Category: The World

The Fatal Cost of Being Female

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The Fatal Cost of Being Female

Maya Omkar
August 2025

Author’s Inspiration

I first became grossly aware of South Asian femicide when I picked up Rupi Kaur’s “the sun and her flowers.” Published in 2017, “the sun and her flowers” was Kaur’s second collection of poetry, desired for its minimalistic illustrations and simplistic but preeminent language. Needless to say, I enjoyed flipping through her array of relatable and beautifully descriptive poems; however, there was only one page that moved me deeply to the point where I think about it today. It was a page controversial for not even being a poem: her timeline of South Asian female infanticide. 

As the name suggests, femicide is the intentional murdering of girls or women. Sexism to the point of murder is rooted in centuries of cultural norms, religious beliefs, patriarchal societal structures, and in specified cases, wartime. 

For decades, women have been subjected to several forms of violence and murder whether it be honor-killings, dowry-related, societal downpour, or even just pure domestic violence.[1] Historically, the most common reason for femicide is due to social stigma, often resulting in infanticide. As South Asia’s origins were rooted in deep-seated patriarchal structures, the thought of birthing a girl has been, and sometimes still is, negatively provoking. Today, in several South-Eastern Asian countries, including the likes of China, parents are prohibited from learning the sex of the fetus. From the 1990s to 2017, 10.7 million female infants were documented as missing in India alone.[2] The sex ratio for male versus female has always been off balance in the South-Eastern region, notoriously always favoring males. Today, several organizations in South Asia such as The Pushpa Project and the Invisible Girl Project have branched together to raise awareness and prevent female infanticide from materializing. However, this doesn’t mean cases don’t occur. On September 1st of 2024, a 28-year-old Khyala woman strangled her 6-day-old daughter to death. During the investigation, they found the newborn in a bag lying on the terrace of the house across from hers. The woman told the police she had already faced extreme social stigma for birthing three daughters previously and wanted to repel the suppositions that she was cursed.[5]

Honor killings usually occur when a woman is subjected as “impure,” usually through the breaking of purity norms. A woman’s actions that are deemed dishonorable to her family may result in a homicide, usually committed by a close male relative. The justification for this mindset can only be explained through the common systematic devaluing of women which can be found across many cultures historically. Honor killings are most prevalent in countries where family reputation, societal norms, and community cohesion is significantly important to daily living. In contrast to domestic violence, honor killing is a decision typically made carefully and under the right set of standards where the costs and benefits are weighed. One might assume punishment acts as a deterrent, but the prospect of jail time isn’t an impending concern when it comes to honor killing. Acts of impurity include: refusing an arranged marriage, courting a man other than her husband, divorcing and remarrying, or having an extramarital entanglement.[4] In some cases, the murder is even publicly announced in a boast of glee. In Syria, a woman remembered, “I had just reached the police station…when I saw my classmate Aziz joyfully descending a hill…and chanting ‘I’ve killed her and saved my family’s honour! I’ve killed my sister and have come to hand myself over for justice.’ The three of them strolled slowly into the police station, chatting amicably.”[3] Globally, it’s believed that around 5,000 to 20,000 female lives are taken from honor killing in a year alone. 

 Although the cited cases of femicide and female infanticide occurred in South-East Asia and the Middle East, domestic violence against women is a global issue—it’s everywhere. Regardless of location, gender-based discrimination persists in every society. In much larger and recent cases, when a country is subjected to wartime, gender violence heightens tremendously. The Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has been engulfed by a savage war since the mid 1990s. Enriched militant groups have employed sexual violence towards women as a tactic of war, and hasn’t stopped. General Secretaries of the International Trade Union Conference (ITUC) Burrow and Warda wrote, “Violence against women is the worst manifestation of women’s powerlessness and subordinate position at home, at work and in society.”[6] A UN report announced over 55,000 cases of sexual violence documented in the second quarter of 2024.[7] Sexual violence is systematically being used as a method of war in places such as Congo and Sudan.[6] 

Femicide isn’t just a cruel grievance against the individual woman or girl; it’s a feature of a deeply-set sexist society that has failed to protect half its population. No law or paper will ever change the normality of femicide—it demands a change in cultural perseverance and a global commitment to valuing men and women equally. The ongoing difficulties women battle each day serves only as a reminder of the pressing problems we have to face. 

