Women and Women's Rights

As the race for the Democratic nomination heats up, the chances of the two remaining women appear to be fading. That has left some voters asking — again — whether the United States is ready to elect its first female president. But rather than looking inward, voters would do well to widen the horizon and look abroad.

This blog post is part of the Women and Foreign Policy program’s interview series on Gender Equality in Foreign Policy, featuring global and U.S. officials leading initiatives to promote gender equality in the defense, development, and diplomatic sectors.

A new interactive tool from the Women and Foreign Policy program ranks countries on their progress toward gender parity in political participation and visualizes the gender gap in political representation. 

As the United States renews its commitment to protecting freedom and ending slavery—with its annual observation of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention this month, culminating on National Freedom Day on Feb. 1—it should address the many ways that human trafficking imperils global security.

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week”. This week’s post highlights the top news stories of 2019 and was compiled by Rebecca Turkington and Alexandra Bro. 

Global refugee flows are currently at the highest levels in history. Many refugees are at risk of a human rights violation too often insufficiently addressed in security and conflict prevention efforts: human trafficking. 

Multilateral institutions often focus on rhetoric over action in countering violence against women. States inclined to do better should take matters into their own hands and adopt feminist foreign policies. 

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy.

The Sultan of Sokoto, Nigeria’s premier Islamic traditional ruler, has banned the #ArewaMeToo campaign in Sokoto state. The movement is a northern Nigeria spinoff of the international #MeToo movement. Following the ban there have been allegations that the police have assaulted two women’s rights activists. Sokoto state is socially conservative and predominantly Muslim. The sultan’s ban of a feminist movement is no surprise; the real news is that #ArewaMeToo was established in the first place, though the number of its supporters is very small, according to the media. The media is also reporting without confirmation that #ArewaMeToo received assistance from the British Council, the European Union, and the U.S. embassy. Such unconfirmed reports are likely to feed northern suspicion of outside, secular forces that are seen as hostile to Islam. Northern Nigerian Islam makes no distinction between religious and secular authority, making the sultan a powerful personage, even if he is unrecognized by Nigeria’s secular constitution. Unlike some other traditional rulers, the sultan serves as a bridge between the modern world and his more conservative and traditional subjects. Before his enthronement, the sultan was a professional military officer, serving as Nigeria’s defense attache in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The sultan has been active in peace and reconciliation work and has excellent relations with Christian leaders, but the scope of his work is limited by the conservative outlook of his subjects. It is hard to imagine that he could tolerate, let alone support, a feminist movement such as #ArewaMeToo.  As elsewhere, sexual abuse in northern Nigeria appears to be widespread. According to USAID’s 2018 National Democratic and Health Survey, 11 percent of boys and 18 percent of girls in northern Nigeria report having been sexually abused, but, as is true elsewhere, sexual abuse survivors rarely speak out. 

Voices from the Field features contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development, diplomacy and security challenges. This post is authored by Lucina Di Meco, Global Fellow, The Wilson Center.

This post is part of an interview series on Gender Equality in Foreign Policy, featuring global and U.S. officials leading initiatives to promote gender equality in their fields.

Voices from the Field features contributions from scholars and practitioners highlighting new research, thinking, and approaches to development, diplomacy and security challenges. This post is authored by Jeannette Gaudry Haynie, PhD, a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, a combat veteran, and the founder and executive director of the Athena Leadership Project.

Welcome to “Women Around the World: This Week,” a series that highlights noteworthy news related to women and U.S. foreign policy. This week’s post, covering October 11 to October 24, was compiled by Yuxin Lei and Rebecca Turkington.

As the world celebrates the power and potential of girls today, on the International Day of the Girl Child, we must also grapple with the significant obstacles that prevent girls from participating fully in society.