precedent-setting litigation.
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Ways to Take Action
- Raise your voice
- Whether you’re talking to your friends and family, or engaging with an advocacy organization, the most important way to be an advocate is speaking up. By raising your voice for women’s rights and gender equality, you can spread awareness and break down barriers.
- Support one another
- Every day since 2015, Ayah al-Wakil, a lawyer working at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza Strip, has gone to court to file cases on behalf of survivors of violence. Ayah participated in a training with the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights, supported by a UN Women/UNDP joint programme, to defend women’s rights at the Shari’a court, which deals with family matters codified in the Personal Status Law relating to marriage, divorce, child custody and inheritance. After her training, Ayah chose to remain at the Centre to continue working with survivors of violence.
- Share the workload
- Empowering women can start in your own home. From cooking and cleaning, to fetching water and firewood or taking care of children and the elderly, women carry out at least two and a half times more unpaid household and care work than men. As a result, they have less time to engage in paid labour, or work longer hours, combining paid and unpaid labour. Women’s unpaid work subsidizes the cost of care that sustains families, supports economies and often fills in for the lack of social services.
- Get involved
- Running in a local election, like Coumba Diaw in Senegal, or supporting candidates who understand women’s unique needs in your community is a critical way to ensure women’s rights. Despite growing up listening to a rhetoric that restricted women from participating in politics and public life, Coumba knew the importance of women’s leadership, and became the only woman Mayor in the Louga region of Senegal.
- Educate the next generation
- Youth activists around the world are stepping it up for gender equality. By empowering young advocates, and educating them about women’s rights, we can ensure a better future for all. In Kyrgyzstan, Aigul Alybaeva is doing her part to advance women’s rights and gender equality by supporting her daughter’s participation in a school-based programme that works to empower girls, generate inter-generational dialogues and change attitudes about child marriage.
- Know your rights
- Charo Mina-Rojas is a Colombian activist who works tirelessly to educate grassroots Afro-descendant communities of Colombia on Law 70 of 1993, which recognizes their cultural, territorial and political rights. Following the historic peace agreement in 2016, which ended the more than 50-year conflict between the Government of Colombia and Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Charo advocates for justice and equality for Colombia’s afro-descendent women.
- Join the conversation
- In 2017, we saw the power of social media campaigns in changing attitudes and raising awareness. By sharing your stories and amplifying the voices of others who do, you can make a difference. While the #MeToo movement and #TimesUp made waves in the United States, activists in other countries found the conversation met with some resistance. To keep the conversation going, six women’s rights activists in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia came up with their own hashtag and started a national campaign. Ana Vasileva, a women’s rights activist and a member of the feminist collective, Fight Like a Woman, and other activists kicked off a social movement in fYR Macedonia against sexual harassment, under the hashtag #СегаКажувам (#ISpeakUpNow).
- Give to the cause
- Every woman and girl deserves the opportunity to live a life free from violence and discrimination. Your donation can help UN Women break the cycle of violence, assist survivors, and drive economic inclusion and equal rights for women and girls everywhere.
- Donate now at donate.unwomen.org/en
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Recommended Media
India's Daughter is a documentary film directed by Leslee Udwin and is part of the BBC's ongoing Storyville series. The film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 23-year-old "Nirbhaya" who was a physiotherapy student. The documentary explores the events of the night on December 16, 2012, the protests which were sparked both nationally and internationally as a result of the attack, and the lives of the men before they committed the attack.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Finding Home is a unique documentary about trafficking, as the stories go far beyond the actual trafficking experiences. Finding Home shows in depth the struggle, growth, and challenges that come with trying to pick a life back up after it has been fragmented. Each of these three young women has a unique story with unique hurdles to overcome. The difficulties and complexities of learning how to deal with life after horrific abuse by slave owners and men looking to exploit sex with underage girls are unpacked in a way that communicates cross-culturally and proves the connectivity in the human spirit.
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV
Feminists: What Were They Thinking? is a 2018 documentary film directed by Johanna Demetrakas and starring Laurie Anderson, Phyllis Chesler and Judy Chicago among others. Women of different ages and backgrounds are interviewed by Demetrakas and a team of assistants on the subject of feminism, anchored in the book 'Emergence' with portraits published in 1977. Revisiting 1970’s photos of women that captured a feminist awakening, this film explores those women’s lives and examines the continued need for change.
Where to Watch: Netflix
