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Laotian LGBTQIA+ youth find peace, purpose and community
Growing up, Bill didn’t have anywhere to go to about the confusion she felt about her gender identity. In secondary school, classmates used to taunt her feminine mannerisms, calling her “sissy” and “kathoey” (“ladyboy…
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Budding photographers in post-cyclone Bangladesh capture wreckage – and resilience
Bangladesh
One year ago this month, Cyclone Amphan unleashed its fury across Bangladesh, killing 26 and damaging thousands of homes, agricultural lands, bridges and roads. But even as the headlines receded like the waters and the…
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In crisis after crisis, mothers around the world are asked to do the impossible
Mothers already shouldered tremendous financial, physical, emotional, and intellectual burdens before the onset of the pandemic. But now, many of these burdens have become crushing.
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Global shortage of 900,000 midwives threatens women’s lives and health, new report shows
The global midwifery workforce now stands at 1.9 million, about two thirds of what is needed, according to a newly launched report, the State of World’s Midwifery 2021.
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Women are the driving force advancing sexual and reproductive health and rights in Brazil
Brazil
Carol Nascimento was 21 when she left home in Belo Horizonte in search of a life purpose. She found it in Vale do Capão, in the rural community of Chapada Diamantina, where she formed Alevante da Terra (Earth Rising), a…
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Refusing to submit to a virginity test, one bride risks death
Afghanistan
“I asked him the reason why he was abusing my daughter. He told me that Sahar was not a virgin.”
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Drought in Somalia forces displacement, posing particular challenges for women and girls
Somalia
Weeks turned into months, and still the rains never came. As the drought in Somalia scorches the land, the chances for a family’s survival wither and die like crops and livestock, forcing them to search for lifelines…
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Studies show severe toll of COVID-19 on sexual and reproductive health, rights around the world
Findings from experts in the UN, academia, civil society, government ministries and other partners showed widespread losses in access to sexual and reproductive health information and services and increased concerns…
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Bodily autonomy: Busting 7 myths that undermine individual rights and freedoms
Some of the most persistent barriers to bodily autonomy involve stereotypes, assumptions and misconceptions about bodily autonomy.
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Elopement or kidnapping? A love story in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
When Nabila, 23, fell in love with the young man next door, their romance was destined to be complicated.
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Serbian women with disabilities shatter taboos, transform health services amid pandemic
Serbia
Mónika Zsúnyi, 26, can do many extraordinary things. Living in Temerin, Serbia, she has an advanced degree in applied mathematics and spends her time doing 3D modelling. She is an avid reader and community organizer.…
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Timor-Leste floods leave death, destruction and displacement in their wake
Timor-Leste
Forty-two deaths. Dozens missing. More than 10,000 newly homeless. Impassable roads. Power blackouts. Rescue attempts requiring excavators and cranes. This is the devastating aftermath for Timor-Leste, an island nation…
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