[[link removed]] Weekly Digest
Weekly Digest
Letter from an Editor | August 19, 2023
Dear John,
Two years ago this week, the lives of the women of Afghanistan changed overnight when the Taliban returned to power. In the years since, the Taliban has issued over 100 edicts restricting Afghan women and girls’ participation in public life—from prohibiting participation in education and jobs to banning contraception—and effectively stripping them of their most basic human rights. (You can explore a detailed timeline of the edicts at msmagazine.com).
“It has been two years and the future looks dark. It’s not being alive, and not being dead. We have permission for neither,” 18-year-old Farzana, who lives in Kabul, told Ms. Prior to the Taliban’s takeover, Farzana attended high school, where she ran track for her school team, and participated in a local NGO focused on leadership development for Afghan youth. Now, her ability to do those things has been taken away.
But as we know from history, as well as reports from the ground, the women and girls of Afghanistan are strong. And they haven’t stopped fighting back—taking to the streets to protest the restrictions at the risk of their own lives, with many arrested, tortured and killed. “I had the hope to be a great athlete and leader in the world—a leader for Afghan women. These are still my hopes and my goals, and even in this hard situation, I am doing my best to get an opportunity to find a university outside of Afghanistan,” Farzana said.
The Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women like Farzana is a violation of human rights: it’s gender apartheid, and it should be recognized as an international crime. Afghan and Iranian women are campaigning for the U.N. to officially recognize and sanction the restrictions imposed by the two countries’ regimes as gender apartheid. Head here [[link removed]] to support their efforts, and urge the U.S., the U.N. and the global community to take action, and not condone the continued violent oppression of Afghan women.
On a different front in the global war on women, the legal fight to preserve access to the abortion pill mifepristone continues in the U.S. This week the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (a court that is stacked with right-wing judges, many appointed by Trump) issued a ruling that dismisses a challenge to the FDA’s original approval of mifepristone—but that would also sharply restrict access to medication abortion nationwide and eliminate telemedicine abortion. Mifepristone has been safely used by millions of women in the U.S. in the decades since it was initially approved, and is used today in more than half of all abortions in the U.S. The case will now head to the Supreme Court.
“It is absolutely infuriating that we have judges overruling medical experts and patient and doctor experience to impose outdated restrictions on mifepristone that fly in the face of medical science,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.). “This has nothing to do with facts or science—it’s about ideology and controlling women’s bodies, plain and simple.”
Whether in the U.S. or globally, the fundamental goal of patriarchs remains the same: controlling women’s bodies. With so much at stake, feminists will not give up—and Ms . will be a source of ideas and strategies for fighting back.
Onward,
[[link removed]]
Kathy Spillar
Executive Editor
P.S. — Have you heard? Our new book— 50 YEARS OF Ms.: THE BEST OF THE PATHFINDING MAGAZINE THAT IGNITED A REVOLUTION [[link removed]] —is coming out in just one month! You can pre-order it now, from Amazon [[link removed]] , Barnes & Noble [[link removed]] , IndieBound [[link removed]] , or wherever you like to get your books.
This Week's Must-Reads from Ms.
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A Timeline of Horror: 100+ Taliban Edicts, Orders and Directives Denying Afghan Women and Girls Their Human Rights and Existence [[link removed]] Two Years After the Taliban Takeover, an Afghan Girl Is Holding On to Hope: ‘I Am Young, But I Am Everything for My Family’ [[link removed]]
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A Trump-Stacked Court Hopes to Limit Access to the Abortion Pill. The Final Decision Now Lies With SCOTUS. [[link removed]] Gloria Feldt and Kathy Spillar on Feminist Wins and Losses: ‘The Setbacks Have Only Awakened an Even Larger Giant Among Women’ [[link removed]]
[link removed] [[link removed]] Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on
Apple Podcasts [[link removed]] + Spotify [[link removed]] .
In early June 2023, for the second time in two months, Trump was indicted—this time on 37 felony counts for allegedly mishandling sensitive, classified government materials and obstruction of justice. What does this most recent indictment mean for Trump, the 2024 elections, and the future of American democracy as a whole?
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U.S. democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political participation and representation. For 50 years, Ms . has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you [[link removed]] . We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity .
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