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.
National Journalists’ Day in Afghanistan: ‘We Aren’t Even Allowed to Laugh’
On National Journalists’ Day in Afghanistan, a female journalist in Afghanistan writes about how even women’s laughter is forbidden under the Taliban.
Male Guardianship Laws in Yemen Continue to Violate Women’s Rights and Freedom
In Yemen, a teenage boy can be a woman’s guardian—but she cannot be her own.
‘More Girls Will Get HIV in the Coming Days’: USAID Cuts Push Kenya’s Most Vulnerable Women and Girls Into Crisis
For years, USAID programs helped Kenyan women escape poverty and gender-based violence. Now, with funding gone, many fear the worst.
Canceling the Afghan Girls’ Scholarship Program Is a Political, Not Budgetary, Decision
The abrupt termination of U.S.-funded scholarships has left hundreds of Afghan women in limbo, facing deportation and the loss of their education. Photo: Paula Bronstein
Thousands March in Oaxaca Against Gender-Based Violence and State Repression
In a historic yet repressive march under Mexico’s first female president, thousands of women in Oaxaca took to the streets, demanding justice in a country where over 10 women are killed daily.
Child Marriage Destroys Girls’ Lives and Futures. When Will We Stop It?
This International Women's Day, in partnership with the Spotlight Initiative—the United Nations’ high-impact initiative to end violence against women and girls—Sarah Little calls on leaders to step up and take urgent action against child marriage.
How Girls in Tanzania Are Using Film to Fight for Their Rights
In partnership with the Malala Fund, Sheilla Kipuyo writes about how film can foster conversations about girls’ rights in Tanzania. Photo: Michael Goima / Malala Fund
Thousands of Syrian Children Denied Citizenship as Women Confront Outdated Citizenship Laws
With Bashar al-Assad gone, Syrian women demand a long-overdue fix to outdated citizenship laws. Photo: Qusai Alazroni / UNHCR
Kenya’s First All-Female Ranger Unit is Rewriting the Future of Conservation
On the frontlines of conservation, Team Lioness is safeguarding Kenya’s wildlife and shattering gender norms.
‘I Want Women and Girls to Know They Are Not Alone’: Susan Reichle on the Fallout of USAID’s Funding Freeze
Susan Reichle, USAID’s former highest-ranking Foreign Service Officer, sits down with More to Her Story to discuss the impact of the funding freeze—and what comes next for women and girls worldwide.
Under Taliban Rule, a Translator Works to Keep Knowledge Alive
Behind closed doors in Kabul, one Afghan woman defies Taliban restrictions by quietly translating knowledge into her native language, keeping education alive under gender apartheid.
How One Woman’s Beekeeping Defied War and Tradition in Yemen
Against all odds, Nawal Saleh turned beekeeping into a lifeline for Yemeni women, proving that resilience and entrepreneurship can transform lives.
The Battle to Make Marital Rape a Crime in India
As India’s Supreme Court deliberates on the criminalization of marital rape, women's rights advocates push to close a legal loophole that leaves millions unprotected from violence in marriage. Photo: Avishek Das
As ‘Hijab Clinics’ Become a New Norm in Iran, Women Detail Forced Psychiatric Detentions and Brutal Crackdowns
By labeling women’s acts of defiance as mental illness, the Islamic Republic of Iran is systematically delegitimizing their voices and deepening the crisis of gender oppression.
Pregnant at 13, a Mother at 14: The Teen Pregnancy Crisis in the Phillippines
In the Philippines, where cultural and legal barriers block access to reproductive health education, young girls are left to navigate pregnancy and motherhood alone. Photo: Reuters
New Report Reveals Systemic Failure to Protect Girls from Sexual Violence in Guatemala
A new report from Human Rights Watch reveals that Guatemala’s laws claim to protect girls, but in practice, they trap them.
The Rise of Women’s Football in the Middle East
From Saudi Arabia's million-dollar investments to trailblazing players in European leagues, women’s football in the Middle East is undergoing rapid transformation.
Why Women in the Mississippi Delta Are Dying from Preventable Cervical Cancer
Systemic barriers are denying women, particularly black women, in the Mississippi Delta access to the HPV vaccine and cervical cancer prevention.
In Pakistan’s Pashtun Communities, Honor Killings Persist Without Consequence
Honor killings in Pakistan’s Swat district claimed 99 women in five years—nearly double police records—while nationwide cases surged by 20% in 2024. Photo: Muhammed Muheisen / AP
‘They Come for Us First’: The Women Bearing Witness to Sudan’s Genocide
In Sudan’s Al Jazeera State, female medical staff risk everything—bearing witness to atrocities the world refuses to see. Photo: Zohra Bensemra / Reuters