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Hopeful News Stories for Women’s Rights from Around the World

by Xiaolin Li

Kaitlyn Luckow

Let’s be real, reading the news hasn’t been the most joyful activity for a lot of people recently. Good news stories are hard to come by, especially when they’re stories about women’s rights.

However, there’s always some light in the world, and recently there’s a whole beam of light in regards to news stories about women’s rights around the world. There are some major shifts taking place and new leaders emerging who are determined to make a difference in this world.

 So, let’s take a few minutes to celebrate some historical wins for women that have happened recently.

 

A New Congress Is Born

Earlier this month, a new Congress was sworn in in America and is the most diverse Congress in United States History.

The U.S. Congress is now made up of a quarter of women. Among these new women elected include the first two Muslim and first two Native American women ever elected.

The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives are also more diverse than any other time in U.S. history. As well as the most women represented in history, diversity has also been shown through immigrants, diversity of religious beliefs, and diversity of sexuality.

 

A Wall of Women in India

Earlier this month in India, five million women stood together to form a “Women’s Wall” in order to protest gender inequality. That right, FIVE MILLION. This means that this wall of women stretched for 385 miles.  

This wall was started by a teacher, Rakhee Madhavan, who wanted to start 2019 on a hopeful note. The protest took weeks to plan and was a joint effort of more than 176 political and social organizations.

The wall was to protest gender equality, specifically a religious ban that prevented women who were menstruating from entering one of the most sacred Hindu temples in the country. This ban is still in effect even though the Supreme Court ruled against it back in September.

As a result of this protest, there has been violent backlash from right-wing groups, but several women were escorted by police and were able to enter the temple while being kept safe.

Public Spaces Provide Free Menstrual Product

There have been a growing number of public spaces in the past few years who have opened up their doors and have started to provide free menstrual products for those that need them.

One such place is the Sebastopol Public Regional Library in California which began providing patrons with free menstrual products in both men’s and women’s bathrooms. The program is titled the Menstrual Equity Program.

This is on top of public schools who have also started to recognize the importance of providing free menstrual products for their students. There is even legislature in California and Illinois that will be put into effect this year that will make menstrual products mandatory in public schools. 

Another public area where providing free menstrual products is a trend includes the restaurant industry. Even Michelin star restaurants such as Oriole in Chicago have started to provide menstrual products in their bathrooms.

 

  

Have you heard any hopeful news stories recently in regards to women’s rights? Share them with us below or share them with us on our Instagram or Facebook pages!

 

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