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India’s Cricket Frenzy is Not All About Sports

08.29.19

BY ROSHNI MEHTA   On the evening of July 9th, 1.3 billion people took a collective gasp as India was knocked out of the Cricket World Cup 2019.  An event that takes place once in four years, the Cricket World Cup is the most anticipated sporting event in India, where cricket is a religion. During […]

Guilty by Association: The Fate of ISIL Families in Iraq

08.27.19

BY JOHN MILLOCK   In December 2017, Iraq’s government declared victory over the Islamic State (ISIL), ending more than three years of ISIL’s brutal occupation of large swaths of Iraq. Yet for the 2 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq today, the conflict is far from over.[1] This is especially true for ordinary Iraqi […]

Reprogramming the Patriarchy: Combatting Gender Bias in Machine Learning

08.23.19

  The media narrative on artificial intelligence (AI) is not far removed from the plot of a science-fiction movie: robots will one day become smarter than the humans who created them, leading to cataclysmic events we cannot control. While this scenario depicts the risks that AI may pose in the future, a more immediate threat […]

Underpaid and Imprisoned: How the Gender Wage Gap Disproportionately Hurts Incarcerated Women

08.23.19

  Early in my career, while working as a legislative aide in Washington, D.C., a male colleague and I received a promotion at the same time. With the promotion came more responsibilities and higher pay. But as our workloads increased by the same amount, I soon realized that his raise was $5,000 larger than mine. […]

Building America’s Backbench: Electing Women to the State House

08.23.19

The 2016 elections dealt a crushing blow to women. But in its wake, a new urgency and optimism emerged. After the elections, over 26,000 women reached out to the pro-choice political action committee, EMILY’s List for help launching a campaign, about thirty times more women than in the previous cycle. A record number of women […]

#PepperDemMinistries: A Digital Afrocentric Approach to Feminism

08.22.19

  In early Fall 2017, the husband of Ghanaian entertainer Afia Schwarzenegger uploaded videos of what appeared to be Schwarzenegger engaging in an extramarital affair. Ghana’s digital publics swiftly demonized her. That September, several women used the hashtag #MenAreTheirOwnEnemies to expose the misogyny pervading media coverage of the Schwarzenegger affair. Regardless of the facts of […]

El Comedor: Female Migrants in Charge

08.22.19

  Less than half a mile from the U.S. border on a street corner in Tijuana, Mexico sits a small orange kitchen. Like other restaurants on the block, El Comedor typically has a steady stream of people lingering and picking up conversations while music bumps in the background. Yet there is no shortage of things […]

When Parity Is Not Enough: Sexual Violence in India’s Armed Conflict

08.22.19

  In October 2018, the Supreme Court of India turned down a plea by the Central and Chhattisgarh governments to adjourn a case challenging the retention of members of a banned tribal[1] militia in official state forces. The governments justified their appeal on the grounds that the matter was “sensitive” and could affect the results […]

Female Representation and US City Managers: The Stubborn 14.4 Percent

08.22.19

  In November 2018, Sheryl Sculley retired as San Antonio’s City Manager after 13 years in the position. Her replacement, chosen by San Antonio’s City Council, was Erik Walsh. The story was covered by local news with little fanfare – a 40-year management veteran to be replaced by a 24-year management veteran. But this event […]

When the Dictator Wins: How Assad Is Using Reconstruction to Strengthen His Grip on Syria

08.20.19

BY ANNA MYSLIWIEC   After nearly eight years and immense human suffering, the Bashar al-Assad regime is nearing victory in Syria. Aleppo City, Homs, and Rif Damascus—once strongholds of the opposition—have fallen to government forces. President Assad, who in the course of the conflict has employed chemical weapons and indiscriminate violence against Syrians, has now […]

The Non-Feminist Case for Higher Pay for the USWNT

08.19.19

The USWNT doesn’t just deserve equal pay: they deserve higher pay, because they are the team we enjoy watching the most.

Strategic Environmental Assessment and the Sustainable Development of a Ghanaian Integrated Aluminum Industry

08.19.19

In Ghana, President Nana Akufo-Addo’s Integrated Aluminum Industry Plan (the “Plan”) has sparked a contentious debate about how to exploit bauxite – the primary ore used to make aluminum – in a manner that will not jeopardize the country’s sustainable development. The Plan calls for the construction of mines to triple bauxite output, facilities, such […]

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