Dear JOhn,

Life is changing but our collective commitment to protecting and promoting the rights of women and girls through the law is unwavering. See what our team of human rights lawyers and advocates worked on around the world in March to #MakeEqualityReality for women and girls. All thanks to your support.

VICTORY: Sierra Leone lifts discriminatory ban on pregnant girls attending school

This week, the government of Sierra Leone finally lifted the discriminatory ban that prohibits pregnant schoolgirls from attending school, heralding the beginning of a remarkable era for adolescent girls in the country. In the case we filed, along with partners Women Against Violence in Society (W.A.V.E.S) and Child Welfare Society, and in collaboration with the Institute for Human Rights and Development in Africa (IHRDA), the Court held that the policy was discriminatory against schoolgirls in Sierra Leone as it barred pregnant schoolgirls from attending mainstream schools; and only allowed them to get their education in “special” schools that operated three days a week and only taught four subjects.

Read more about this victory on our blog.

Harvey Weinstein sentenced to 23 years

Earlier this month, Harvey Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison. He is being held to account for harm he has done to so many women in a sustained pattern of abuse perpetrated over 4 decades. This was a watershed moment in society’s understanding that rape is an abuse of power and lack of consent. We extend our deep gratitude to the #SilenceBreakers for their unwavering courage in this fight.

New Equality Now Reports: Taking on systemic inequality

We released two important reports this month: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Call for a Global Response, and Words & Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing +25 Review Process. 

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Call for a Global Response

Equality Now, along with our partners (the End FGM European Network and the US End FGM/C Network) released this report which shines a spotlight on the presence of harmful practices in 90+ countries and calls for urgent action. The report is a call to governments, the international community, and donors to recognize FGM/C as a global issue, requiring urgent global attention. 

This week we held a webinar in honor of the report launch entitled: Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting: A Call for a Global Response. You can listen to the recording and hear the compelling conversation between activists, experts and survivors of FGM/C.

Words & Deeds: Holding Governments Accountable in the Beijing +25 Review Process

Our Words & Deeds report showcases the progress governments have made on legal equality in the last 25 years, as well as what still needs to be done to ensure legal equality in marriage, economic opportunity, personal status, and protection from violence. In conjunction with this report, we launched our Global Campaign for Equality in Family Law which will help deliver full equality for women and girls by achieving equality in the home. The recording of this launch event is now available and covers topics such as the global impact of discriminatory family laws, an analysis of the campaign by our program partners and the future of our shared global agenda.

#MakeEqualityReality Today:

Take action to protect girls in Thailand from being married off between the ages of 13 and 15 and stop impunity for their rapists!

Coming up next:

As we work to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the women and girls that we serve, Equality Now’s priorities are achieving gender equality in the long-term, monitoring the impact of COVID-19 on women’s and girls’ rights, and working with our networks to find solutions for women and girls whose vulnerabilities are being exacerbated by the pandemic.

Thanks to your support, we are already taking action and calling on governments to protect human rights and prevent the abuse of women and girls. We know women and girls will experience this crisis differently, whether through the burden of care or increased vulnerability to domestic violence, neglect, exploitation or harmful practices such as child marriage, female genital mutilation, and other gendered impacts. 

Equality Now in the News

From job bans to child marriage, countries told to scrap sexist laws

True numbers of FGM victims could be far higher as countries fail to record cases

Teen pregnancy risk rises as schools shut for coronavirus in Africa

From Abortion To Domestic Violence: How The Coronavirus Crisis Hits Women Hardest

Thank you for being a huge part of our work, which would not be possible without your constant support and activism.

In solidarity,

Bryna Subherwal
Advocacy Campaign Manager