Women's rights & well-being

Trinidad & Tobago's Kamla Persad-Bissessar

For the first time, an entire country’s top political roles are held by women after Trinidad & Tobago’s recent elections

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Kamla Persad-Bissessar’s election victory means that she will become prime minister for the second time since 2010. Pennelope Beckles-Robinson will be sworn in as the opposition leader. Once they are sworn in by President Christine Kangaloo, the Caribbean island will, for the first time in history, have three women occupying the top constitutional offices simultaneously, making it the first country in modern history to have all top political positions filled by women.

Pharmacy

England to make the morning-after pill free over the counter in pharmacies

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Currently, women can get the emergency contraception pill for free from sexual health clinics run by the National Health Service (NHS). However, the pill can cost up to £30 ($62) at pharmacies in the UK. Starting this year, the pill will be available for free at pharmacies, aiming to “reduce inequalities”, according to a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) statement. The move will also help free up general practitioners by reducing the need for women to make appointments to access the pill, the DHSC said.

Indian young woman at computer

Women’s participation in India’s tech sector triples in last four years

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India’s tech workforce has seen a significant shift over the past four years, with female participation increasing from 10% in 2020 to 28% in 2024, according to a new report. This growth is driven by advancements in digital infrastructure, increased access to remote work opportunities, and the expansion of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives. However, despite improvements at the entry level, women’s representation in senior leadership positions remains low, growing only marginally from 11% in 2020 to nearly 14% in 2024.

Woman with pink breast cancer ribbon

New therapy trial from Australian researchers nearly doubles breast cancer cure rates

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A phase 3 clinical trial from Melbourne’s Peter MacCallum Cancer Center has shown that adding a targeted immunotherapy drug to chemotherapy dramatically improved the cure rate for patients with the most common kind of breast cancer. In the present phase 3 trial, 510 patients were randomized to receive chemotherapy with either intravenous nivolumab or placebo. In patients treated with nivolumab plus chemotherapy, rates were statistically significant, nearly double those who received placebo plus chemo: 24.5% versus 13.8%, respectively.

Indonesian children smiling

Indonesia launches free meals program to feed millions of children and pregnant women

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The Free Nutritious Meal program delivers on a campaign promise by President Prabowo Subianto, who was elected last year to lead the nation of more than 282 million people and Southeast Asia’s largest economy. It aims to fight the stunting of growth that afflicts 21.5% of Indonesian children younger than 5 and help raise income for the nation’s farmers. The government’s target is to reach an initial 19.5 million schoolchildren and pregnant women in 2025 with a budget of $4.3 billion USD, and more than 80 million people at a cost of $28 billion USD by 2029.

International court rules against El Salvador in key abortion rights case

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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that El Salvador violated the human rights of a woman who was denied an abortion despite her high-risk pregnancy in 2013. The court has ordered the Central American country to adopt “all necessary regulatory measures” so that doctors are authorized to terminate “pregnancies that pose a risk to the woman’s life and health.” The country has one of the world’s most restrictive anti-abortion laws: the procedure is prohibited under all circumstances, and women can even be charged with aggravated homicide, carrying sentences of 30 to 50 years in prison.

Dominique Pelicot sentenced to 20 years in prison in historic French rape trial

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A French judge has found the former husband of Gisèle Pelicot, who admitted to drugging and raping her repeatedly over the course of almost a decade and inviting dozens of other men to assault her as well, guilty of aggravated rape. Forty-nine men whom Dominique Pelicot brought into his home to assault his wife were also convicted as part of the same trial. Over the course of the trial, Gisèle Pelicot was praised for her courage and became a symbol of the fight against sexual violence in France and around the world.

Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Namibia elects Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah as its first female president

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Nandi-Ndaitwah was a member of the underground independence movement in Namibia in the 1970s. She was promoted from foreign minister to vice president in February after President Hage Geingob died while in office. She was widely viewed as a steady hand, a seasoned diplomat not tainted by the corruption scandals that had engulfed some other members of the ruling Swapo party.

Ovarian and Cervical Cancer Awareness. a Teal Ribbon

Cervical cancer deaths are plummeting among young U.S. women

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Every year, thousands of American women die of cervical cancer. However, from 1992 to 2015, the number of deaths due to cervical cancer among U.S. women under the age of 25 fell steadily from each three-year period to the next, dropping roughly 75% altogether over that span. The sharp decline in cervical cancer deaths is likely due, at least in part, to the widespread introduction of the HPV vaccine in 2006.

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