STORIES
From urgent investigations and breaking news to bold op-eds by global leaders, we bring you the stories shaping the lives of women and girls worldwide.
I’m a Refugee Woman. I’ve Seen the Power of Girls’ Education.
In her op-ed, UN Goodwill Ambassador Mary Maker reflects on how one girl’s education can ignite change for generations.
‘I’ll Dress How I Want’: Iranian Women Defy Hijab Crackdown Despite Rising Repression
Surveillance grows, businesses close, and arrests rise — yet Iranian women still step into the streets uncovered. Photo: Anadolu/Getty
They Were Nominated Twice for the Nobel Peace Prize. Today, They’re a Final Lifeline for Sudan Under Siege.
The Sudanese Emergency Response Rooms began as a volunteer collective administering emergency triage. Now they stand between survival and starvation for millions. Photo: UN Women
The Women Filling Rural Zimbabwe’s Maternal Care Gap
Traditional birth attendants in Epworth have supported more than 50,000 births, stepping in where the health system leaves pregnant teens behind. Photo: Minority Africa
On International Girls’ Day, I Am an Afghan Girl Holding Onto Hope
For Afghan girls, International Girls’ Day is not a celebration but a reminder of what has been taken — classrooms, futures, and freedom.
The Women of Gaza Remind Us That Hope Is a Daily Act
Beyond the ceasefire, Gaza’s women are rebuilding daily life—one meal, one classroom, one act of hope at a time.
The Kenyan Women at the Frontlines of Sea Turtle Conservation
A new generation of women is reshaping ocean conservation on Kenya’s coast, challenging cultural traditions and furthering scientific documentation. Photo: Olive Ridley Project Kenya
How Firearm Access Fuels Domestic Violence Tragedies
States with strong gun control laws had three times fewer incidents of domestic violence homicide-suicide, according to a new report shared with The 19th.
What 10 Women Peace Builders Want from the United Nations
At the 80 UN General Assembly, women peacebuilders from Sudan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen delivered a clear message: peace without women is no peace at all. Photo: Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security
Four Women Killed by Husbands in One Week Spotlight Egypt’s Femicide Crisis
Following a spell of femicides across Egypt in August, activists, legal experts and families are demanding urgent action.
To Rebuild Syria, Start With Women
As Syria rebuilds, lasting peace depends on whether women are given the power to shape it. Photo: Women for Women International
Most Men Want a Return to Traditional Gender Roles. Women Aren’t So Sure.
A new poll shows how men and women of every generation are divided over questions about who takes on which roles in the family. Photo: Emily Scherer for The 19th
Afghan Girls Face Uncertain Futures as Pakistan Deports Refugees
Legal advocates and international organizations warn deportations will trap girls in extreme restrictions under the Taliban unless urgent protections are adopted. Photo: Jamaima Afridi
The Bosnian Women Rewriting a Legacy of Violence
Once invisible in law and stigmatized in society, children born of wartime rape are now speaking out, turning personal trauma into a movement for justice and dignity. Photo: Odd Andersen / Getty Images
Inside the Houthis’ War on Women: Blackmail, Sexual Violence, and Forced Recruitment
An investigation into female Houthi security units reveals a systematic campaign of abuse against women in Yemen. Photo: Getty Images
Want Signs of Bipartisanship? In the House, Look to Women.
In the U.S. House of Representatives, women from opposite ends of the political spectrum have united on women’s health initiatives, banning congressional stock trading and releasing the Epstein files. Photo: Office of Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove
“If the Internet Is Cut Off, All Girls Will Remain Illiterate”: Taliban Ban Threatens Afghan Girls’ Last Lifeline
The Taliban are cutting off access to the outside world, severing Afghan girls’ last link to education and freedom. Photo: Petros Giannakouris/AP
Obstetric Violence Is Gender-Based Violence. It’s Time the Law Recognized It.
Just as the fight against domestic violence changed laws and lives, the same clarity is needed on obstetric violence: it is abuse, writes the executive director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. Photo: UN Women
In Taliban’s Afghanistan, Some Families Risk Everything to Keep Their Daughters Learning
Across Afghanistan, fathers, brothers and broadcasters are risking their lives to keep girls learning. Photo: Picryl
A Better World for Girls Begins With Raising Boys Who Believe in One
True progress demands that we also invest in boys, writes Room to Read’s Director of Girls’ Education and Gender Equality in South Asia.