Equality Now

100 days ago, Yanar Mohammed, one of Iraq's leading women's rights defenders, was assassinated outside her home in Baghdad.

Yanar dedicated her life to advancing the rights of women and girls. As co-founder and director of the Organisation of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), she supported survivors of gender-based violence, domestic abuse, and trafficking, and established Iraq's first women's shelters and a network of safe houses that continue to provide refuge and support today.

Yet 100 days after her murder, no one has been charged.

The failure to hold perpetrators accountable reflects a broader culture of impunity and sends a chilling message to women human rights defenders across Iraq and beyond.

Together with the Hurra Coalition, we are calling on the Iraqi government to:

🔹 Conduct a prompt, thorough, and independent investigation
🔹 Hold all perpetrators accountable
🔹 Guarantee a safe and enabling environment for women human rights defenders

Read the full statement: https://bit.ly/4xjbBy5

Yanar Mohammed was assassinated 100 days ago. No one has been charged. The Hurra Coalition and Equality Now call on Iraq to deliver justice for Yanar Mohammed and end impunity for attacks on women human rights defenders.

We are grateful to have a global community of supporters, including a committed group of young people named Future Without Fear, based in Luxembourg. By offering party planning, babysitting, and tutoring services, and through henna and the sale of jewellery, they have raised not only funds but awareness for our work in support of all women and girls.

In their words, "We chose to support Equality Now because we wanted to do anything within our power to help women around the world. We want to contribute as much as we possibly can, we want a safe and secure future for the new generations by helping Equality Now."

Thank you, Samanvi, Nihari, Naina, Hanmisha, Suzanna, and Meghana! We appreciate all that you do to help ensure a gender-equal future.

How are technology platforms shaping attitudes towards s*x, relationships, and violence against women and girls?

In this interview, Professor Clare McGlynn shares insights from her new book ‘Exposed’, exploring everything from AI-driven harms and image-based abuse to the role of online platforms in promoting harmful content.

At Equality Now, we believe that all women and girls deserve to be safe both online and offline. That's why we continue to advocate for stronger laws, effective enforcement, and greater accountability from technology companies.

Read the full interview here: https://bit.ly/49DSZ1x

Equality Culture Club: Professor Clare McGlynn on ‘Exposed’, online misogyny, and the future of digital accountability What Louis Theroux’s “Inside the Manosphere” reveals about online misogyny, how it spreads, and why it has real-world consequences.

Lasting change takes persistence, collaboration, and people willing to keep pushing forward, even in difficult circumstances.

Across the Middle East and North Africa, women’s rights activists and organisations continue working together to challenge discrimination, strengthen protections, and create space for progress.

Read more reflections from Equality Now’s MENA Regional Representative, Dima Dabbous, on solidarity, coalition-building, and creating change: https://bit.ly/4wVi7uG

Building change together across the MENA region: In conversation with Dima Dabbous Dima Dabbous is Equality Now’s Regional Representative in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). She joined us in 2018, following a three-decade-long career as an academic, researcher, and activist in the field of media and gender, and now leads our work to support and strengthen the growing wom...

The Colombian Senate has until June 20 to pass the first law against female ge***al mutilation (FGM) in the country’s history. That date is not theoretical: if the fourth and final debate does not take place before then, the bill will expire.

Although the Senate was supposed to meet today, and the anti-FGM bill was number 13 on the debate schedule, we awoke to the news that, upon the request of several Senators of various parties, the plenary session has been postponed without a new date and time confirmed yet.

FGM is not a new problem; it is a documented practice that occurs in a context where geography, poverty, and the absence of state intervention hinder the response. The available data, which experts warn is underestimated, shows 204 cases between 2020 and 2025.

What is at stake with this bill is the opportunity for the Colombian state to move from merely recognising the problem to having the legal tools to address it in a coordinated manner, with an intercultural, non-punitive approach.

