Sudan to outlaw female genital mutilation
Sudan has one of the highest rates of FGM in the world. According to the UN, 87% of Sudanese women have undergone the practice.
Women's rights & well-being
This archive covers documented progress on women’s rights and well-being worldwide — from legal reforms and health advances to economic gains and shifts in policy. Stories here focus on what’s working, who’s driving change, and where meaningful progress is taking hold.
Colorado will replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day
Cabrini Day – recognizing Frances Xavier Cabrini who created 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the U.S. and South and Central America – will be the first paid state holiday recognizing a woman in the U.S.
Landmark ruling grants women equal rights in Indian army
The judgment, seen as a landmark decision for the Indian military, means that all women will now be eligible for the same promotions, ranks, benefits and pensions as their male counterparts, irrespective of their years of service or whether they had retired.
Katerina Sakellaropoulou becomes Greece’s first female president
A high court judge and ardent human rights advocate has been elected Greece’s first female president in a historic vote by parliament.
Women’s rights group eliminates female genital mutilation in Kurdistan’s Garmiyan region
On International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a women’s rights group active in the Kurdistan Region announced that zero cases of GM were reported in the Garmiyan Administration in 2019.
Mexico releases Latin America’s first “feminist foreign policy”
The policy aims “to reduce and eliminate structural differences, gender gaps and inequalities, in order to build a more just and prosperous society.”
Saudi Arabia is dropping gender rules for restaurant entrances
Saudi Arabia is ending the requirement that restaurants have two separate entrances: one for families and women and another for unaccompanied men.
Colombia’s capital city of Bogota elects first female mayor
Claudia López won the race for mayor of Bogota on a platform promising to combat corruption and advance equal rights for minority communities.
NASA astronauts successfully complete first ever all-woman spacewalk
Christina Koch and Jessica Meir completed the first spacewalk with an all-women team. Since cosmonaut Svetlana Savitskaya became the first woman to do a spacewalk in 1984, women have participated in 42 spacewalks.
Abortion decriminalized in Sydney after Australian lawmakers overturn 119-year-old law
Women will now be able to get abortions up to 22 weeks into their pregnancy without proving that their health will be impacted if they continue the pregnancy.