Where the Streets Have No Men
Sune Engel Rasmussen, The Guardian
In the southern Nepal town of Bhramarpura, a lack of resources and opportunity has driven most working-age men away from home, leaving behind a society comprised almost entirely of women. Though there are clear economic benefits to this arrangement and some women have taken leadership roles, the women also find they must grapple with exploitation, degradation and, yes, loneliness. “It’s painful,” Taradevi Sah, who has seen her husband only twice in 6 years, tells Rasmussen. “But it’s less painful than poverty.”
For Women in Advertising, It’s Still a ‘Mad Men’ World
Sydney Ember, The New York Times
“I still to this day, when I feel the blood boiling in me and I just want to let it all out, I cut it by 90 percent because I’m a woman,” Susan Credle says. She and more than a dozen advertising executives speak out in this piece about the ongoing sexism, both overt and subtle, that still plagues the advertising world. The experiences themselves are infuriating, if sometimes sadly familiar. What’s truly sobering, though, is the shared testimony about the pressure female employees on all tiers of the industry feel to modify their behavior to fit in and get ahead.
Angry While Female
Mary McNamara, LA Times
Beyoncé’s groundbreaking visual album “Lemonade,” Samantha Bee’s politically-charged rants, and Kelly Ripa’s frustration at the surprise departure of her show’s co-host, Michael Strahan are but three recent examples of women being proudly, publicly angry. “Men shout in righteous rage, but women who raise their voices are still often seen as losing control or, heaven forbid, ‘shrill,'” writes McNamara. In this article, she breaks down the harmful manifestations of this bias, and why public displays of anger are important to changing societal views of how women should express themselves.
Pregnant Women Are the ‘Forgotten Victims’ of War
Emily Sohn, NPR
Pregnant women living in war-torn countries face an especially tough set of hardships — inability to visit doctors due to danger in the streets, lack of access to medical supplies, and struggles to find safe places to give birth are but a few. “Every avenue you look at for women during war times, their health is compromised,” says Dr. Andrew Weeks, an obstetrician and expert. “The voices of women in war situations are often neglected.” Here, Sohn elevates their stories, and spotlights the need to provide for their protection.
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