The Week in Women Jill Filipovic

Welcome to The Week in Women, a quick rundown of the women’s rights news from around the world, from me and my lovely researcher and co-author Tamar Eisen. This week, The Week in Women is a podcast and written out below as a newsletter — so if you prefer to read rather than listen, keep scrolling, and if you prefer to listen rather than read, you can get The Week in Women wherever you get your podcasts, or you can click the play button above.
A reminder that paid subscribers get The Week in Women early — so if that’s you, thank you, and I hope you enjoy. If that’s not you, and you want The Week in Women in your inbox as soon as it’s published, consider upgrading to a paid subscription.
Iran is maybe shutting down its Morality Police — or maybe not. The New York Times is reporting that an Iranian official said that the nation is closing down the hated police force, but the Iranian government hasn’t confirmed the story, and there are some indications at actually, no, the Morality Police will stay in business. Whatever the case, the government is still enforcing the mandatory hijab law that was the pretext for the detention of Mahsa Amini, the 22-year-old who was killed while in police custody. Amini’s death kicked off the months-long Women Life Freedom protests that have been roiling that country, and that much of the world hopes will take down this vicious regime.
France’s National Assembly passed a proposal to enshrine abortion rights into the country’s Constitution, in direct response to the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The bill will still have to go through a complex legislative process and could face opposition in the Senate. France is one of many nations worldwide that have tried to expand abortion access in recent years. Only a handful have made their abortion laws more restrictive, and nearly to a one those restrictions have come along with broader national shifts toward authoritarianism — including, unfortunately, in the United States.
In Senegal, a male MP hit a female MP in the face during a tense budget presentation. Feminist activists in Senegal are calling out the attack, particularly as it coincided with the week of campaigns to end violence against women. The slap kicked off a brawl as the woman defended herself.
Afghan women activists are secretly building networks to support vulnerable Afghan women who have faced increased marginalization since the Taliban rose to power in 2021. The return of the Taliban has been brutal on Afghan women and girls, who are barred from higher education, many jobs, and public life more broadly. And so some brave activists are forming secret networks to create safe spaces for women, and to promote democracy and human rights.
Thousands of women protested across Spain last week to demand an end to violence against women. These protests follow news that many men had their prison sentences reduced as a result of a loophole in a new law on sexual abuse.
Polish women are also fed up with misogyny and male violence. Hundreds gathered outside of the Polish ruling party leader’s house to protest his policies and comments that have diminished women’s rights. The ruling Law and Justice Party pushed for a near-total ban on abortion in Poland, and the country’s Constitutional Court — which at this point is basically an arm of Poland’s right-wing government — enshrined it into law. It went into effect last year, to devastating results.
When the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, feminist and data privacy groups warned that Google’s data- and location-gathering processes put women at risk. Now, new research shows that the way Google stores location and personal data has remain unchanged, despite pledges from the company that they would create new policies to protect people’s abortion related data. Google had promised to delete “personal” location searches, including “medical facilities like counseling centers, domestic violenc

Welcome to Episode 10 of The Week in Women. This week, we’re talking about ongoing feminist protests in Iran and Afghanistan, abortion back-and-forth in the US, and anti-feminism in South Korea. Plus, I’m in conversation with the incomparable Richard Reeves about his new book Of Boys and Men: Why the Modern Male is Struggling, Why it Matters, and What to Do About It. We talk about why boys and men are struggling, and why feminists should give a damn.
A transcript of the news portion of the show is below; the interview will Richard will go out in transcribed form in a few weeks. If you want The Week on Women early, you can upgrade to a paid subscription, and get it a few days before everyone else. Thank you as always for listening!
xx Jill
TRANSCRIPT
Hi, and welcome to the Week in Women. I’m your host, Jill Filipovic.
The Week in Women is a rundown of the week’s gender and women’s rights news, and it’s available for subscribers early – so head to jill.substack.com and sign up for a paid subscription if you want the Week in Women before everyone else. I'm also adding transcripts to the news section of the show. So if you don't like to listen to podcasts and yet here you are, you can also get a basic rundown of the week's gender headlines in your inbox. And again, that will come early to paid subscribers.
This week we are talking about the ongoing #MeToo trials, protests in Iran and Afghanistan for women's rights, and the state of abortion in the United States. I'm also in conversation with Richard Reeves, who is the author of a new book about boys and men and how they are following behind.
But first, the headlines.
#MeToo Trials
Three men accused of sexual assault as part of the #MeToo movement are heading to court. Harvey Weinstein’s criminal trial starts in Los Angeles on Monday, and he faces 11 charges including rape and sexual assault. Weinstein was already convicted in New York and sentenced to more than two decades behind bars, an outcome he is appealing. His legal team has also raised concerns about the living standards in his California cell, which they say is unhygienic and medieval. Also heading to trials, but in civil court, are Paul Haggis, the Oscar-winning director of the movie Crash who has also made a name for himself standing up against the Church of Scientology, and Oscar-winning actor Kevin Spacey. Both men have been accused of sexual wrongdoing, Haggis of sexually assaulting a woman in his industry, and Spacey of assaulting a 14-year-old boy who is now an adult man. The trials are being seen as a barometer for the progress of the MeToo movement.
Iran protests
Sixteen-year-old Nika Shakarami was beaten to death by police forces during protests in Iran, her family says. The official story is that she fell off of a building; her family says her injuries are more consistent with being struck repeatedly in the head. And other teenage girl, sixteen-year-old Sarina Esmailzadeh, was killed in the protests as well – reportedly beaten to death by Iranian security forces. According to Amnesty International, these girls are two of at least 23 children who have been killed by the Iranian authorities as they crack down on protesters asking for greater freedoms. The youngest in the Amnesty report was an 11-year-old boy. And at least 144 protesters have been killed so far. The state has gone out of its way to cover up these deaths, often blaming them on falls or accidents, even while security forces continue to use extreme violence against protesters out in the open. Still, thousands of brave Iranians are returning to the streets, demanding an end to mandatory hijab and the end of this tyrannical regime.
Afghanistan Protests
Afghan women are protesting for their rights, too, after 53 students, most of them women, were killed in an attack on a learning center in Kabul. The attacker opened fire in the center before blowing himself up. The center largely serves ethnic Hazaras, a long-persecuted minority i

