Stories about Women & Gender from March, 2018
How English-Language Pronouns Are Taught Around the World
Globally, close to 1 billion people are learning English as a Foreign Language and all of them encounter binary gender pronouns from the earliest lessons.
‘Women Make the News’: Online Database Connects Journalists to Thai Female Experts
UNESCO Bangkok has launched a website that links Thai journalists and researchers to female academics, government officials, corporate leaders, and NGO activists.
A Journey for Justice in the Americas, Part 1: Three Women Tell Their Stories in Kingston, Jamaica
"To stop [my activism] would mean that I am giving another police officer permission to kill another of my brothers, or anyone else for that matter."
False Reports Spread Online After the Murder of Brazilian Activist and Politician Marielle Franco
Fake rumors about the personal life and activism of murdered Rio de Janeiro city councillor Marielle Franco were shared by several right-wing groups and personalities.
The Sterilization War In India That Never Stops
In 2015-16, 82% of women who got sterilized did so at a govt-run center. For family planning, 85% of government funds are allocated to sterilization, and 13.5% to equipment, salaries.
On World Poetry Day, Some Verses Straight From Persia's Heart

"The sadness in my heart, like a mountain/The heart under your chest, like a stone."
Trinidad and Tobago’s First Female President Claims Her Role as ‘Humble First Servant’
"It finally feels like the narrow vision of the past has broadened to include people on their merits, yet what a heavy burden of expectations the first one [...] carries."
When Indigenous Girls are Raped and Assaulted in Bangladesh, a Queen Rises Up in Solidarity
From 2013 to 2017, violence was committed against 364 indigenous women and girls. In January 2018, 10 women and girls were raped and three of them were killed after rape.
Women Reporters Accuse a Prominent Russian Lawmaker of Sexual Harassment, but His Colleagues Stand by Him

At least three Russian women reporters have accused Leonid Slutsky, a populist parliament member, of sexual harassment. Most of his politician colleagues, even women, are rallying behind him.
Why Did Women Journalists Strike in Spain?
"...it only took a few women initiating the movement for all of us to dive in headfirst, because the inequalities we face are the same."
City Councillor and Leading Rights Activist Shot Dead in Downtown Rio de Janeiro
Marielle Franco was the fifth most voted councilor for Rio's City Chamber. She was murdered after denouncing police violence in favelas. The crime is being investigated as an execution.
Ugandans Call for the Resignation of Parliamentarian Who Made Pro-Domestic Violence Comments
“As a man, you need to discipline your wife," said parliamentarian Onesimus Twinamasiko during a TV interview.
Millions of People Take to the Streets in the Largest Show of Support for the Feminist Struggle in Spain's History
Almost six million people joined the international strike on March 8, and hundreds of thousands took to the streets to demand firm measures against gender discrimination and sexist violence.
International Women's Day in Latin America Was a Day of Protest, Debate and Resistance
Social divisions based on class and race were also part of the many discussions and debates taking place within the movements commemorating March 8th in the region.
Prominent Chinese Feminist Social Media Account Shuttered on International Women’s Day

"...[T]he Chinese government does not understand feminism, does not understand what feminists are doing, and does not understand what they are advocating."
Aurat March (Woman March) Marks Resistance Against Misogyny in Pakistan
"There is a lot of anger that is finally releasing and this march was a way to direct that anger somewhere for something powerful and beautiful."
For Jordanian Women, a Year of Hard-Won Progress and Continuing Challenges
Despite a successful campaign to repeal a legal loophole allowing rapists to marry their victims, there is plenty left to do in the struggle to achieve gender equality in Jordan.
Law, Entertainment and Politics in Korea Feel the Wrath of #MeToo

Koreans witnessed the power of the people with the ousting of the president last March. Now they're seeing it again in the form of #MeToo and #WithYou.
Pastor's Reduced Sentence for ‘Sex With Minors’ Casts Cloud Over International Women's Day in Jamaica
"Disgraced Moravian pastor Rupert Clarke got a slap on the wrist...He egregiously breached the trust and confidence of the people who look to him as a man of the clergy..."
As Women March in Argentina, the Country Debates Legalizing Abortion
"The debate isn't abortion versus no abortion; it's legal abortion versus underground abortion. Everything else is a matter of personal opinions and decisions, all respectable, none disputable."