Must Reads: Zumrat Dawut, a Uyghur woman, speaks out about the Chinese government’s human rights abuses against her and fellow Uyghur women. Esther Salas, the federal judge who was targeted by a misogynistic, men’s rights attorney speaks out for the first time since the shooting against her family. Arwa Mahdawi on shifting the gendered narrative of leadership, and how being more like a woman can bring success. COVID-19’s devastating effects on women and girls’ access to healthcare. Allegations of rape and assault leads to a U.K. lawmaker’s arrest, and more.
- Zumrat Dawut, a Uyghur woman, speaks on how the Chinese government had forcibly sterilized her and fined her for having children. Since 2016, the Chinese government has used forced detention camps, sexual abuse, humiliation and sterilization to violate Uyghur women and people.“Just like any genocide, women are always the number one target…There is a very, very serious crime happening at such a large scale,” says Rahima Mahmut. (CNN)
- Esther Salas, the federal judge who was targeted by a misogynistic, men’s rights attorney that killed her son and injured her husband, speaks out for the first time since the shooting in her home. The gunman recognized himself as an anti-feminist and “represented the most extreme element of the men’s rights movement whose online discussions in recent years have become increasingly menacing toward women.” (New York Times)
- Arwa Mahdawi, columnist at the Guardian, reflects on the findings of a recent World Economic Forum study, that shows women-led countries had an advantage during the COVID-19 pandemic.“We have been taught that if we want to get ahead we should act like men. Perhaps it’s time we stop doing that and, instead, start telling men that they’ll be more successful if they act like women,” Mahdawi concludes. (The Guardian)
- COVID-19’s devastating effect on women and girls. Sophie Cousins reports on how the COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on women and girls’ sexual and reproductive health, and access to overall healthcare. “Although numerous countries have now eased restrictions, the effects of travel restrictions, closure of health services, economic hardship, and gender-based violence are already evident.” (The Lancet)
- United Kingdom. A current Conservative lawmaker under the government has been arrested after accusations of rape were brought against him. “The former parliamentary employee who accused the lawmaker of rape and assault said that she was so traumatized that she had to go to the hospital.” The accusations come shortly after another ex-lawmaker was recently convicted of sexual offenses from 2017. (New York Times) MORE: (BBC)
MORE TO READ
Memphis. In partnership with The Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis, the Daily Memphian investigates the thousands of sexual assault cases that have been neglected or tampered by the Memphis Police Department, and how survivors are fighting for their justice. (Daily Memphian)
