Power
March 8, 2024 - I'm done with scraps. Give women power.
Ramadan kareem. İyi Ramazanlar. 🌙✨
Nearly 30 years ago, Hillary Clinton led the US delegation to the 1995 UN Women’s Conference in Beijing. There she famously declared, “women’s rights are human rights.” Her daughter, Chelsea was 15 years old. At the launch of the Women’s Initiative at the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University this week she said:
I very much wanted to raise her (Chelsea) in a world where women were free and equal. Now Chelsea is grown with a daughter and sons of her own. I still find myself reminding people that women’s rights are human rights. I’d hoped that that would be old news by now. I still see women and girls bearing a disproportionate burden in almost every global crisis.
It is stunning that in 2024, despite significant gains in rights and representation, women still struggle for influence and power — across a variety of fields — in order to have impact. That struggle is the issue. Clinton pointed to that this week as well:
Simply embracing the concept of women’s rights, let alone enshrining those rights in laws and constitutions is not the same as achieving full equality. Rights are important but they are nothing without the power to claim them.
Globally, women have secured greater rights. The 1979 Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) set in motion efforts to end sexism and inequality. In 1995, the Platform for Action adopted at the UN Women’s Conference in Beijing, became a blueprint to advance women’s rights worldwide. In 2000, the UN Security Council passed resolution 1325, women, peace, and security, recognizing the role and importance of women in peace and security efforts. In 2008, the body passed resolution 1820 which recognizes rape as a weapon of war.
In foreign policy, women have broken barriers and gotten a seat at the proverbial table. About a quarter of leaders worldwide are women. About the same number occupy foreign ministries. The US had had three female secretaries of state. Shortly after launching this newsletter, a leader of a prominent think tank remarked to me that that was proof that foreign policy didn’t have a “women” problem. 🙄 (I asked him if that also meant America had ended racial divisions since we had a Black president.)
That remark said it all: Women in foreign policy got a seat — three in fact. What more do you want?
It spoke to the fact that the patriarchy is the gatekeeper and that it’s not about to give up the keys. It will engage in window dressing — speak about respecting women and ending violence against women; support women’s causes; and hire and promote women, even appoint them to top positions. As Lina AbiRafah notes in this 2021 post about why she hates International Women’s Day, the “presence of women doesn’t necessarily mean power for women.” And power is not something the patriarchy is ready to cede.
Consider the current Biden administration. The president has championed women and set up the Gender Policy Council at the White House to “advance gender equity and equality.” He has appointed a historic number of women and people of color to his administration. Yet, how many of them are being heard? What is their real influence? Biden’s key foreign policy advisors are all white men — men who seem to execute his vision and worldview, not help him shape it.
I am a part of the Feminist Foreign Policy Collaborative and the US Coalition for a Feminist Foreign Policy — proudly and enthusiastically. Especially at a moment when America’s relative super power is on the decline and the rules-based norms carved out after World War II are eroding, there is an opportunity to reshape the world order. That is something autocrats have homed in on. Strongmen want power and impunity.
Especially as reproductive rights are being rolled back, climate change is ravaging communities, inequality is on the rise, and war is raging in Gaza, Ukraine, and Sudan, it is vital that we push for feminist principles and solutions — in order to solve those challenges and preserve democracy. On International Women’s Day, we need to also push for power. Not “girl” power. Just power. Period.
I’m done with being happy with scraps, “grateful for the opportunity.” Feminist women — not just any woman, as Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert prove — need to be at the table, contributing to policies and solutions to the multitude of problems we face. To get there, we need to not only support, promote, amplify, and fund feminist women, we need to work to change systems. We cannot empower women and fail to remove the obstacles that have held them back.
That means focusing on equal pay and family and sick leave. It means making the economy work for all people, so that households don’t feel obligated to work in order to keep a certain standard of living. That means investing in public education and transportation, healthcare, and social services. It means having women at the table, not just in the room, when addressing conflicts and national security issues. It means passing legislation that protects women online from deepfake porn, threats, and harassment. It means publishing women and ensuring their voices are heard.
Empowering women means and involves so much more than honoring them one day of the year. — Elmira
I’m opening up my column to others. Please pitch me your op-ed idea/perspective. Let’s get more female perspectives. Email me on endeavoringe@gmail.com or respond to this post.
Elsewhere in the World.....
On our radar...
Haiti
Haiti’s problems worsened last weekend. Gangs attacked two jails in the country’s capital, Port au Prince, freeing thousands of prisoners. On Monday, gangs seized control of the country’s main airport. At issue is the announcement that already delayed elections would be further pushed back to August 2025, leaving interim Prime Minister Ariel Henry at the helm. Henry ascended to power in July 2021, following the assassination of Jovenel Moise. Diana Roy and Rocio Cara Labrador have a useful backgrounder to understand the complicated politics and timeline. (CFR)
We also want to give a plug to Jordana Timerman’s Latin American Daily Brief which keeps us up-to-date on Haiti and all things in Latin America.
