Impact
In a historic moment, Argentina’s senate voted to legalize abortion on Wednesday Dec. 30, making the majority Catholic country the largest Latin American nation to allow for abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Activism
Loujain al-Hathloul, a prominent Saudi women’s rights activist who campaigned for an end to the ban on women driving in the country, has been sentenced to five years and eight months in prison.
Activism
Zhang Zhan, a 37-year-old Chinese citizen journalist and former lawyer, has been sentenced to four years in prison for her reporting on the early days of the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan.
Women
Sahar Tabar, a 19-year-old Iranian Instagram influencer famous for her heavily distorted selfies that resembled a zombie-like Angelina Jolie, has reportedly been freed from prison after she was given a 10 year sentence earlier this month.
Impact
Pakistan’s president has approved a new anti-rape law that will create special fast track courts to try rape trials within four months and toughen sentences.
Climate
The death of a nine-year-old girl in the UK has made legal history after a coroner’s court listed air pollution as one of the causes of death for the first time.
Impact
Denmark’s government has passed a law that clearly defines sex without explicit consent as rape.
Activism
Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, has been fined 90,000 euros ($110,000) for appointing too many women to senior management positions.
Impact
Argentina’s lower house of Congress voted in favor of a bill to legalize abortion on Friday, moving the country one step closer to becoming the most populous Latin American country to allow for abortions in the first 14 weeks of pregnancy.
Activism
Chloé Lopes Gomes, the first black ballerina at Germany’s leading ballet company, has spoken out against the racism that she experienced within the company.
Women
Malalai Maiwand, a 25-year-old TV journalist and a women’s rights activist in Afghanistan, has been shot dead by gunmen while she was on her way to work on Thursday.
Women
Nayla Abu Jubbah, a 39-year-old Palestinan mother of five, has become the first woman taxi driver in Gaza city.