Women’s Rights

Overlooked No More: Katharine McCormick, Force Behind the Birth Control Pill

She used her wealth strategically to expand opportunities for women, underwriting the development of the pill and supporting the suffrage movement.

By Katharine Q. Seelye

Books and Literature Colleges and Universities Deaths (Obituaries) Feminist Film Theory Film Studies Movies Pornography University of California, Berkeley Williams, Linda (1946-2025) Women's Rights

Linda Williams, Who Introduced Pornography to Academia, Dies at 78

One of the first to write seriously about a fraught subject, she also played a major role in developing the field of film studies and feminist film theory.

By Joanne Kaufman

American University of Beirut Arabs Beirut (Lebanon) Discrimination Middle East Women and Girls Women's Rights

A Lebanese Woman Fights for Women’s Rights in the Middle East

Lina Abou-Habib is fighting inequality, working to change laws that make it difficult for women to keep custody of their children and block residency for children in a mother’s home country.

By Shivani Vora

Academy Awards (Oscars) Censorship Demonstrations, Protests and Riots Freedom of Speech and Expression Iran Movies Muslim Veiling Rasoulof, Mohammad Women's Rights

A New Age of Iranian Cinema Is on Display at the Oscars

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig,” an Oscar-nominated movie filmed in secret in Iran, highlights the Iranian film world’s groundbreaking new work, inspired by the women-led protests in 2022.

By Farnaz Fassihi