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Feminist Majority Political Report
HERE'S THE BEST FROM THE FEMINIST NEWS WIRE
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The Vote 4 Equality campus campaign kicks off in battleground states
The Feminist Majority is thrilled to kick off our Vote 4 Equality Campus Campaign, with our teams of dedicated Campus Organizers hitting the ground running! We're on 41 campuses in 8 battleground states and growing every day, ready to mobilize and educate students about the critical issues at stake in this election. Our teams of Campus Organizers will be able to reach over 978,000 students in key states to get out the vote for equality! Those students could make all the difference in this election.
From gender equality to reproductive freedom, civil rights, climate change, gun reform, and LGBTQ rights, our organizers are passionate about ensuring that every student's voice is heard on these vital issues. This election is pivotal, and we're committed to empowering the next generation of voters to make informed decisions that shape the future. But we need your help! Go to feministmajority.org [[link removed]] to join us.
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Two Pennsylvania campus organizers ready to get to work!
Equalitea at the DNC Draws Hundreds of Feminists
MADELYN AMOS | AUGUST 27
As the Democratic National Convention opened last Monday in Chicago, the excitement and enthusiasm in the air were unmistakable. At the iconic Palmer House Hilton, the Feminist Majority and ERA Coalition hosted the Feminist Equali tea , bringing together a diverse and dynamic crowd and filling the historic State Ballroom with more than 400 passionate advocates for equality. There was a coalition of seasoned activists and eager newcomers alike, all united by a shared commitment to ensuring women and young voters are the difference-makers in the 2024 election.
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Feminist Majority's dedicated volunteers!
The event kicked off with inspiring opening remarks from Zakiya Thomas, President of the ERA Coalition. “If you’re a woman, if you’re a woman of color, racism and sexism come together so much and we have been oppressed for so long, that we don’t even realize we’ve been marginalized in so many ways,” said Thomas.
Lisa Ann Walter, beloved star of the hit show “Abbott Elementary,” offered a comedic, yet heartfelt, perspective on the importance of the ERA, using humor to underscore the serious need for gender equality in today’s world. The excitement only grew as Feminist Majority President Ellie Smeal and Executive Director Kathy Spillar took the stage to celebrate Kamala Harris’s historic candidacy and the progress made toward enshrining the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) in the Constitution.
As the program unfolded, a stellar lineup of speakers took the stage to emphasize the stakes in this election and what we must do to secure victory. We were joined by Carol Jenkins, Chair of the ERA Coalition, and polling expert Celinda Lake who provided key insights, highlighting how issues like abortion rights and women’s equality are driving women voters across the country to the polls. We even had a surprise appearance by Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi to energize the crowd!
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Rep. Ayanna Pressley speaks on the importance of the ERA.
Civil rights icon Dolores Huerta and Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis took the stage to underscore the vital role of mobilizing Latina voters and the Honorable Betty Yee followed with a compelling discussion on energizing AAPI women voters. A standout moment of the event was hearing from Holli Holliday, President of Sisters Lead Sisters Vote, and Melanie L. Campbell, CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, who both spoke passionately about the mobilization of Black women voters—a group that has consistently been at the forefront of social and political change in the United States.
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Reproductive justice takes center stage at the DNC
MADELYN AMOS | AUGUST 27
As abortion remains a critical concern for voters across the country, the DNC seized this opportunity to prove that abortion rights are a cornerstone of Kamala Harris’s platform. “It was abortion that made a huge difference in race after race [in 2022],” noted Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, a top Democratic polling firm. “In well over half the races, it was the issue of abortion that increased turnout of Democrats and younger voters.” Harris’s campaign has embraced this issue, using the DNC to reaffirm her commitment to restoring and expanding reproductive healthcare access throughout the country.
On the first day of the convention, three reproductive justice activists took the stage to share their personal stories, illustrating the devastating impact of restrictive abortion bans. Kaitlyn Joshua of Baton Rouge recounted how she was refused treatment for her miscarriage because doctors feared the criminal consequences of Louisiana’s strict abortion ban. “I was in pain, bleeding so much my husband feared for my life,” Joshua said during her emotional testimony. “No woman should experience what I endured, but too many have.” Her husband added, “I am here tonight because the fight for reproductive rights isn’t just a woman’s fight. This is about fighting for our families, and as Kamala Harris says, ‘Our future.’”
