The COVID-19 pandemic hit the global economy in unprecedented ways, marking a new wave of interest in the design of healthier and alternative economic systems for the benefit of People and Planet. Unpaid domestic work and the care crisis has been big areas of concern amongst scholars and activists studying and advocating for Feminist Economics principles, how can theory and praxis of the care economy help clear the knowledge gap between the public, private and civil sectors? What is the care...

Cecilia Monzón's femicide in 2022 shocked thousands of people in Mexico. The public outcry for justice for her and the many mothers who were and still are victims of gender based violence perpetrated by their current or former partners led to several activist campaigns and the proposal of laws including the Monzon's Law or Ley de Monzón. What is Cecilia's story and what was her feminist fight? In a country with one of the highest rates of femicides in the Latin American region, what is the...

Has the patriarchal mindset affected the way we portray ourselves, value knowledge and create or sustain work environments in the IR field? Are we aware of the set of formal or informal rules of engagement we must follow personally or collectively to be perceived as "good professionals" in this or other fields? Do our postures, speech and behaviors change to "fit in" certain masculine/male dominated/logic spaces or environments? Or do we remain consistent across the spaces, environments and...

What are some ways to address Menstrual Health, Hygiene and Education that could enable societies and governments to reduce shame and stigma? How can sensitization training for schools and healthcare professionals, the engagement with local leaders and the rehabilitation and adaptation of WASH facilities could help create inclusive menstrual health management?  Why is MHHE often overlooked within the context of development? What are the cultural, religious and policy budget shifts happening...

What are the menstrual realities of young girls, women and menstruating people living in Mumbai Slums? How are religions, economics, customs and traditions directly or indirectly influencing or perpetuating menstrual shame and stigma in this city? How can science, education, economic empowerment opportunities and health clinics help offer pathways of menstrual dignity to vulnerable populations? On World Menstrual Hygiene Day 2023, we feature an interview with Dr. Shraddha Kale Kapile, Senior...

What is the colonial history of menstrual health, hygiene and education in Latin America? How important is the language used in family settings, schools, business ads, health clinics and government policies to reproduce or reduce the menstrual shame and stigma that is passed on through generations? Why words such as "hygiene", "poverty" and "purification" are used by international development agendas to address menstruation as a "sanitation crises" in the Global South? What needs to change in...

Amidst talks on the Menstrual Equity Fund in Canada, how challenging is to launch a sustainable menstrual hygiene small-business? What are the biggest opportunities and struggles female entrepreneurs face when entering the market, often flooded by synthetic and cheap products from big corporations? What are the main criticisms and successes of choosing sustainable sourcing, manufacturing and distribution? How are plastic-free and rayon-free hygiene products good for people's health and the...

How are we currently valuing women's presence, voices and expertise in traditional media and social media as fellow colleagues, readers, listeners or audience members? Has the patriarchal mindset and the predomination of male experts in the International Relations field affected the way we look and value women experts whether we agree with their IR analysis or not? Are we aware of the set of beauty standards, cultural norms and behavior expectations we personally or collectively measure to...

Are great powers (and personal powers') dynamics primal or developed? A review and analysis of Borgen:Power & Glory Netflix Series. Listen to related episodes: 139. The Queen´s Gambit 142. Psychology in International Relations Recommended links: Watch the series Episode List Rundown Danish Political Drama Borgen Is Back at Last, With a Fresh Take on Female Power “Borgen” ’s Bleak View of Women in Power The Borgen Saga: What We Can Learn About Women In...

Is national identity all some of us have? Is nationalism a good omen for humans to hold on to in order to...matter? If so, how? How to lighten the load we carry? The final episode on colonial mindset dynamics in the podcast series "The Burden of the Colonial Mindset",  #PuertoRico, case study. Join us in this exploration and follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn @womanhood_ir Listen to related episodes: 17. The Burden of the Colonial Mindset 43. The Burden of the Colonial...

What are the feminist values, economic and social pressures states are responding to? And...why? A review of the new Feminist Foreign Policy Index 2023. Join us in this exploration, follow us on Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn @womanhood_ir  Listen to related episodes:  12. Marissa Conway on How Feminist Foreign Policy Is Transforming World Affairs 86. Chloé Meulewaeter on Global Military Spending & Demilitarization Efforts 133. Alice Ridge and Liz Gill-Atkinson on FFP Research...

Millions of women and girls around the world lack access to clean water. In some rural areas and cultures, they are the ones walking up to 4 miles to collect water (not necessarily safe to drink) several times a day negatively affecting their opportunities for education, work and living a healthy and dignified life. Why is clean water so important for women and how could it help them gain their time (and lives!) back? How are WASH projects making a positive difference in the lives of...