References 

[1]  CORRADI, C. (2021, November 22). Femicide, its causes and recent trends: What do we know? European Parliament. https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2021/653655/EXPO_BRI(2021)653655_EN.pdf

[2] Cultural and Social Bias Leading to Prenatal Sex Selection: India Perspective. (2022, June 13). PubMed Central. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9234277/

[3] Churchill Robert Paul. 2018. Women in the Crossfire: Understanding and Ending Honor Killing. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

[4] Aksoy, O., & Szekely, A. (2025, April 11). Making Sense of Honor Killings. SageJournals. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00031224251324504#bibr11-00031224251324504

[5] Jalali, U. (2024, September 1). Female infanticide: Mother of three girls, Khyala woman kills fourth daughter. The New Indian Express. 

[6] ITUC. (n.d.). Violence Against Women in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo.

[7] United Nations. (2024, September 30). DRC: MSF publishes alarming figures on sexual violence admissions. https://www.un.org/sexualviolenceinconflict

My Body, My Data: A Federal Shift in Reproductive Privacy as of June 2025 

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My Body, My Data: A Federal Shift in Reproductive Privacy as of June 2025 

Sanya Talwar 
June 2025

Congress Reboots Protection with “My Body, My Data” 

On June 11, 2025, U.S. Representatives and Senators introduced the My Body, My Data Act, sponsored by Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA) and Senators Mazoe Hirono (D-HI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR), with the aim to create federal guardrails around reproductive health data —including menstruation, contraception, IVF, pregnancy, and abortion records— by limiting how companies collect, store, and share it.[1] The legislation would require informed user consent, strong data deletion options, and harsh penalties for misuse.[2] 

Digital Trials, Real-World Consequences 

This renewed push follows documented misuse of digital data. In a 2022 Nebraska case, Facebook messages between a mother and daughter were used as evidence in an illegal abortion prosecution.[3] In Texas, prosecutors used license-plate readers to identify people visiting abortion clinics. Anti-abortion activists have geofenced Planned Parenthood clinics, delivering targeted digital ads to visitors.[4] 

This isn’t just invasive—it’s dangerous. Experts warn that without regulation, reproductive health data can and is being used to criminalize people for seeking care. 

What the Bill Actually Does 

The Bill proposes: 

  • Data minimization: Companies can only collect data necessary for delivering requested services.
  • Consent-Driven access: Users must explicitly agree to data use and can demand deletion
  • Transparency: Platforms must disclose data practices clearly.
  • Enforcement: Companies violating the law could be fined up to $1000 per user per day.[2] 

These protections mirror Washington State’s 2023 My Health, My Data Act, which has become a model for reproductive digital privacy law nationwide.[5] 

Backers Weigh In 

Reproductive rights groups have endorsed the legislation. Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, emphasized the stakes: “No one should fear that their period app or search history could be used against them in court”[1] 

Dr. Dhazaleh Moayedi, an OB-GYN, stressed that patients’ safety depends on privacy: “We cannot provide ethical care if our patients are at legal risk for seeking help.”[6] 

Even tech experts are speaking out. Mozilla Foundation warned in 2024 that 87% of health apps lack proper user protections.[7] 

Parallel Bill Targets Law Enforcement 

In May 2025, five House Democrats introduced a complementary bill: the Reproductive Data Privacy and Protection Act, which would block law enforcement from accessing reproductive data in civil or criminal investigations, including fertility treatment, miscarriage records, and abortion communications.[8] 

Why This Matters Right Now 

  • A 2025 academic review of 45 health apps found that most apps transmitted user data to third-party marketers or analytics firms, often without full user consent.[7] 
  • States like New York, Connecticut, and California have been passing their own data shield laws to counter federal inaction.[5] 
  • Without federal legislation, people in anti-abortion states remain exposed to potential criminalization through digital footprints.[4] 

A New Era of Advocacy 

My Body, My Data reframed reproductive justice in the digital age. It acknowledges that the post-Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization reality extends beyond clinics and courtrooms—it reaches into browsers, apps, and smart devices. Protecting personal data is now a fundamental part of defining bodily autonomy. 

