Louise Donovan
In Afghanistan, women are turning their apartments into secret beauty salons — and, in doing so, risking their lives by defying the Taliban. In Morocco, a women’s football revolution is underway. And in South Korea, meet the feminists vowing not to marry in protest against conservative societal attitudes.
These are just some of the more than 30 stories brought together by Towards Equality, an international collaborative journalism program, to mark International Women’s Day on Friday.
You’ll find our stories in the mix, too. We’ve joined forces with 14 news outlets from across the globe, including our partners at Nation in Kenya, to shed light on some of the most pressing issues facing women today.
From our reporters, read how solar-powered products are transforming Indian women’s lives. Or how community health worker programs, seen as a cost-effective way to address health challenges from maternal mortality to HIV, are overwhelmingly staffed by low-paid women — and why that’s a problem.
In the United States, we examine the impact of medical research overlooking women. Or catch up on the impact following our work on the U.S. government excluding female 9/11 first responders and survivors from health benefits. Until our reporting, the 9/11 health program covered every single cancer except for uterine cancer. Last January, after multiple stories by The Fuller Project and its partners, uterine cancer was added to the list and those with the disease finally received the federal benefits they had long been promised.
First launched three years ago, the Towards Equality program is run by Sparknews, an umbrella organization sharing innovative solutions. From decoding centuries of gender bias in art to women spearheading peace-building in Lebanon, the reporting doesn’t just highlight challenges but, importantly, solutions too.
Over the next few days, all stories will be available on Towards Equality.
Happy reading. And happy International Women’s Day!
