Uncategorized

On the first Saturday of every month, groups of men kneel in the main squares of many cities across Croatia to “pray for women’s chastity” and a “strong masculine authority in family settings.” This ultraconservative Catholic masculinist movement began in Poland and was later imported into Croatia by influential Polish groups such as Ordo Iuris, which was among the mobilizing forces behind the 2021 total abortion ban in Poland. Pro-masculinist demonstrations in Croatia have been met with female resistance: for instance, the artist Arijana Lekić-Fridrih dedicated a performance to femicide victims, and Ženska mreža Hrvatske (Women’s Network Croatia) organized counterdemonstrations. “Look at Poland—it should not be ignored,” Lekić-Fridrih warned.

Young Algerian women have gradually gained more and more access to newsrooms, but this access has only increased their numbers in these spaces, not their decision-making power. In fact, women are often relegated to tackling the “light” topics, even though they exclusively possess inherent knowledge about violence against women, and about women’s issues in general. All themes that are still only marginally present in Algerian media.

Underlining that women, children, LGBTIQ+ and other marginalized groups are most affected by natural disasters and wars, the network aims to build a bridge between aid organizations and those in need.

Fleeing the hell of trafficking and servitude, many African women find a home at “Beity”, a shelter in the medina, alongside single mothers, non-conforming women and victims of domestic violence.

As the world celebrates International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September, we are publishing a comprehensive series of articles on women’s sexual and reproductive rights. For the drafting of this content, Medfeminiswiya journalists reported from Algeria, Egypt, Italy, Palestine, Turkey, Lebanon, Morocco, Spain and Malta, countries where these fundamental rights are far from being achieved or remain very fragile.

In Italy, law protects abortion, at least on paper. But in practice, women are faced with a national average of conscientious objectors reaching up to 70%, and over 90% in the Molise, Trentino Alto Adige and Basilicata regions.