In the last decade, we have witnessed worldwide policy and law changes regarding sexual and reproductive rights. In some countries, such as the United States, federal and state-level legal decisions evidence a withdrawal of gender equality policies[i] regarding sexual and reproductive autonomy. At the same time, contentious politics and legal efforts have led to their […]

Abstract In a patriarchal country like Russia with “traditional” values endorsed by the official Kremlin propaganda, the first organized group[i] to confront the government after Putin’s declaration of the invasion of Ukraine was paradoxically comprised of feminists. Within 24 hours, they mobilized to form the Feminist Anti-War Resistance (FAR). For an embarrassingly long time, they […]

  Dedicated to honor the memory of our dear friend and co-author, Rodrigo Ventocilla. He will always be remembered for his intellectual motivation, passion for activism, kind friendship and invaluable contributions to the class of 2023.   The world has taken great strides toward gender equality in recent years, and this is apparent in many […]

Introduction Despite economic progress in South Asia, female undernutrition continues to be a significant challenge in the region. This paper focusses on nutrition-focussed social movements initiated by development programming and explores whether such social movements can help improve female nutrition across Low-and-Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) in this region. The first section provides a brief background to […]

Argentina has a long tradition of women mobilizing for their own rights, human rights, and justice in their country. The 30-year-old struggle for abortion rights in Argentina was paved by local women’s organizations and by a constant persistence in guaranteeing women’s right to choose. Getting there was not a coincidence nor just luck. It took […]

Introduction  To what extent are state-led social interventions for women authoritarian? Western literature on the Middle East, and in particular on Saudi Arabia, suggests decision-making is centralized and a result of enlightened despots such Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). But this approach misses upward dialogue initiated by citizenry to communicate desired rights for women to leaderships. […]

South Africa needs massive social investment in education and basic infrastructure if the country is to address its current development challenges. The Executive Director, Center for Development and Enterprise, South Africa, Ann Bernstein, stated this during the Growth Lab Development Talks at the Harvard Kennedy School. The theme of her talk was “The Role of […]

HPV has traditionally been framed as a disease that largely affects females, but should males get vaccinated as well? Ng Qi Siang argues that gender-neutral vaccination is more effective than female-only vaccination in terms of cost-efficiency and containing viral spread. He proposes that the government reframe HPV as a disease that affects all genders and move towards a gender-neutral HPV vaccination policy in the near future.

Cover photo courtesy of UGHE Editor’s Note: The late Dr. Paul Farmer and his colleagues pioneered novel, community-based treatment strategies that demonstrate the delivery of high-quality health care in resource-poor settings. Dr. Farmer died on February 21, 2022, in Butero, Rwanda, where he was teaching at the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE). In this piece, […]

While the government has announced that it will repeal Section 377A of the Penal Code, it has also sought to protect the definition of marriage from constitutional challenge. Lawyer and activist Daryl Yang explains what the resulting constitutional amendment may look like, as well as what it means to the LGBTQ+ community in Singapore.

We know that the most effective policy for sustainable development is investing in empowering women and girls. We have the evidence about their impact on families, communities, industries and nations. Any efforts to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic needs to ensure and enhance their empowerment, including especially their sexual and reproductive health and rights, social protection […]

Note: This article is featured in the Kennedy School Review’s 2022 print journal. The War on Drugs and Violence in Latin America: Time to Hit Reset Latin America is the most violent region in the world, with only 8 percent of the global population accounting for 38 percent of the global share of murder. That […]