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Welcome to the Feminist News Wrap by Impact, a Les Glorieuses newsletter. In addition to our monthly reported feature, we bring you a summary of all that’s making news in the world of women’s rights, from historic political decisions to the grassroots movements pushing for change.
Got a news item you think should be included in our wrap? Email us: [email protected].
You can also read Impact in French. You may be interested in our other bilingual monthly newsletter, Economics.
– The team at Les Glorieuses
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Abortion in Japan, Poland and Namibia; LGBTQ+ rights in Mexico and Italy; and more
POLAND: A pregnant woman has died in Poland after doctors decided to wait for her foetus’s heart to stop beating before treating her for sepsis. The death is the first to be linked to the country’s draconian abortion law, which was tightened last year to prohibit the termination of pregnancy in cases of foetal abnormality. It is today only legal in cases of rape, incest and endangerment of the mother. A lawyer for the woman’s family said doctors had adopted a “wait and see” approach when she was admitted to hospital, which had proved deadly. The case has been referred to prosecutors.
JAPAN: Japanese activists are calling on the government to legalise medical abortion. Termination of pregnancy is legal in Japan in limited circumstances such as rape or risk to the mother’s life. But the only legal method for abortions and miscarriages is curettage, which is not recommended by the World Health Organization. Japan is also one of eleven countries worldwide which requires third-party consent, usually from the pregnant woman’s husband, to perform a legal abortion. Currently, those who buy abortion pills online face up to a year in jail.
NAMIBIA: Namibia has held public hearings on reforming its abortion law. The legislation, inherited from apartheid South Africa’s Abortion and Sterilisation Act (1975), only allows abortion to save the life of the mother; in cases of severe foetal abnormality, rape or incest, or if the woman is deemed ‘mentally incompetent’. The current debate has been fuelled by widespread protests against gender-based violence in Namibia, which began last year under the hashtag #ShutItAllDown.
COLOMBIA: The Constitutional Court in Colombia could rule that the country’s restrictive abortion law is unconstitutional this month. Article 122 of the Penal Code prohibits women from voluntarily terminating a pregnancy, with a penalty of between 16 and 54 months’ imprisonment. Four of the nine magistrates are believed to be in favour of ruling against the law, leaving the court just one vote short of a majority on the issue. Abortion has been legal in Colombia since 2006 under three circumstances: risk to the mother’s life, rape or incest, or non-viable pregnancy. The hashtag on social media to pressure the court to decriminalise abortion is #CorteAbortoSí.
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IRELAND: Ireland will provide free contraception for women aged 17-25 from next year, the Ministry of Health announced in October. It is expected to be extended to all women of reproductive age in future. The scheme, which will be introduced from August 2022, will cover the cost of different types of contraception including injections, implants, contraceptive pills and patches and IUDs. It will also cover the cost of two consultations with a general practitioner to discuss contraception.
UNITED STATES: The United States will remain the only industrialised country in the world without paid parental leave after President Joe Biden’s administration failed to keep the measure in the government’s proposed social spending package. The budget for the package was cut in half, from the original US$3.5 trillion to US$1.75 trillion, to win support within the Democratic party. Three in four workers in the US do not have paid family leave, an issue which mainly affects women. In the absence of a federal mandate, nine states and Washington DC offer paid maternity leave or will bring it in over the next few years.
IRAQ: Women will have record representation in the new Iraqi parliament, following the implementation of a gender quota which reserves a quarter of seats for female MPs. More than 900 female candidates ran in the 10 October elections, while 97 were elected. This means women will hold 29% of the 329 seats in parliament, four points above the minimum required by law. The quota is part of the government’s response to the massive protests of October 2019.
AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban are continuing to deny secondary school education to girls, a situation that has been ongoing since mid-September, despite earlier promises to allow them to attend school from October. Human Rights Watch says the critical situation for girls and women has been exacerbated in recent weeks in rural provinces, where the Taliban are implementing harsh laws from the 1990s that prevent women from working, girls from studying, and all women from going out on the streets without a male companion.
MEXICO: The first health service for, and staffed by, transgender, transsexual, intersex and non-binary people opened its doors in Mexico City in October. The Comprehensive Trans Health Unit offers free services to guarantee access to health for the LGBTQI+ population. It provides consultations in general medicine, gynaecology, urology, psychiatry and endocrinology. The unit also has a special protocol for vulnerable and marginalised people, such as trans people living on the streets and migrants. A 2018 survey found that 76% of the LGBTQI+ population in Mexico felt uncomfortable in medical consultations, while 49.4% said they preferred to hide their orientation or gender identity.
ITALY: Italy failed in its attempt to pass a law criminalising acts of discrimination and incitement to violence against gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people. On October 27, under pressure from far-right sectors led by the League and Brothers of Italy parties, the senate rejected the “Zan Law” – named after its author, left-wing MP Alessandro Zan – in a 154-131 vote. The bill was passed by the Chamber of Deputies a year ago, but it will now have to be considered again from scratch. Italy does not recognise attacks on LGBTQ+ people as hate crimes and does not allow same-sex couples to marry or adopt children.
INDIA: India is one of the 15 most undernourished countries in the world, according to the Global Hunger Report 2021 released in October. Poor nutrition and household poverty in the country have been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic over the past year. Hunger and malnutrition are most likely to affect women: 53% of Indian women aged 15-49 were found to be anaemic in 2018. Meanwhile, 81.3% of women lost their jobs or had difficulty continuing working during the pandemic.
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This issue of IMPACT was prepared by Agustina Ordoqui, Heloísa Marques, Megan Clement and Steph Williamson from the team at Les Glorieuses.
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