We took a close look at the systems and structures upholding patriarchy this week.

Weekly Digest | October 26, 2019

Letter from an Editor

While the news cycle spun madly on this week, we kept our eyes on the issues impacting women across the country—and dug deeper into the challenges facing us in the fight for equality in every institution.

Some of our expert contributors called for order in the courts–issuing a warning about some of Trump’s latest ideologically-motivated judicial nominees moving toward confirmation, breaking down three current challenges to Trump’s domestic gag rule in circuit courts and examining what’s at stake as the Supreme Court takes on the June v. Gee case challenging anti-abortion laws in Louisiana.

Of course, we also made lots of time to talk politics. We celebrated the announcement that the next presidential debate would feature an all-woman panel of moderators, and then we took a look at the RepresentWomen Gender Parity Index ranking women’s political representation in the U.S. and each state. We sought out strategies for climate justice at the local level, called for Congressional action to protect pregnant workers and listened in while Gloria Steinem talked impeachment and Trump’s tweets.

In other pieces, we spotlighted gendered gaps in the criminal justice system—connecting the dots between gender parity in policing and law enforcement responses to domestic violence, calling out the use of solitary confinement in prisons for pregnant women and amplifying efforts to train formerly incarcerated women for jobs on the outside. And in an exclusive conversation with Ms., Black Lives Matter co-founder and Reform LA Jails founder and chair Patrisse Cullors called on feminists to envision a future without the prison-industrial complex.

In these stories and those below, the mission of Ms. rings true across conversations and across areas of increasing urgency. Each week, while headlines continue to take shape around the world, we’ll continue to be right here, where we’ve been for over 45 years—reporting, rebelling and truth-telling in order to make feminists perspectives louder and more powerful.

For equality,

Carmen Rios
Managing Digital Editor

More Must-Reads from Ms.

The Bahraini Government is Attacking Female Activists—and Trump's Policies are Emboldening Them

In 2017, Bahraini human rights defender Ebtisam AlSaegh found herself sitting in a dark room before a pair of chain smoking officers from Bahrain's National Security Agency. "No one is going to hear you in this place," sneered one of the men, who introduced himself as 'the torturer.' "No one can protect you here, not the Human Rights Council or any other organization. You know we have a green light from Trump, right?"

Calling Out Anti-Abortion Hypocrisy During "Respect Life" Month

The Trump administration's push to limit the discussion of reproductive health should not and can not be confused with genuine attempts to support families. It is time we reframe the dialogue. No one should be considered "pro-life" that does not care for a child's well-being or that of their family.

Depicting a Century of Change for Women

Where now? Where next? These are the questions that come to mind in viewing the National Geographic Society’s “WOMEN: A CENTURY OF CHANGE” exhibit.

Wakanda, Worldbuilding and Afrofuturism for a World Without Violence

To mark Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Wakanda Dream Lab and Resonance Network co-launched "Black Freedom Beyond Borders: Re-imagining Gender in Wakanda." Bringing together writers, artists and activists, the anthology is a collaborative act of solidarity with trans women of color, especially Black trans women and Indigenous women who bear the brunt of gender-based violence and erasure—including domestic violence.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie Warns Humanitarians About the Danger of a Single Story

"Nobody is ever just a refugee," Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie told the crowd Friday at the Conrad N. Hilton Humanitarian Symposium and Prize Ceremony. "Nobody is ever just anything. Nobody has a single story." No movement does, either, which Adichie opened up to Ms. about backstage after her address.

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