Gender stereotypes pervade every society, and cause enormous harm to everyone--women and girls, men and boys, and anyone who does not neatly fit into binary gender identities. A new UN effort is pushing government to do more to dismantle stereotypes. www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

Women in the United States already face real health consequences, includingpreventable deaths, due to abortion care being denied or delayed. Ending telehealth provision would greatly worsen this crisis. www.hrw.org/news/2026/05...

Nepal has a proud history of protecting the rights of LGBT people. Now access to legal gender recognition has stalled. The new government should put procedures in place to ensure that all people can have identity documents that correspond to their gender identity. www.hrw.org/news/2026/04...

1682 päivää. Neljä ja puoli vuotta. Se on aika, jolloin tytöt Afganistanissa eivät ole saaneet käydä koulua kuudennen luokan jälkeen. 💔

On April 23, it was 1,677 days. It will be more when you read this. That’s the number of days girls in Afghanistan have been banned, by Taliban, from study beyond 6th grade. There is an opportunity right now for every country to do something about this. www.moretoherstory.com/stories/a-de...

At least 37 attorneys general for US states and territories are taking action against xAI after Grok generated a flood of nonconsensual sexual images of women and minors.

"But former staffers, many of whom are independently continuing the institute’s international work, said they planned to protest what they called the theft of the building on Thursday, during the signing ceremony that will be hosted by Mr. Trump." #USIP via @heatherbarr.bsky.social (over there...)

Saw The Running Man tonight. It’s based on a 1982 book that envisions reality TV producers taking over the US and sending their masked goons to terrorize American cities—which probably sounded implausible at the time.

When do we do something about the billionaire death cult.

Women in Argentina Face Rising Violence www.hrw.org/news/2025/12...

Starbucks to pay $35M to NYC workers after city alleges years of abuses https://gothamist.com/news/starbucks-to-pay-35m-to-nyc-workers-after-city-alleges-years-of-abuses

My uncle, Douglas Colesworthy, on the AIDS Memorial Quilt. He died in 1987. Silence = death.

The justice minister announced plans to remove femicide from the Penal Code. The security minister attributed the rise in femicides to so-called “excesses of feminism.” President Milei argued femicide laws unfairly assign greater value to a woman’s life. x.com/heatherbarr1...

Theft on top of theft.

Good riddance to rubbish policy. The end to the UK's "two child limit" social security policy has been announced, and it will soon be gone. We @hrw.org welcome the news, as one of many, many, many voices calling for an end to this arbitrary, cruel social security policy.

🚨 New from @hrw.org: UN leadership & member states should preserve the UN's long underfunded human rights pillar Independent mechanisms responding to grave crises need to be saved. Cutting or merging them won't solve the UN's funding crisis caused by US, #China & others not paying their dues.

🗣️ #WPSWednesday: “80 years, 9 male UN secretaries-general. It’s time for a woman to lead. Gender equality isn’t optional—especially in a world facing rising conflict & human rights crises. @heatherbarr.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

„Quiet, Piggy!“ Just think about that for a minute, and what it means to live in a time when a President can assault a woman in public like that without any consequences. It‘s quite a testimony to the age of regression we live in.

En février 2026, cela fera 80 ans que l'ONU a choisi son tout premier Secrétaire général, un homme. Depuis, les 8 autres personnes ayant occupé ce poste étaient tous des hommes. Il est grand temps qu'une femme occupe ces fonctions. @heatherbarr.bsky.social ⤵️ www.hrw.org/fr/news/2025...

In Feb 26, it will be 80 years since the UN selected its first secretary-general, a man. Since then, eight others have had that job, all men. Surely it’s long past time a woman held the post. In these perilous times we cannot afford an all-men’s club at the top of the UN. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

In Feb 26, it will be 80 years since the UN selected its first secretary-general, a man. Since then, eight others have had that job, all men. Surely it’s long past time a woman held the post. In these perilous times we cannot afford an all-men’s club at the top of the UN. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

“There are other names you might not be seeing at all: Courtney Wild, Rachel Benavidez, Michelle Licata, Maria Farmer, Annie Farmer, Liz Stein, Jess Michaels, Marina Lacerda, Danielle Bensky, Anouska De Georgiou, Shawna Rivera.” www.nytimes.com/2025/11/19/o...

Activists protested, setting burqas on fire: “We burn this not out of hatred, but for freedom. There is no power stronger than a woman’s will for free life.” “A woman’s body is not a site for [playing] politics.” “Your silence helps the Taliban.” www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

With conflict globally reaching a level not seen since the post-WWII era, better responses to the impact of conflict on women’s rights are urgently important. Conflicts and crises harm women and girls in ways far beyond sexual violence. www.hrw.org/news/2025/11...

