Reclaim your newsfeed

?? Welcome back to Women making headlines.

Each Sunday we bring you inspiring stories of women making a difference across the globe — by women, about women, and for everyone.

Here’s a surprising fact: only one in four news stories worldwide is about women, and even fewer focus on their achievements. Instead, many headlines fall into tired tropes or emphasize negativity. But we’re here to change that.

Independent media sources play a vital role in spotlighting untold stories and challenging mainstream narratives. By curating this newsletter, we also hope to shine a light on the grassroots newsrooms telling important stories around the world, that often get overlooked.

Claim back your newsfeed from the algorithms — starting here ??

Meet the women who survived the garment industry to advocate for women’s rights

Janaki and Kalpana are two former workers in the garment industry in Tamil Nadu, who after surviving exploitative conditions have transformed their experiences into a powerful movement for change. Today they lead the Garments and General Workers Union as well as ILFAT (Integrated Leaders Forum Against Trafficking), a national forum for and by survivors of human trafficking. They've shared their experiences, in their own words, in this article in YourStory Media by Rekha Bala .

The feminist bookstore in New Jersey championing accessibility

Wolfe & Kron Books is a queer woman-owned feminist bookstore in New Jersey specialising in books by LGBTQ+ and authors of colour as well as new authors. It also runs a book club that aims to make reading more accessible to the neurodivergent community. USA Today have published a profile of the store explaining why indie bookstores are so important (and exciting!) for their communities.

Nicaragua's cooperatives are empowering women

Did you know that Nicaragua is the country with the most cooperatives in Central America? Norma is a Nicaraguan coffee producer and women’s rights campaigner. She is a member of the Soppexcca cooperative, through which women sell coffee for a fair price and invest in initiatives like a recent campaign for the prevention of cervical cancer. Check out this interview with Norma in The Prisma - The Multicultural Newspaper .

The lives of Medieval women - in their own words

A multisensory exhibition at the The British Library in London gives visitors a glimpse into the lives of medieval women, featuring original manuscripts, printed books and other artefacts like jewellery and clothing. The exhibition looks at all women, without focusing on a specific culture, class or religion. Importantly, it showcases female perspectives, addressing the fact that history is often viewed through the male gaze. The New Feminist have more on this here.

The taxi scheme getting women home safely

In Cologne, a new scheme is providing women with vouchers worth €10 to use on night-time taxis to get home safely. The Women's Night Taxi scheme is a pilot project inspired by similar initiatives in other parts of Germany. Read more about the initiative here.

This NYC pop-up offers kind words and advice from grandmas

Our curiosity was piqued this week when we heard about the Grandma Stand — a weekly pop-up in New York City where people turn up to ask a question or simply have a chat with a grandma. The initiative began in 2013 and has 10 different grandmas “on rotation” who pop up in different locations of the city. There is a suggested topic for discussion each week, but people are welcome to ask for advice on anything. Head to the official Instagram account to find out more.

2024 highlights from NADJA Media...