Welcome to Episode 9 of The Week in Women. This week on the show, we're talking about the rise of far right women, the global plot against abortion rights, an abortion ban in Arizona that dates back to the Civil War, and more. We'll also hear from Iranian- American journalist Negar Mortazavi, who is the host of the Iran Podcast, and is on to talk about the incredible woman led uprising in Iran and how feminists the world over can stand in solidarity with Iranian women.
I’m also adding a new feature to The Week in Women, which is a transcript of the news portion of the show (transcripts of the interviews of this and previous shows will be published in separate posts). This way, folks who aren’t podcast listeners and / or who are hearing impaired can also get the women’s rights news of the week straight to their inbox.
And as always, paid subscribers get The Week in Women early — so if you want The Week in Women early, upgrade to a paid subscription. Hope you enjoy, and of course feel free to share.
xx Jill
TRANSCRIPT
Hi, and welcome to the Week in Women. I’m your host, Jill Filipovic.
The Week in Women is a rundown of the week’s gender and women’s rights news, and it’s available for subscribers early – so head to jill.substack.com and sign up for a paid subscription if you want the Week in Women before everyone else. This week, I’m also adding a rough transcript to the news section of the show, so if you’re not the podcast-listening type, you can get the basic rundown of the week’s gender headlines in your inbox – again, early if you’re a paid subscriber.
This week, we’re talking about the rise of far-right women, the global plot against abortion rights, and an abortion ban in Arizona that dates back to the Civil War. We’ll also hear from Iranian-American journalist Negar Mortazavi, who is a columnist for the Independent and the host of the Iran podcast, and is on to talk about the incredible woman-led uprising in Iran and how feminists the world over can stand in solidarity with Iranian women.
But first, the headlines.
India legalizes abortion regardless of marital status:
This week, the Indian Supreme Court upheld the right to abortion up to 24 weeks regardless of a woman’s marital status – the country’s 1971 law legalizing the procedure had only done so for married women. And, the Court held, that marital rape is in fact rape, even if Indian law does not currently recognize it as such.
Feminism as a cover for authoritarianism in Tunisia:
Tunisia has long been one of the most progressive countries in the Arab world when it comes to women’s rights, and they currently have a parliament that is nearly half female and a female prime minister – but advocates for democracy and women’s rights say women’s rights are being used as a smokescreen for a nation bending toward authoritarianism. This summer, Tunisia adopted a new constitution, which gave the president sweeping powers and removed significant authority from parliament – and the prime minister. The Tunisian president has taken aim at many democratic institutions, shutting them down and at one point suspending parliament. Now, women’s rights advocates say, Tunisia’s female prime minister and the women who were elected to higher office are figureheads only, having no real power and simply putting a feminine face on the president’s overreaches.
Italian feminists worried for their future under a female neofascist leader:
And speaking of feminism being used as a smokescreen for authoritarianism, feminist groups in Italy are concerned about the future of women’s rights in their country under newly-elected neofascist leader Giorgia Meloni. Italian feminists have taken to the streets in protest largely in defense of abortion rights, which they understandably see as under threat – while abortion laws have liberalized in much of the world over the past several decades, the handful of countries where they have become more re

Hi readers and listeners — thanks for your patience with the gap between episodes. I was traveling and teaching a writing retreat and generally lacking the time and capacity to record while on the road. But I’m now back home (why is it getting cold??) and back in action.
So! Enjoy this episode of The Week in Women, which is available to paid subscribers early. Thank you, as always, for your support and for listening.
xx Jill