To see the team rebuilt and competing again gives hope for future generations of Afghan women and girls that they too can reclaim their rights, not only in sports but in all aspects of their lives. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

We are deeply concerned by a State’s use of the word “witch” to attack a UN expert in her report to the #UNGA80 3rd Committee. Misogynistic gendered insults have no place in international dialogue and undermine women’s equality and the integrity and independence of UN mandates.

“We share the view of many civil society organizations and experts that gender apartheid is an urgently needed addition to the legal cannon.” www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

Please join the women’s rights division at @hrw in remembering and celebrating the life of our colleague Agnes Odhiambo, an expert researcher and advocate on women’s rights in Africa. 🗓️ November 5 @ 9AM EST / 4PM SAST 📍Registation link: https://bit.ly/4qkQjg5 📖 Learn more: https://bit.ly/4qwQd59

Updating my LEGO White House

Spent all day reading briefs in Louisiana v. Callais and watching white people argue that the 14th amendment is a race-neutral colorblind amendment and citing Plessy for that proposition has me so angry. Just.. come the fuck on. The Reconstruction Amendments were not intended to be race-neutral.

Wow, I didn't think he was *literally* tearing down the White House.

"Misogyny is a favorite tool of authoritarians." @heatherbarr.bsky.social @hrw.org

📆♀️Cette semaine, se tient à Paris une conférence sur la diplomatie féministe. ❌Remise en cause des droits reproductifs ❌Apartheid de genre en Afghanistan ❌Débats sur le droit de vote des femmes ➡️Les sujets à aborder ne manqueront pas 👇 www.hrw.org/fr/news/2025...

When govts convene this week in Paris to discuss feminist foreign policy, there will be a lot to talk about. The French govt’s description of the event says progress toward gender equality “is not being made fast enough.” That is an epic understatement. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

#NoKings event in Fairhope, Al. A woman was arrested for "lewd conduct" because she was dressed in penis suit with a sign that said "No dick-tator" 3 cops on a 53 yo woman.

🗣️ #WPSWednesday: No women, no peace. 25 years of UN Resolution #1325 remind us: inclusion isn’t charity—it’s strategy. Women at the table = stronger peace agreements. @heatherbarr.bsky.social @hrw.org www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

"If you ban women from being treated by male health care professionals, and then you ban women from training to become health care professionals, the consequences are clear: Women will not have access to health care and will die as a result." www.npr.org/sections/goa...

“After our interview the frogs were joined by a couple of unicorns, a polar bear, and axolotl, a raccoon, and several more characters.”

Oct 31 is the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, & Security. Resolution 1325 has never been more important than today, as we face a global backlash against women’s rights & escalating wars & crises around the globe. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

The German government's plan for social security "reform" is bad news for #humanrights. I tried to set out why for @hrw.org here, a couple of weeks back, as we awaited details of these plans: www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

"Black people are tired. Not metaphorically tired—actually tired. The kind of tired that turns every group chat into a mix of gallows humor and emotional triage." I write about white ignorance and how exhausting it is to hear white ppl insist "this isn't who we are, when it's ALWAYS who we've been.

Oct 31 is the 25th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, & Security. Resolution 1325 has never been more important than today, as we face a global backlash against women’s rights & escalating wars & crises around the globe. www.hrw.org/news/2025/10...

I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...

“More astonishing still was the Taliban’s open celebration of the mission of a foreign woman ostensibly tasked with defending Afghan women against ongoing abuses, honoring her in a public gathering and wishing her further success.” 8am.media/eng/otunbaye...

“More astonishing still was the Taliban’s open celebration of the mission of a foreign woman ostensibly tasked with defending Afghan women against ongoing abuses, honoring her in a public gathering and wishing her further success.” 8am.media/eng/otunbaye...

“The Taliban claim the ban is to “prevent immorality.” In Afghanistan, authorities have long used “morality” as a tool of oppression applied predominantly to women and girls.” www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

“The Taliban claim the ban is to “prevent immorality.” In Afghanistan, authorities have long used “morality” as a tool of oppression applied predominantly to women and girls.” www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

Germany’s government is set to make major social security cuts, and replace the only recently-created “Citizen’s Income” with a more punitive “New Income for Jobseekers”. These plans will increase poverty. Human rights can help guide the debate back to what matters. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...

September 17 marks four years since the Taliban banned secondary education for girls in Afghanistan. It is a devastating anniversary that should make everyone angry – furious even. www.hrw.org/news/2025/09...