This legislation, if passed, would be the most comprehensive federal privacy protection for reproductive data in American history. As of now, the bill has been introduced but has not yet passed. Lawmakers expect debates and committee reviews over the summer, with a potential floor vote anticipated in the fall session of Congress. Advocates are urging swift action given the urgency of reproductive data vulnerabilities nationwide. And even if it fails in the short term, the momentum for digital rights is building state by state—and person by person.

At its core, this debate is about basic human rights—the right of every woman to control her body and her health information without fear or interference. Reproductive data privacy should not be negotiable—it must be a federally protected right. 

References 

[1] Jacobs, S., Hirono, M., & Wyden, R. (2025, June 11). Democrats reintroduce the My Body, My Data Act to protect reproductive health data. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/11/democrats-my-body-my-data-act

[2] U.S. House of Representatives. (2025). My Body, My Data Act – Bill Summary. https://www.congress.gov 

[3] Levenson, M. (2022, August 10). Nebraska woman charged after police obtain Facebook messages about abortion. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com 

[4] Brenan, M. (2024, December 15). Geofencing, health data, and abortion: The new front in digital surveillance. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com 

[5] Washington State Legislature. (2023). My Health, My Data Act. https://app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary 

[6] Physicians for Reproductive Health. (2025). Dr. Moayedi’s Congressional Testimony on Data Privacy. https://prh.org 

[7] Mozilla Foundation. (2024). Privacy not included: Health and period-tracking apps. https://foundation.mozilla.org/en/privacynotincluded [8] U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce. (2025, May 22). Reproductive Data Privacy and Protection Act introduced. https://energycommerce.house.gov

The Pink Tax: The Hidden Cost of Being a Woman

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The Pink Tax: The Hidden Cost of Being a Woman

Manushree Kanchi
June 2025

Even though it may sound like a government-imposed fee, the “Pink Tax” is not an actual tax. Instead, it describes the overpricing of products and services marketed solely towards women. This “tax” encompasses a wide range of items from drugstore to professional. Women are often faced paying more than men for the same items with the only difference being the color of packaging or the gender label. It is disparities like these that quietly add up over time to contribute to the expensive cost of being a woman.

Image by Freepik

In Everyday Life

A 2015 study by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs studied an estimate of 800 products. The conclusion found that women’s products cost an average of 7% more than similar items that are marketed to men. The study also showed that there was a 13% upcharge on personal care products and even a 7% price difference for children’s items. Neutrally categorized items such as razors and lotions are usually priced higher for women. They are often packaged in pink and labeled “for her”. [1]

Not only do products reflect this gendered pricing, but services do as well. For example, the dry cleaners may charge more to clean a woman’s blouse than a man’s shirt, even when the materials are nearly identical. Haircuts for women tend to be more expensive than men’s, regardless of hair length. These patterns in pricing are integrated so deeply into everyday life that most people don’t even question them. However, these common occurrences do accumulate quickly and over the course of a year, can cost women over $1,300 more than men. [2]

Compounding the Wage Gap

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, women earn about 83 cents for every dollar a man earns. For women of color, the gap is even wider. Overall, women are often spending more while earning less. [3]

Critics of the term “Pink Tax” sometimes argue that women can just buy men’s products to avoid the markup of their own. While this is true, this dismisses the real issue at hand. Many women feel pressure to use products marketed specifically for them to meet societal standards of appearance or femininity. Some essential items like menstrual products have no male equivalent at all. In many U.S. states, feminine hygiene products have been taxed as luxury items. 

Legal Action & What Comes Next

There are some states that have taken steps towards addressing the issue. In 2022, California passed the Gender Tax Repeal Act, which prohibits businesses from charging different prices for “substantially similar” goods based on gender. [4] While there are a couple states with legislation like this in place, efforts to pass a federal Pink Tax Repeal Act have been stalled, leaving many American consumers unprotected from gender-based pricing.