Get full access to Jill Filipovic at jill.substack.com/subscribe

Hello, and welcome to Episode 6 of The Week in Women. Paid subscribers get The Week in Women early — so if that’s you, thank you! And if that’s not you, you can subscribe to listen now.
If you’re enjoying The Week in Women, feel free to share it with a friend. And if you listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else, I would be very grateful if you would rate, review and subscribe.
This week’s stories include:
* Texas Right to Life’s On-Staff Pedophile. Luke Bowen, the political director of Texas Right to Life, the state’s most influential anti-abortion group and the force behind penning Texas’s abortion bans, was arrested on August 3rd for online solicitation of a minor.
* Texas Abortion Criminalization Law Goes into Effect. On Thursday, a Texas law went into effect that makes abortion punishable by a $100,000 fine and life in prison. The law offers virtually no exceptions.
* Nancy Davis is a Hero. Nancy Davis, a stay-at-home mother of three who lives in Louisiana, has become an outspoken opponent of abortion laws that provide no exceptions for fetal anomalies, after she found out that the fetus she is carrying does not have a skull and will either die in utero or soon after birth – and that she cannot get a legal abortion where she lives.
* Some Women Can Watch Football in Iran. In what I suppose counts as progress in one of the most reactionary misogynist nations in the world, a few hundred women in Iran have been allowed into football stadiums to watch the sport.
* Amy Coney Barrett’s Misogynist Cult. A new report in the Guardian last week details some of the disturbing writing and remarks of Dorothy Ranaghan, the wife of People of Praise founder Kevin Ranaghan. People of Praise is the fringe, far-right Catholic organization that Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett is a member of.
* Jewish Groups Suing Over Abortion. In an interesting and creative use of religious freedom arguments, Jewish groups in several states are suing over anti-abortion laws.
* Hungary says education is too feminized. Hungary’s state audit office published a report on education in the country, claiming that it has become too feminized – and that educated women are problematically less submissive.
* Yelp Labels Crisis Pregnancy Centers. In the wake of Roe v Wade being overturned, Yelp has announced that it will more clearly label anti-abortion Crisis Pregnancy Centers, to be clear that they may not offer medical care or have licensed medical staff on site.
* New Rules from the National Abortion Federation. And in today’s deeper dive into a single story, I talk about the new rules from the National Abortion Federation on funding medication abortions for patients coming from states that criminalize abortion. These rules have made a lot of abortion rights supporters angry. I also dislike them, but I think they may be justified. And I’d be curious to hear what you all think of this one.
* …and more.

Thank you for subscribing and listening.
xx Jill
SHOW NOTES
Texas Right to Life political director arrested for online solicitation of a minor:
https://www.vice.com/en/article/k7b7na/anti-abortion-luke-bowen-arrested-solicitation-of-minor
Texas Abortion Criminalization Law Goes into Effect
https://www.texastribune.org/2022/08/25/texas-trigger-law-abortion/
Nancy Davis is a Hero
https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/26/us/louisiana-abortion-nancy-davis-fatal-condition/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/19/us/politics/louisiana-abortion-law.html
Women and Football in Iran
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/25/iranian-women-allowed-to-watch-football-match-after-fifa-pressure
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/3/30/blame-game-after-iran-women-pepper-sprayed-at-world-cup-qualifier
Amy Coney Barrett’s Misogynist Cult
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/aug/26/amy-coney-barrett-faith-group-people-of-praise
White House Plan to Protect Abortion Access
https://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2022/08/25/health-of

Hello, and welcome to Episode 6 of The Week in Women. If you want The Week in Women early — every Friday morning — upgrade to a paid subscription (at least usually, when I am not moving house and finding just about every aspect of my life falling into total chaos).
On this week’s episode, headlines include the catastrophes facing Afghan women, “pro-life” cruelty in Louisiana, and how a Florida court managed to deem a 16-year-old to immature to have an abortion but mature enough to be a mother.
If you’re enjoying The Week in Women, feel free to share it with a friend. And if you listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or anywhere else, I would be very grateful if you would rate, review and subscribe.
Thank you as always for your support.
xx Jil
Show Notes
Afghanistan:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/11/afghanistan-talibans-catastrophic-year-rule
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/healthcare-women-afghanistan-under-taliban/
Saudi:
https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/saudi-doctoral-student-34-years-prison-tweets-88538484
Utah Trans Panic:
https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/8/17/23310668/school-investigates-female-athlete-transgender-complaint
Nebraska Abortion and Facebook:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/18/us/abortion-prosecution-nebraska.html
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/08/12/nebraska-abortion-case-facebook/
Abortion and Cancer:
https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2022/08/423456/abortion-ban-may-increase-risk-death-pregnant-women-cancer
Abortion and Louisiana:
https://nypost.com/2022/08/18/louisiana-mom-denied-abortion-even-though-baby-wont-survive/
Abortion and Latinos:
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/08/16/abortion-latino-issues-voters-midterms-00052119
Florida teen forced into childbearing:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/aug/18/florida-teen-abortion-forced-motherhood


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