What’s Current: Scotland’s hate crime bill passes, protecting religion, sexual orientation, age, disability, or transgender identity

  • Scotland’s controversial hate crime bill passes despite outrage over its exclusion of women as a protected sex class. The Guardian reports, “It is intended to consolidate existing hate crime laws but also creates a new offence of ‘stirring up hatred’ on the grounds of religion, sexual orientation, age, disability or transgender identity.”
  • A Saudi court rejects an appeal by prominent women’s rights activist Loujain al-Hathloul to have her sentence overturned and be allowed to travel freely. Hathloul was detained in 2018 during a sweep that targeted opponents of Saudi Arabia’s now-rescinded law barring women from driving.
  • Afghanistan’s education ministry bans girls over age 12 from singing or reading poetry in public, sparking outrage from human rights campaigners.
  • Mississippi’s governor signs a law banning trans-identified males from competing in women’s and girls’ sports.
Meghan McCarty

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