AJWS Blog
The AJWS community has a lot to say about what's happening in the world. Read our insights about the struggle for justice and human rights around the globe — and meet the activists on the frontlines of the fight to build a better world.
A Reflection from an AJWS Global Justice Fellow
Please enjoy this reflection from Rabbi Miriam Terlinchamp, who visited with grantee partners in the Dominican Republic last month as part of AJWS’s Global Justice Fellowship. In a community room nestled in a batey (a former sugar plantation) in Santo Domingo, three women from Movimiento de Mujeres Dominico Haitianas (MUDHA) tell stories of radical change. …
The First Woman Engineer in Mewat: This AJWS Partner is Smashing Indian Gender Norms
Today, 25-year-old Shabnam Khan is a minor celebrity in Mewat — a rural region of Rajasthan home to Muslim and Dalit (lowest caste) communities. Her claim to fame? She is the first woman from the region to become an engineer. She’s respected by men and a beloved role model to women. But her journey wasn’t …
Stories of Hope: March 2025
It’s a trope as old as time: Nobody likes a bully. Even if we live in an age where bullies are elected to office. Because AJWS support continues regardless of White House chaos, this month we’re bringing you the story of Santoshi — a young woman in Lucknow, India, who endured vicious online harassment because …
Facing online blackmail and sexual harassment, Indian women’s rights activists refuse to cower
Santoshi is the youngest of seven siblings in a family where none of her older sisters ever went to school and all were forced into marriage. As her sisters’ lives unfolded, Santoshi understood she couldn’t follow in their footsteps. She convinced her parents to allow her to go to school, but that was the extent …