Women’s News Roundup, February 1: 5 Important Stories about Women
1. Judge Ann M. Donnelly is the First Judge to Block Trump’s Immigrant and Refugee Deportations
President Trump’s ban on refugees and travelers from seven Muslim-majority countries shook the nation during the last week of January. Human rights defenders such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) sent lawyers into airports to support and represent stranded travelers. The Washington Post reports Donnelly learned from an ACLU lawyer during a hearing that one traveler was imminently going to be deported to war-torn Syria and her safety could not be guaranteed. Donnelly ruled that “sending travelers back could cause ‘irreparable harm,’” and halted the deportations. Also of note, NPR shares that Trump’s immigration freeze did not extend to Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Egypt or the United Arab Emirates, which are countries where he currently has business interests.
2. Women’s March in Washington Has Tremendous Turnout Worldwide
While crowd scientists are still working on final counts for what is being hailed as America’s largest nationwide protest, the January 21 Women’s March brought out about 485,000 protesters in Washington, D.C. and, according to Vice News, over 3 million worldwide. The NY Times reports the D.C. march had three times more participants than Trump’s inauguration. The summary of the march mission of the website reads:
We stand together in solidarity with our partners and children for the protection of our rights, our safety, our health and our families — recognizing that our vibrant and diverse communities are the strength of our country.
Alicia Keys, Cher, Gloria Steinem, Janelle Monae, Rep. John Lewis, Samantha Bee, numerous fired-up scientists, and many more passionate feminists and notable figures participated. Ashley Judd delivered a stirring performance of a “Nasty Woman” poem by 19-year-old Nina Donovan. Watch Donovan’s original performance:
Pink Pussy Hats, which Legendary Women previously reported on here, abounded and the historic Women’s March extended to every continent, even Antarctica:
Many women also attended the 44th annual March for Life anti-abortion protest, which took place on January 27th — numbers for this march have been hard to track down online. Speakers included Vice President Mike Pence and Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway.
3. “Hidden Figures” Shines in Box Office and Awards Season
The film Hidden Figures tells the story of a group of under-celebrated African-American women who provided vital and complex mathematical data to NASA, which was critical to early space missions. The film beat out Rogue One: A Star Wars Story at the box office in its first weekend and the cast won Best Ensemble in a motion picture at the Screen Actors Guild awards. The film was nominated for two Golden Globes: Best Original Score for Hans Zimmer, Pharrell Williams and Benjamin Wallfisch, and Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer. It is nominated for several Oscars: Best Picture, Actress in a Supporting Role for Octavia Spencer, and Writing (Adapted Screenplay).
4. Trump Sued for Defamation after Denying Sexual Misconduct
Trump has faced numerous accusations and lawsuits for sexual assault, ranging from the realm of abusive speech to the rape of his ex-wife and an underage girl. Former Apprentice contestant Summer Zervos has now sued him in New York for defamation. The Atlantic explains that “She claims that he kissed her and pressed his genitals against her non-consensually.” When Trump said she and all of his other accusers were lying, she sued him with attorney Gloria Allred.
Days before the 2016 presidential election, the woman who accused Trump of raping her at 13 with convicted pedophile and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein dropped her lawsuit and news conference after being extensively threatened. Here’s a 2002 quote from Trump regarding Epstein:
I’ve known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy. He’s a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side.
The Atlantic offers more information on this and numerous other current and past suits against the president in their article, The Many Scandals of Donald Trump: A Cheat Sheet.
5. Netherlands Steps up to Provide International Abortions Funds that the Trump Team Withdrew
After Trump reinstated a policy called the “Global Gag Rule” that withholds funds from international organizations who offer abortion advice as a method of family planning in developing countries, the Netherlands swiftly committed $10 million for an initiative to replace this financial support. In the Netherlands, sex education starts in kindergarten and they have one of the lowest teen pregnancy rates in the world, at less than 1.5 percent in 2012.
*Extra News Flash*
A photo of Trump and his all-male staff at his signing of the “Global Gag Rule” inspired French feminist group 52 (women make up 52 percent of France’s population) to create a viral satiric image. The image shows Hillary Clinton and a group of women in government banning non-procreative ejaculation:
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Julia Travers is a journalist and author. She’s on Twitter @traversjul and she runs the artist interview site, Ask Artists.
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Legendary Women, Inc. doesn’t own or profit from the images above and has credited them and quotes. They are used here for information purposes and are covered under fair use.
