What’s Current: Afghan governor Salima Mazari, who recruited militants to fight Taliban, taken hostage

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  • One of the first female governors in Afghanistan, Salima Mazari, has reportedly been captured by Taliban forces. Mazari had taken up arms against the Taliban along with an army of 600 locals.
  • Nearly 1,000 girls aged 10 to 14 became pregnant and gave birth while South Africa experienced the first outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, while 19,316 girls aged between 15 to 19 years gave birth during the same time period. South Africa’s Department of Health recorded no data about the men involved and does not collect statistics regarding statutory rape.
  • Caroline Nokes, chair of U.K.’s women and equalities committee, has opened an inquiry to look at whether menopause can be listed as a protected characteristic under the Equality Act to prevent women from workplace discrimination.
  • An Illinois appellate court ordered Hobby Lobby to pay $220,000 for forbidding a transgender employee from using the women’s restroom, stating that the sex of the trans-identified male claimant is “unquestionably female”.
Genevieve Gluck

Genevieve Gluck is a writer and advocate for women's sex-based rights and creator of Women's Voices, an audio library dedicated to bringing awareness to feminist texts and speeches.