Time is running out. “Congress is failing the indigenous women leaders and communities who have already been developing strategies to eliminate FGM in their territories,” said Leandra Becerra, Legal and Advocacy Advisor for Latin America and the Caribbean at Equality Now.

If you are part of an organisation or would like to add your voice as an individual, you still have time to send a letter to the Senate Steering Committee demanding that this debate be prioritised. The template is available in Spanish and English, with email addresses included, and can be found here: https://bit.ly/4tRFgLI

Share this call to action. Every letter that reaches the Senate adds pressure to ensure this issue doesn’t fade into silence.

Equality Culture Club’s book of the month is Motherdom: Breaking Free from Bad Science and Good Mother Myths by Alex Bollen.

Motherdom unpacks the harmful “Good Mother” myth — the impossible standard that blames women no matter what they do. Bollen challenges the bad science behind these narratives and offers a new perspective on motherhood that centers relationships, support, and the resources children need to thrive.

Equality wins. ⚖️

We are proud to share that the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child has ruled that Republic of Malawi failed to protect a minor from s*xual exploitation. This landmark decision, in a case submitted by Equality Now and our partner People Serving Girls At Risk, marks a turning point for children’s rights across Africa.

For too long, survivors of trafficking have been failed by the systems meant to keep them safe. This ruling demands real change.

Equality Now and our partner PSGR will work with the Government of Malawi and other relevant stakeholders, every step required by this decision, and we will closely monitor compliance during the 180-day reporting period.

This decision must lead to real change, better procedures, justice for perpetrators, and safety for survivors. For Maggie, and for every girl still at risk, we will keep working until the systems meant to protect children truly do.

Click here to read Maggie’s story and what this means for the future: https://bit.ly/4dXN5uy

ACERWC landmark decision on Maggie’s case in Malawi marks a turning point for children’s rights in Africa On 20 May 2026, the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child decided that the Government of Malawi violated several provisions of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child in a case involving the s*x trafficking of a 16-year-old girl.

Our 2025 Impact Report is here.

Over the past year, together with partners, activists, survivors, and supporters around the world, we continued working to advance legal equality for women and girls, helping drive legal reforms, strengthen movements, challenge discrimination, and expand access to justice.

At a time of growing backlash against gender equality in many parts of the world, this work has never been more important.

Inside the report, you’ll find stories of progress, reflections from our teams and partners, and insights into the long-term work needed to create lasting change.

Thank you to everyone who continues to stand with us and support this movement.

📖 Explore the full report: https://equalitynow.org/what-we-do/our-impact/

Our impact In 2024, Equality Now improved justice for over 52 million women & girls.

Families should be places of safety, support, and equality. But across the world, discriminatory family laws still deny women and girls equal rights in marriage, divorce, custody, inheritance, and family life.

This International Day of Families, we’re highlighting the importance of laws that protect equality, dignity, and human rights for everyone.

At Equality Now, we work with partners across regions to reform discriminatory family laws and push for lasting legal change. Because equality starts at home.

Learn more about our work: https://bit.ly/4fopy7f

A couple of weeks on from Women Deliver 2026, we’re still reflecting on the conversations, connections, and collective energy that made the week so impactful.

At the end of April, Equality Now joined thousands of advocates, activists, youth leaders, and partners in Naarm (Melbourne) for the first-ever Women Deliver conference hosted in the Oceanic Pacific region.

At a time of growing backlash against the rights of women and girls globally, WD2026 was a powerful reminder that progress must be organised, defended, and built together. Throughout the week, we contributed to important conversations on discriminatory laws, technology-facilitated abuse, child marriage, family law reform, s*xual and reproductive health and rights, and accountability for gender-based violence.

We were especially inspired by the leadership of First Nations women and Oceanic Pacific feminists, whose voices and vision shaped so many important discussions.

Thank you to everyone who joined our sessions, visited our exhibition space, and connected with us throughout the week. We left Naarm inspired, energised, and more committed than ever to advancing gender equality worldwide.