After a scathing experience in one of India's top media houses, Meena Kotwal, a Dalit journalist, founded The Mooknayak, an independent online media outlet that reports on caste oppression and systemic violence against marginalized communities across India.
On March 25, the Islamic Republic of Iran began its four-year term as a new member of the United Nations’ Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) — “the principal global intergovernmental body dedicated to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment” — after being elected by secret ballot last year.
More than 80 women had their names and pictures posted without their consent on the app’s “deals of the day.” Rather than hosting actual transactions, the sole purpose of the app was to humiliate its subjects.
Women who participated in anti-CAA protests nearly two years ago continue to be targeted by law enforcement, bearing the full brunt of the security apparatus or facing aggressive intimidation.
The UN fact-finding mission on Venezuela documented physical and sexualized violence committed against women and girls who took part in anti-government protests, or who were perceived as dissidents, as activists and journalists are actively targeted by security forces under the Nicolas Maduro regime.
The growth in political representation of Black and trans women in Brazil's city governments has not gone unnoticed by right-wing parties, making them visible targets for racist and death threats and abuse.
While protests have seen unprecedented participation by young women, they have also been mired by sexual and gender-based violence against young women by the police. It is time for the international community to heed the call of Hong Kong-based activists and hold the government to account for this human rights crisis.
Women survivors of sexual torture under Augusto Pinochet's 17-year dictatorship in Chile never felt that the horrors suffered during that time have ever been adequately confronted, allowing his legacy to remain intact. Then his relative was appointed to a political role protecting women's rights.
Women Under Siege speaks with Masrat Zahra, a Kashmiri photojournalist and recent awardee of IWMF's Anja Niedringhaus Courage in Photojournalism Award, over the phone about her terrorism charge and the work she sees for herself ahead.
As the Caribbean and Florida have been pummeled by Hurricane Irma these past few days, people around the world have been desperate for news of their loved ones, while those stuck on battered islands and coasts with no electricity, no information on rescue activities, and little hope that their lives and property will make it through this A-bomb-level storm are left trying to find cell phones that work to learn what they can.