What’s Current: An estimated 11 million girls may drop out of school due to Covid lockdowns

  • UNESCO estimates that 11 million young women and girls may drop out of school due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CNN reports this will roll back decades of progress towards gender equality, and puts girls at risk of child labour, teen pregnancy, forced marriage, and violence.
  • England’s only youth gender clinic is seeking to appeal against a High Court ruling that restricts children under 16 from being prescribed puberty-blocking drugs.
  • Afghan women’s rights activist Freshta Kohistani is shot dead just days after she condemned the recent wave of attacks against prominent women in Afghanistan.
  • The parents of Shana Grice, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend after she repeatedly reported him to police for stalking, lose a High Court bid for a full inquest into her death.
  • An Uttar Pradesh woman who was allegedly gang raped by five men claims she was raped again by a police sub-inspector when she went to file a complaint.
Meghan McCarty

Meghan McCarty is an undergraduate student and aspiring journalist living in the United States.