Women

The Argentine Senate’s rejection of a bill to legalize abortion did not stop a Latin American movement, which is on the streets and is expanding in an increasingly coordinated manner among women’s organizations in the region with the most restrictive laws and policies against pregnant women’s right to choose.

“Family planning is not only a matter of human rights; it is also central to women’s empowerment, reducing poverty, and achieving sustainable development.” - Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund

Chile has a long history of student protests, normally mobilizing against the privatized education system put in place by the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. What’s happening today emerges from that experience, but with feminism at its core.

Women insurgents wearing the Zapatista’s iconic black balaclavas greeted thousands of women from over four dozen countries at the entrance to the Zapatista Caracol in the highlands of Chiapas under a vibrant banner reading “Welcome women of the world.” Kicking off the first International Political, Artistic, Sporting, and Cultural Gathering of Women Who Struggle surrounded by murals celebrating women’s resistance, Zapatista compañeras invited women from around the globe to commit to organizing to rise up and fight capitalism and patriarchy.

“Indigenous midwifery is not a new thing. It has always been here. We’re just beginning to bring those Indigenous perspectives forward again,” said Nicolle Gonzales, 36, a Navajo nurse midwife from New Mexico.

For four days in mid-January, women filled a Michigan courtroom to testify in the hearing of Larry Nassar. An abuser first and doctor second, Nassar ruined the lives of 256 women gymnasts under his medical care, many of whom came forward in court to give testimonies. The testimonies were empowering and tragic. They also highlighted how the outcomes of sexual assault cases often depend on how the judges handle them. In this courtroom, survivors found a rare ally in Judge Rosemarie Aquilina.