France for the win. This week, legislators amended the country’s constitution to include a woman’s right to reproductive choice and bodily autonomy. Monir Ghaedi hopes that the ruling could help solidify Europe’s overall trends toward reproductive rights. 🙌 (DW)
Orbán for the loss. Hungary’s prime minister landed in Florida on March 7 to call upon Donald Trump. As Lili Bayer notes, he has no plans to meet anyone from the Biden administration. 👀 (The Guardian)
US
America has an enormous fentanyl crisis. Sending the military into Mexico to fight the drug cartels is not the way to solve it, says Annie Pforzheimer. Instead, let’s double down on diplomacy and cooperation with Mexico. (Georgetown Journal of International Affairs)
The headline says it all: It’s time to quit hoping the courts are going to stop Trump. Dahlia Lithwick and Richard Hasen think we should “move on” and return the focus to the voters, in order to save American democracy. (Slate)
The protest vote to demand a permanent ceasefire in Gaza “cast a shadow” on Biden’s Democratic Party victory on Super Tuesday. Macarena Cidal Liy says Biden is struggling to win votes from both Arab-American and progressive young voters. (El Pais)
Africa
What happened to the UN fact-finding mission in Sudan? Though passed last October, the mission has not been staffed. And time is running out. The mission’s mandate expires at the end of this year. “Lackluster responses to Sudan’s conflict today,” writes FPI Fellow Sarah Jackson, are rooted in the failure of member states to pay and step up. (Mail & Guardian)
The war in Sudan has left millions in need of humanitarian support, says Beatrice Farhat. Nearly 8 million Sudanese have been forced to relocate from their homeland since the crisis began. The UN agency called for an immediate ceasefire and warned this might lead to the world’s worst hunger crisis. (Al-Monitor)
Asia
Piss off China and you’ll pay the price. The country does not shy away from inflicting economic pain on those it believes are a threat to its interests. Except, that pain isn’t always doled out evenly, says Kacie Miura. (Lawfare)
And while it’s easy to assume that China is all about its economy, Diana Choyleva tells us that it’s not the top priority. As the Communist Party convenes its annual meeting it’s all about security. (Nikkei Asia)
Those elections in Pakistan we’ve been writing about… the one where Imran Khan’s party surprised everyone, including the country’s mighty military? Don’t read too much into that, says Sarah Khan. Unless all of Pakistan’s parties reject the military, it will continue to have power. (Foreign Affairs)
Whoa. Here’s a stat: There are 2.6 doctors per 1000 people in South Korea. For the past two weeks, doctors in the country have been on strike over what needs to be done to fix the healthcare system. Hyonhee Shin and Ed Davies go into the details. (Reuters)
The Americas
The “green wave” in Latin America has pushed countries to reverse the ban on abortion in countries such as Argentina and Colombia. Yet, with the elections of Javier Milei in Argentina and Nayib Bukele in El Salvador, right wing strongmen are poised to erase feminist gains, write Inés Santaeulalia, Naiara Galarraga Gortázar, Ana María Sanhueza and Almudena Barragán. (El Pais)
Europe
Vladimir Putin is ramping up his radical-right credentials. This reinforces his grip on power in Russia, but it could also increase his influence worldwide, says Ksenia Luchenko. (ECFR)
Over a non-secure line, German military officials were recorded talking about Ukraine. Sarah Marsh and Andreas Riinke have the details on the call and how it was leaked. (Reuters)
What happens to a nuclear power plant amid a war? Nataliya Gumenyuk gives us a first hand look at the challenges facing those working at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia power plant, Europe’s largest, and most vulnerable in the world. (The Atlantic)
Middle East
The Muslim holy month of Ramadan begins on Monday, March 11. That matters as negotiators scramble to broker a ceasefire in Gaza. Amy Mackinnon on fears that clashes during Ramadan could ignite the region. (Foreign Policy)
Israel’s war on Gaza is a health justice issue, argues Fatima Hassan. (Al Jazeera)
Dropping aid from planes is not only inefficient, it’s also expensive. So why are countries, including the US, doing it? Sarah Dadouch and Claire Parker explain. (Washington Post)
Although Netanyahu might be an unpopular prime minister in Israel, his policies have support, writes Ksenia Svetlova. Recent polls found that when asked which of the two goals of the war is more important,” 46.6 percent prioritized securing the release of hostages, while 44.8 percent said “victory in the war against Hamas” is more important. (Atlantic Council)
It’s been six years since Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka the Iran nuclear deal. Since then, Tehran has advanced its nuclear capabilities. As the US and Iran backed proxies clash in the Middle East, Kelsey Davenport underscores the importance of having access to Iran’s nuclear facilities and knowing about its nuclear capabilities. Let’s get on that. (Just Security)
How are the efforts to counter the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea? Not great. Just this week a Houthi attack killed three aboard a Liberian owned, Barbados flagged commercial ship. Anti-Houthi rebels are eager for Western support. Eleonora Ardemagni looks at the pros and cons of supporting these counter forces. (Middle East Institute)
In case you missed it, Iran held parliamentary elections last weekend. According to Sanam Vakil, so did a majority of Iranians. The election saw the lowest turnout rate in 45 years. (Chatham House)
Science & Climate Change
We all know that 2024 is a huge election year worldwide, and as it turns out, it's going to be huge for the planet, too. Five of the world’s biggest carbon-emitting territories are going to the polls this year and the outcomes of those elections could change the trajectory of global warming. Smriti Mallapaty, Carissa Wong, Sarah Wild, Nisha Gaind, and Jeff Tollefson fill us in on the elections in the US, India, Indonesia, Russia, and the EU. (Nature)
Technology
2023 was a turning point in AI, especially for Europe, but there’s still progress to be made. Tanuja Randery fills us in on this year’s success and the obstacles that the future holds. (Euronews)
Under the Radar
A win for women in Australia came last week when education ministers agreed upon the National Action Plan Addressing Gender-based Violence in Higher Education. As many women worldwide can likely attest to, sexual violence and assault are widespread on college campuses and most governments haven’t provided reputable systems for accountability. Carina Garland thinks that this could be a step in the right direction. (The Guardian)
Opportunities
In NYC, Camba is on the hunt for a CEO.
Remote, Semafor Flagship is hiring a Deputy News Editor.
Remote, The Economic Security Project has two positions open: Program Manager and Associate Director for the Build the Field project. You get to work with Dave Algoso!
Editorial Team
Elmira Bayrasli - Editor-in-Chief
Editors:
Pin-Shan Lai
Catherine Lovizio
Emily Smith