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Kaitlyn Joshua and her husband tell their story.
Hadley Duvall, a Kentucky native, shared her own harrowing experience to emphasize the necessity of reproductive healthcare. “I was raped by my stepfather after years of sexual abuse. At age 12, I took my first pregnancy test and it was positive,” said Duvall. “That was the first time I was ever told, ‘You have options.’ I can’t imagine not having a choice, but today that’s the reality for many women and girls across the country because of Donald Trump’s abortion bans.”
As Kamala Harris accepted the nomination for President, she didn’t mince words about the country’s future under Trump and his allies. She laid bare their agenda: limiting access to birth control, banning medication abortion, enacting a nationwide abortion ban, and forcing states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions. “Simply put,” she said, “they are out of their minds.” Her promise as President was clear and unwavering — to sign into law a bill that would restore reproductive freedom across the nation. With abortion rights as a cornerstone of her platform, Kamala Harris made it clear that under her leadership, the battle for reproductive freedom would be relentless, ensuring that every woman has the right to choose and control her own future.
Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, emphasized this commitment, declaring, “Kamala Harris has her own project for 2025: restoring reproductive freedom.”
Taliban’s New Law Prohibits Afghan Women from Speaking in Public and Mandates Full Body Covering
MAKHFI AZIZI | AUGUST 30
The Taliban’s new law on the Propagation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice marks another severe regression in the human rights and freedoms of Afghan women. It confirms and expands the Taliban’s oppressive measures that the regime has imposed since its return to power in August 2021.
The new law enforces strict restrictions on women’s dress codes, forcing Afghan women to fully cover their bodies and faces in public spaces. The new law also prohibits women from speaking in public, effectively erasing Afghan women’s presence. The regulation also bans any form of tight clothing, forcing women to dress in a manner that entirely conceals their body shape.
The new law, reportedly authored by the Taliban’s supreme leader Hibatullah Akhundzada, marks another step in the Taliban’s systemic erasure of women’s presence from public life in Afghanistan: Afghan women must neither be heard nor seen.
The new law is aimed at fully silencing Afghan women. Women’s voices must be heard.
In a further attempt to strip Afghan women of their humanity, the new law mandates that women’s voices must be “concealed” or in other words, silenced, to prevent tempting men. The law labels women’s voices as “intimate” and suggests that anything intimate should neither be seen nor heard in public. Under these restrictions, women loudly reciting the Quran (Muslim’s holy book), speaking, and singing are forbidden.
In the law, it is stated that “when an adult woman leaves her home out of absolute necessity, she is obliged to conceal her voice, face, and body.”
This decree not only bans women from public speaking but also silences their participation in all aspects of public life. Recently, the Taliban’s state TV silenced an Afghan woman journalist on air, when asking a question from a live press conference with Taliban officials. Afghan women took to social media, recording themselves singing and reading poetry in defiance of the Taliban’s new decree. Many powerfully shared that their voices are not a source of shame, cannot be silenced, or treated as “intimate.”
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Harris and Walz accept the nomination.
Governor Tim Walz: A Champion for the ERA and Reproductive Justice
MADELYN AMOS | AUGUST 7
The Feminist Majority is thrilled with Vice President Harris’ choice of Gov. Tim Walz for her running mate. As a longtime supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and reproductive rights, Walz is the type of leader we need, and deserve, as Vice President.
Walz’s career is a testament to his commitment to gender equality and social justice. After working as a high school teacher for decades, Walz was elected to Congress back in 2006, where he co-sponsored a joint resolution re-introducing the Equal Rights Amendment. His dedication to ensuring equal legal rights for all people, regardless of sex, has been a cornerstone of his political journey.
As Governor of Minnesota, Walz has been a relentless advocate for reproductive rights. In response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade , he enshrined the right to abortion [[link removed]] and other reproductive healthcare in state statutes, making Minnesota a safe haven for reproductive healthcare. By eliminating nearly all restrictions previously placed on abortion access by Republican lawmakers, Walz has positioned Minnesota as a leader in protecting reproductive freedoms.

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