In-depth

Two weeks before the publication of my investigative piece, and just one day after Decree 54 was issued, the director of Bolt in Tunisia called me, threatening to sue me according to this new decree. He bragged about the decree’s various articles that could lead to a prison sentence, fully intending to intimidate me and stop me from publishing the investigative piece. That was when I realized that this decree would be used like a sword, hung above journalists’ necks.

Today, as we mark World Press Freedom Day 2023, the director of Radio M is behind bars. I lost my job after the headquarters was sealed, but I am still convinced that even though the body may be imprisoned and the premises sealed, ideas and free speech cannot be imprisoned, no matter how frequent and sharpened the attempts.

Feminists in Tunisia are frustrated with the decline in women’s participation in the new parliament, the result of the new electoral law which was introduced by President Kais Saied and does not guarantee a quota of women politicians, as was the custom in previous elections.

Becoming a mother within the Montenegrin healthcare system is not a uniform or predictable process, and for most women, it is a traumatic experience that remains unshared and suppressed, overshadowed by the "new life" in whose service their exhausted and silenced bodies are deployed.

Feminists volunteering in the areas affected by the earthquakes in Turkey denounce the fact that women’s basic needs like sanitary pads are being treated like secondary issues, as usually seen in times of crisis. Apart from basic material needs, security concerns and lack of socio-psychological support amount to worrying levels.

Interview with Alessandra Cedri, an Italian artisan producing a line of fabric sanitary pads and pantyliners through her microenterprise Lalepap. Washable up to 200 times, these reusable pads are a hit with Gen Z girls.

For this 8th of March, Medfeminiswiya journalists have analyzed the price of sanitary products against the economic reality of the most precarious women in their respective countries.

How many menstrual cycles does a woman have on average in her life? How many tampons/pads does she use over almost four decades? In which country are sanitary pads and tampons available for free?