Ending the Pink Tax isn’t just about lowering prices of personal products or services. It’s about economic fairness and gender equity. While women pay more when they earn less, society silently penalizes them for their gender. Advocates and lawmakers must continue pushing for change to ensure pricing becomes fair and truly equal.

References

[1] From Cradle to Cane: The Cost of Being a Female Consumer. (n.d.). https://www.nyc.gov/assets/dca/downloads/pdf/partners/Study-of-Gender-Pricing-in-NYC.pdf 

[2]: Taylor, K. R. (2023, March 8). Pink tax: What does price discrimination cost women?. Kiplinger. https://www.kiplinger.com/taxes/pink-tax-womens-products-price-discrimination 

[3] Ascott, E. (2025, March 21). Women still earn 83 cents to every dollar made by men, despite pay transparency. Allwork.Space. https://allwork.space/2025/03/women-still-earn-83-cents-to-every-dollar-made-by-men-despite-pay-transparency/#:~:text=Women%20 Still%20 Earn%2083%20 Cents,By%20 Men%2C%20 Despite%20 Pay%20 Transparency 

[4] California implements “Pink tax” law prohibiting gender-based pricing for substantially similar products | practical law. (n.d.-a). https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-037-9037?transitionType=Default&contextData=(sc.Default)&firstPage=true 

Is the Literary Industry Racially Diverse?

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Is the Literary Industry Racially Diverse?

Gabriela Castro 
July 2024

Did you know that 95% of fiction books published in the U.S. between 1950 and 2018 were written by white authors?[7] Considering the fact that 10.5% of the U.S. population were minorities in 1950 and that percentage has only increased in the years since, this shows a historical underrepresentation of authors of color in literature.[3][4]

Contemporary BIPOC Authors are Persistently Underrepresented

Needless to say, efforts to understand and address the racial disparity of authored works have been sluggish. Only two of the infamous Big Five publishing houses–which control over 80% of the publishing market–have just begun to show transparency in surveying the diversity of its authors.[7] Penguin Random House–arguably the biggest literary publishing conglomerate–published a survey review which found that 23.5% of its authors who published between 2019 and 2021 were people of color.[7] By comparison, in 2022 Hachette publishing disclosed its third annual report on diversity that 34% of book acquisitions were written by minority authors in 2021, an increase from 29% in 2020, and 22% in 2019.[7] Considering the fact that racial minorities make up about 40% of the U.S. population, this shows a persistent underrepresentation of authors of color in literature despite recent efforts by these two literary publishing agencies to amplify and publish BIPOC writers.[4]

Image by vecstock on Freepik

Pervasiveness of Whiteness in Publishing

A review of the literary agencies demonstrates that this diversity issue isn’t limited to authors. According to Lee and Low, approximately 72.5% of publishing, review journal, and literary agency staff are white.[5] While this report noted a moderate improvement from the 79% of publishing, review journal, and literary agency staff who identified as white in 2015, this data is misleading as minorities make up a 63.8% majority of literary interns but hold less than 30% of executive, editorial, sales, marketing, book reviewing, literary specialist, and literary agent positions.[5] It is dubious to claim that diversity in publishing has truly improved if minorities are holding the majority of entry-level literary positions but are lacking in associate positions or higher.

Not only are writers of color historically and persistently marginalized in the literary industry, but this disenfranchisement is pervasive in the staffing of those involved in the publishing industry. To underscore this issue, the vast majority of literary employees are straight (68.7%), nondisabled (83.5%), and/or cis women (71.3%), highlighting the need for LGBT+, disabled, and gender nonbinary personnel in the literary industry.[5] 

Representation in Literary Content

Among youth-centered literature, recently published books themselves have diversity on par with the population. In 2023, the Cooperative Children’s Book Center (CCBC) found 40% of total books for children and teens have at least one BIPOC primary character (fiction) or human subject (nonfiction).[8] This is also considering the fact that many published books may not include human characters or subjects since they are imaginative and intended for kids.[8] In terms of content, the CCBC noted that 49% of the children and YA books had significant BIPOC content, an increase from 46% in 2022.[8] 


The caveat to diversity in children’s and teen’s books is that it comes in the wake of scrutiny and pushback in the form of book bans.[6] While it is important to be critical of media consumption, especially for the safety of children, the drastic extent of book censorship can create an overly sanitized and homogenized selection of literature for readers to choose from. 

