Stories Archive

How abortion restrictions compare, state-by-state

U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade ends federal protection of abortion rights, leaving pregnant people to navigate a confusing patchwork of state laws. Our interactive map highlights five major restrictions in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

by Jessica Washington, Erica HensleyJul 5, 2022

The hidden toll of heat waves on women in South Asia

South Asia has endured an unprecedented heat wave, with March seeing the hottest temperatures on record in India. Evidence suggests the heat is landing a cruel double blow on women’s income and health.

Related: Reporter’s Notebook: Women’s invisibility in climate stories erase their narratives. The result is bad policy

by Disha ShettyJun 27, 2022

Co-published with Scroll

How a network of college students is preparing for post-Roe campuses

One drop-off at a time, college students are arming themselves with preventive emergency contraception — which could soon be one of the last legal chances to stop a pregnancy.

by Erica HensleyJun 24, 2022

Co-published with Reckon

Baby formula marketing practices are still too aggressive, WHO report finds

The baby milk formula shortage in the United States has overshadowed fresh scrutiny over the industry’s dubious marketing. Globally, experts warn that these companies have long employed predatory marketing in order to maximize the purchase of formula at the expense of breastfeeding.

Related: The loneliest lactation consultant in the world

by Melissa ChanJun 23, 2022

Co-published with Foreign Policy

The mental health crisis facing Black mothers in the South

Research on maternal and infant deaths disparities is now catching up to what many Black women already know: The difference in outcomes is not because of race, but racism. Black mental health advocates and providers in the South are using their own pregnancy-related tragedies to help a community heal.

Related: Why deaths by suicide often go uncounted in states’ maternal mortality studies

by Erica HensleyJun 16, 2022

Co-published with Reckon

Reporter’s Notebook: Women’s invisibility in climate stories erase their narratives. The result is bad policy

According to official government statistics, 75.7% of rural women in India are engaged in agriculture. But in article after article, farmers are often exclusively portrayed as men. With the changing climate hitting the agriculture sector hard, women’s invisibility in media coverage leaves their distress unacknowledged.

by Disha ShettyJun 13, 2022

From the Archives: Group that helps FGM survivors wins prestigious UK award. Meet the founder.

Stigma can stop survivors of female genital mutilation from seeking help, but Hawa Bah, who was cut at eight, reaches those suffering in silence to get them the care they need.

by Louise DonovanJun 3, 2022

Co-published with The Guardian

‘The smoke enters your body’: A toxic trash site in Kenya is making women sick

As rubbish piles up on a vast dumpsite, the women who sift through it for their livelihood are suffering reproductive health problems that scientists say have been overlooked.

Related: Air pollution’s impact on women’s health is not getting the attention it needs, scientists warn

by Louise Donovan, Moraa ObiriaJun 2, 2022

Published in partnership with VICE World News and the Nation

Violent crime victims in New York struggle to access funds due to them

A state fund designed to help the targets of physical attacks only reaches a small fraction of the people who need it most.

by Jessica WashingtonJun 1, 2022

Co-published with THE CITY

Financial Pandemic: As living costs spiral in Kenya, a mother sacrifices to spare family from ‘dire times’

With food prices soaring to over 12% over the past year, the economic repercussions of the pandemic are being heavily felt across Kenya. Women are particularly vulnerable.

by Agatha GichanaMay 20, 2022

Co-published with the Nation

Financial Pandemic: ‘Sri Lanka is not a country for poor people now’

Cooking has become an act of danger for a Sri Lankan woman who can no longer afford to safely heat her stove. As gas prices more than double, kerosene and firewood, more affordable but hazardous, are the next viable option. Read Feroza Hussein’s story on how the country’s economic crisis has permeated all aspects of her life.

by Rathindra KuruwitaMay 20, 2022

Co-published with the Nation

Financial Pandemic: 'Everything is harder now'

Asencia Tuamana, 55, started “Bello Horizonte,” a communal kitchen, in September 2020 to share resources during a nationwide lockdown that left millions of Peruvians with no income. She serves as many as 140 people during the week — even as rising costs make her daily work increasingly more difficult.

by Jimena LedgardMay 20, 2022

Co-published with Nation

‘We have to fight back.’ Afghan women are losing their hard-won right to work under the Taliban

Afghan women's participation in the workforce rose steadily in the 20 years after the Taliban were ousted from government. Since they returned to power, those gains have been rapidly eroding. Now activists fear a new edict mandating the burqa in public could destroy them altogether.

by Zahra NaderMay 17, 2022

Co-published with TIME

The draft abortion ruling that shook the states

While the Supreme Court justices before now contorted themselves to find common legal ground on this most controversial of issues, the leaked draft opinion that would overturn the landmark abortion decision in Roe V. Wade was anything but mealy-mouthed. But what should we make of all of this? Does this unofficial, unauthorized document even matter? Here are five ideas to keep in mind as we continue to make sense of what has happened and of what may lie ahead.

by Eva RodriguezMay 4, 2022

New York prepares to become an abortion safe haven

In the wake of a leaked decision by Justice Alito gutting abortion rights, New York state lawmakers have introduced measures to expand access for the expected influx of abortion seekers.

by Jessica WashingtonMay 3, 2022

Co-published with THE CITY

‘I can’t keep this baby’: Pregnant Ukrainian refugees struggle to get abortion care

Poland has become a place of refuge for millions of women fleeing war in Ukraine. It also has some of Europe’s most restrictive abortion laws, posing a major challenge to refugees with unwanted pregnancies. Some have survived rape, others simply cannot imagine taking on the responsibility of a child while their futures are so uncertain.

by Hanna KozlowskaMay 3, 2022

Co-published with The Cut

What the Taliban means for queer Afghans

During the US occupation, little was done to build a support network for the LGBTQ+ community in Afghanistan. Now their lives are in danger as they struggle to flee.

by Zahra Nader, Zahra MousawiApr 20, 2022

Co-published with Foreign Policy

Reporter’s Notebook: Indoor air in India can be just as bad as the country’s toxic smog. Was I wrong to be surprised?

India's polluted skylines regularly make international news. But it’s only now coming to light that air quality inside homes, which mainly affects women in the kitchen, can be just as bad.

by Disha ShettyApr 11, 2022

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