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Between advances and setbacks, the battle for the sexualand reproductive rights of Mediterranean women is far from won. This new report examines the struggle of women on both sides of the Mediterranean to regain control over their bodies

In Morocco, abortion is still criminalized under the penal code, pushing large numbers of women and girls to resort to unsafe methods of pregnancy termination. Many suffer severe health complications, sometimes even death. Despite hundreds of clandestine abortions occurring daily, the legal situation remains unchanged. Human rights organizations continue to call for decriminalization and for guaranteeing women’s right to terminate pregnancies safely and under proper health conditions, without fear of prosecution or arrest.

It was not until 2010 that Spain adopted a legal framework authorizing abortion for women up to 14 weeks and 22 weeks in cases of fetal anomaly. Despite this, numerous obstacles remain, such as conscientious objection by healthcare professionals. Some women, such as migrant women, also have difficulty accessing this right. It’s a topic at the heart of current affairs in the country.

Every year on September 26, the world marks World Contraception Day. Yet many girls and women still lack access to their chosen and adequate method of contraception—not only on this day, but throughout the year. In Serbia, contraceptive methods are generally available, but limited finances and the absence of reliable information make consistent and reliable contraception inaccessible for many women.

In Türkiye, abortion is legal but increasingly out of reach. Amid rising conservatism and pronatalist policies, women’s bodies have become a political battleground, caught between state-backed family ideals and the struggle for reproductive autonomy.

The Israeli war on Gaza has expanded from killing bodies to killing frozen embryos—still mere clusters of cells preserved in nitrogen tanks. Israel did not only end their potential lives; it also closed the last windows of hope for countless families who clung to the dream of one day having a child.

Egyptian women continue to suffer from forced childbirth in a society that perpetuates the idea of reproduction as a purely female responsibility, constrained by legal, cultural, and media structures that restrict their right to bodily autonomy. Against rigid traditional values, community initiatives are striving to empower women and engage men as responsible partners to alleviate health and social burdens and foster new forms of awareness.

Every year in Italy, around 63,000 women terminate their pregnancies, embarking on a long and painful process in which humiliation, judgment, and violence are all too common. The conscientious objection of healthcare workers forces many to undertake expensive travel or resort to clandestine procedures, while ultraconservative Catholic groups, present in gynecology departments and clinics, try by every possible means to dissuade those who have decided to have an abortion.

Undoubtedly, Mediterranean women artists—those who venture further than most—have raised new questions, provoked ruptures, and expanded the horizons of what’s possible. This feature sheds light on the bold, boundary-pushing approaches of some of them.

The Sletate project offers innovative accessories inspired by women’s bodies and reproductive organs, combining art with health and sexual awareness and contributing to building broad feminist solidarity.