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Navigating Gender-Based Violence in Indonesia
By Dewi Aryanu, community organiser, Indonesia  Trigger Warning: Sexual harassment, sexual violence “Why did you take off your hijab? I sent you to live in a pesantren (Islamic boarding school) so that you know to…
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Everyday is women’s day
A conversation with Makoma Lekalakala, Earthlife Africa  What is the state of organising by women in your sector and context? I respect women, particularly South African women because they don’t ever wait for Women’s Day…
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International Women’s Day in Mexico City: A mega-march against the patriarchy
By Laura Carlsen   The International Women’s Day march in Mexico City was one of the largest in the world in recent years. After receding during the pandemic, the traditional mobilisation returned in 2023 stronger…
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What’s Next for Malawi’s New Dawn?
A few weeks ago, chief opposition leader, Lazarus Chakwera was appointed as the new president of Malawi, generating new expectations and renewed hope. Following the election, we asked our allies to reflect on the significance…
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Fighting for Abortion Access amid Bans & Gag Rules
In 2019, anti-abortion groups and their political allies have launched of a full-scale war on abortion access and rights. This year alone, nine U.S. states have passed early abortion bans. Among them, Alabama has gone…
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How I became bold – Meet Marg VeneKlasen
When I first sat down to interview Margaret VeneKlasen, I was very nervous. I wondered whether it was even appropriate to ask this 90-year-old woman with an inspiring legacy this simple question, “Marg, how did…
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Women and the Migration Crisis
By Audrey Lopez Valdivia “Asylum was never meant to alleviate all problems — even all serious problems — that people face every day all over the world.” This is what U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions…
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Safe Spaces Across Contexts: Comparing Southern Africa and Corporate America
Written by Veronica Espaillat Gender inequality manifests around the world in vastly different forms because of distinct underlying roots and causes. Take for example the case of the United States versus the Southern African region.…
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The Politics of K-Pop
Written by Lina Han Five years ago, I visited Korea as part of a cultural program where I spent several days immersed in a South Korean high school regimen. Classes were heavily lecture-based with minimal…
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What Women Crossing the Line Means to Me
Four years ago, a young girl – Januba – from an impoverished family in a village in Tamilnadu, a province in the heart of southern India, finished middle school thanks to the determination and sacrifice…
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Tripping Over Inequality
Kicking off 2015 with an odd bang, the African Union (AU) both commited to an agenda of women’s empowerment and elected 90 year-old Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe as chair – despite international criticism of his…
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Apparently women have achieved equality—who knew?
This. This interview pulled at almost every one of my emotions—laughter, confusion, anger, frustration, and sadness BUT, it missed happiness. Watch the video, but if you can’t now here is a quick synopsis, although I…
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Is a Woman’s Place only in the Home?
I got married at the height of the Cambodian peace rallies last year. During this time, the women’s groups in the peace rallies formed a volunteer paramedic team and I immediately joined. But, this decision…
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Reflections from an “African Youth”
Where to start? … Over a week ago, I attended a dialogue—The Importance of Youth Leadership in Africa: A Discussion with Young African Leaders, hosted by Congresswoman Karen Bass. Catchy title, but I wish I…
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Remembering Women in Zimbabwe’s Land Reform
A few weeks ago, I attended a discussion on Land Grabbing in Zimbabwe. As a Zimbabwean who grew up on a farm, I assumed I knew everything there was to know about this issue. Yet,…
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Now that I´m Sixty-Five: celebrating HERstory
Translated from Spanish by Kiona Medina. On January 26, 2013, I turned 65. Instead of getting depressed because I´m now officially a senior citizen or worse still, an “elderly” woman, I decided to celebrate this…
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Blaming the Victim Sparks Outrage in Indonesia
“Sometimes it can be intentional. They do it for fun and then the girl alleges that it’s rape. Cases of teenage rape are sometimes the victims’ fault.”   – Minister Mendikbud Nuh, Indonesia’s Education Minister…
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Still a Long Way to Go for Malaysian Women?
There is no need for a women’s rights movement in Malaysia. This recent pronouncement of Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has earned the ire of feminists and social activists in Malaysia.  Ironically, Prime Minister…
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The slippery business of gender equality
Last week, in the typical last-minute dash to finalize an excruciatingly detailed, mammoth end-of-grant report for the last 3.5 years, my task was to “churn” a response to this zinger of a donor question: “What…
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On Valentine’s Day, chocolate is no substitute for my rights
It was raining this morning when I read the news: my country’s Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) reinstated the 2009 ban on the sale of emergency contraceptive (EC) pills, arguing that EC is “incompatible with…
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Citizen action and the perverse confluence of opposing agendas
When opposing political interests are using the same terms and tactics in diametrically opposed agendas, Lisa Veneklasen asks how we can transform the power of citizen action into sustained change for justice and equality. What…
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Putting gender justice into alternative economic agendas
In 2010, many of us across the JASS community are thinking about how to define and promote economic democracy as a critical element of our gender justice efforts, and any equality effort for that matter.…
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Microbicides – HIV prevention in women’s hands!
Lisa Veneklasen, JASS Executive Director, celebrates the news and congratulates JASS board member, Lori Heise:   I wanted to share some great news from our fellow JASS-ist, Lori Heise. As many of you may know,…
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JASS at the US Social Forum
We’re in Detroit where more than 8000 grassroots and union organizers and activists of all stripes are debating, performing, strategizing. It’s an awesome multigenerational, multiracial, multi-everything mix with great vibes, smart politics and incredible T-shirts.…
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Give me back my movement!
“We must involve the bosses. We can not move without them. The bosses are our partners. Many of them are just victims of the system too. Most of the employers mean well. All we need…
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