These book bans can hinder critical thought from young readers by preventing children’s exposure to an identity they would not otherwise understand outside of verbal opinion. In other words, banning books on the basis of them being “too diverse” or controversial leaves children susceptible to others’ bias and unable to form opinions of their own. Denying access to books that address social issues such as racism, sexism, or discrimination leaves children and readers in general liable to internalize and perpetuate stereotypes they hear or witness elsewhere. This can be mitigated by reading books related with various social transgressions. Books that are related to real-life issues can give children examples of ways people interact with each other that are not positive, or healthy. Such books can be used as lessons for children to learn how to productively and prosocially interact with others. This is supported by the fact that reading fiction books fosters empathy.[2] Giving children access to them the faculties and compassion to live inclusively with others. 

Additionally, readers from all backgrounds, but especially marginalized backgrounds, can benefit from being immersed in literature that focuses on characters both like and unlike themselves. Having more diverse authors allows room for more diverse experiences and creative stories. This way, young readers are exposed to literature written by authors who know from experience that they are not a monolith, but complex individuals with unique backgrounds, invaluable cultural backgrounds, worthy of being seen as they are and in places beyond their imagination.[1] It is important to inspire future leaders and adults of tomorrow.

Conclusion

To summarize, the vast majority of books published in the US have historically been written by white authors.[3][7] Not only have publishing agencies been reluctant to publish author demographics, but these disparities persist despite efforts by publishers to close such gaps.[4][7] The majority of staff in the literary publishing industry are white, cisgender, women, straight, and non-disabled, with racial minorities being concentrated in entry-level positions.[5] While we see a significant uptick in children’s books written by POC writers, these have equally been challenged by book bans in school districts across the country.[6][8] These book bans prevent children from learning about social isues, dismantling social issues in their own day-to-day lives, and simply seeing themselves or their peers represented in the literature they consume.[1][2] It is imperative to address obstacles to diversity in publishing because it is important for consumers and publishers of literature to see themselves in literary contexts and for people to practice the golden rule–-treating others how they would like to be treated.[1][2] 

References

[1] Adichie, C. N. (2009, July). The Danger of a Single Story . TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?subtitle=en

[2] Bal, P. M., & Veltkamp, M. (2013). How does fiction reading influence empathy? An experimental investigation on the role of emotional transportation. PLoS ONE, 8(1), e55341. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0055341

[3] Bureau of the Census. (1953). 1950 Census of the Population Advance Reports (Series PC-14 No. 13). U.S. Department of Commerce. https://www2.census.gov/library/publications/decennial/1950/pc-14/pc-14-13.pdf

[4] Ghosh, I. (2020, December 28). Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race [News Site]. Visual Capitalist. https://www.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-u-s-population-by-race/

[5] Lee and Low Books. (2024, February 28). Where is the Diversity in Publishing? The 2023 Diversity Baseline Survey Results. Lee & Low Blog. https://blog.leeandlow.com/2024/02/28/2023diversitybaselinesurvey/

[6] Meehan, K., & Friedman, Ph.D. , J. (2023, April 20). Banned in the USA: State Laws Supercharge Book Suppression in Schools. PEN America. https://pen.org/report/banned-in-the-usa-state-laws-supercharge-book-suppression-in-schools/

[7] Reading Between the Lines: Race, Equity, and Book Publishing. (2022, October 21). PEN America. https://pen.org/report/race-equity-and-book-publishing/[8] Staff, S. L. J. (2024, April 4). BIPOC Representation in Children ’s Literatures Continues Its Slow Rise, According to CCBC’s Diversity Statistics. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com/story/BIPOC-Representation-Childrens-Literatures-Continues-Its-Slow-rise-According-CCBC-Diversity-Statistics