What are reparations and how are they different from other transitional justice mechanisms? How are reparations from war different from those of dictatorships, legacies of slavery and colonization? Do reparations help people "heal", individually and collectively, wounds from the past? If so, how?  What is our role in agreeing upon or legitimizing a "hierarchy of victims"?  How do we perceive justice for victims? Can justice ever arrive "too late"? Do victims really feel a sense of “closure”...

Are we projecting our inner wounds into the world? How much of the suffering and violent conflicts we are seeing on the international news come from masculine or feminine energetic imbalances stemming from Self to Governments? What role do we play, what type of agency do we exercise, in order to contribute to current power inequalities and struggles within our families, relations, communities and nations? What kind of responsibility do we choose to take and which other do we choose to...

Are we confined by the coloniality of knowledge within the International Relations field? What type of IR analysis is accepted, reproduced or legitimized? And, by who? How and why are feminists from the Global South subverting IR theories and FFP's through praxis? Why decolonial and anticolonial standpoints on world affairs are growing? Which safe spaces and forms of expressions do people have to reflect upon them?  An interview with Kirthi Jayakumar, peace educator, lawyer and founder of...

How a State views itself and its relations with Others? With the 'Total Peace' Law approved recently, the Gustavo Petro Administration is seeking to end the decades-long armed conflict with multiple groups and actors in Colombia during the 2022-2026 period. The announcement of a FFP model comes with a willingness to redesign the National Action Plan for 1325 Resolution to fit the 'Total Peace' efforts. As we see this agenda unfold, how controversies surrounding the words "feminism", "race"...

Can the pursuit of two proposals... work out? Gabriel Boric's Administration is leading announcements of a "feminist" foreign policy and a "turquoise" foreign policy, both at the same time, is it a sign of how states can multilaterally answer the most pressing world problems or... is it falling down the old "divide and conquer" route? Why "ecofeminism" was not a term considered to align the two? Join us in this exploration, follow us on Instagram and Twitter @womanhood_ir and support us on...

How are we framing the history of November 25th? Why the assassination of the Mirabal sisters in the Dominican Republic showed the international community the brutality of violence against women in politics? Are we remembering women as political actors or only as victims of violence? How are we building the collective memory of women in our countries? An interview with Dr. Ada Alvarez Conde, Caribbean Historian, Author and Dating Violence Expert. Listen to the episode, follow us on...

How Jair Bolsonaro’s Administration transformed Brazil? Why the term “necropolitics” is used to describe not only his government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the deforestation of the Amazon region but also the dismantling of social welfare programs that previously sought to address economic, gender and racial inequalities? In which ways, the militaristic view of governance caused a “crisis of democracy”? After the 2022 presidential elections, why half of Brasil’s voters (50.9%)...

How the massive protests in Iran are showing the multiple grievances of women, girls and people? As Iran ranks 143 out of 146 countries in the Global Gender Gap Index, is the situation of women’s rights in this country a case of gender-apartheid? Can a state with a possible gender-apartheid in place offer respect and protection of women’s lives, rights and freedoms? If so, how? If not, why? Join us in this exploration, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn @womanhood_ir and be part of...

In which ways militarization and militarized masculinities affect our cultures, states and social structures? How the patriarchal pact shapes perceptions of "manhood" from an early age? Why is it hard for societies and/or states to “properly” address or deconstruct militarized masculinities - and the continuum of violence - IF and WHEN seeking to advance feminist peace? With the release of WILPF's latest documentary, Power on Patrol, what can we learn from the history of Colombia,...

Do states have...emotions? If so, how do they express them? How can the intergroup emotions theory explain whether political decision-making is based on fear, passion, revenge, happiness, grief or hate? How many domestic and foreign policies are influenced by the suppression or incitement of a specific set of emotions, beliefs, behaviors and actions? Join us in this exploration, follow us on Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn @womanhood_ir and be part of our Patreon community...

Are we reaching the next era of Feminist Foreign Policies? In response to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, is Sweden’s pioneer formula the “safe” way to go for states in Europe? If so, if not, why? A commentary on the latest announcement of Germany first ffp model. Join us in this exploration, follow us on Instagram, Twitter @womanhood_ir and be part of our Patreon community https://patreon.com/womanhoodir Listen to related episodes: 12. Marissa Conway on How Feminist Foreign Policy Is...

From the historic floods in Pakistan to the typhoons and hurricanes in Asia-Pacific and the Caribbean to ongoing humanitarian crises, what are some ways to help? If you can and are able to donate time, energy, resources and money to disaster relief programs and civic organizations providing support to communities, please do. It matters. Here are lists of organizations providing support to recent and ongoing emergencies: Flood Relief in Pakistan - A list of organizations created by Sapan ...

Can games be truly “apolitical” or should we, as humans, often find a way to project politics into them? How are people using games or sports to find and showcase “power” while, at the same time, depending on external validation to ensure sense of Self? How are governments using games or sports to show superiority or demoralize people from other states and play into a specific imaginary of power? Is chess an inherently racist and sexist game or... made to be one? A commentary of Netflix's...