From The Guardian: He is one of the most recognisable actors in the world, known for his role as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter franchise. But now Tom Felton wants to use his platform to spotlight someone whose historical achievements have been obscured for decades. Felton has produced his first feature film, Canyon Del Muerto, recounting the story of Ann Axtell Morris, one of the US’s first female archaeologists, who worked with the Navajo in the 1920s to uncover North America’s earliest civilisation, the Anasazi. “It’s an epic story that hasn’t been told before,” Felton said. “Ann Morri ..read more

From NBC News: Dorothy Pitman Hughes, a pioneering Black feminist, child welfare advocate and activist who co-founded Ms. Magazine with Gloria Steinem, formed a powerful speaking partnership with her and appeared with her in one of the most iconic photos of the feminist movement, has died. She was 84. Hughes died Dec. 1 in Tampa, Florida, at the home of her daughter and son-in-law, said Maurice Sconiers of the Sconiers Funeral Home in Columbus, Georgia. The home said it did not know the cause of death. Hughes was not as well known as Steinem, but the two forged an important partnership at a ..read more

From Planned Parenthood: The fears of millions were realized today, as the U.S. Supreme Court ended the federal constitutional protection of abortion — robbing people of the fundamental right to control their own bodies. In a decision with devastating consequences, the court overturned Roe v. Wade — throwing out the 1973 decision that recognized abortion as a constitutional right, and handing politicians across the country the power to make decisions about our bodies, our lives, and our futures. This historic action means the Supreme Court — now dominated by justices hostile to our freedom ..read more

From The Guardian: Aisuluu was returning home after spending the afternoon with her aunt in the village of At-Bashy, not far from the Torugart crossing into China. “It was 5 o’clock in the afternoon on Saturday. I had a paper bag full of samsa [a dough dumpling stuffed with lamb, parsley and onion]. My aunt always prepared them on weekends,” she said. “A car with four men inside comes in the opposite direction to mine. And all of a sudden it … turns around and, within a few seconds, comes up beside me. One of the guys in the back gets out, yanks me and pushes me inside the car. I drop all the ..read more

From the US Sun: Taliban death squads are trawling porn sites to compile a kill list of Afghan prostitutes and are putting names to faces of brothel workers who have been filmed having sex during the 20-year allied occupation of Afghanistan. Security sources told The Sun Online that videos featuring Afghan prostitutes have made their way onto niche porn sites and have been discovered by the jihadis. Our source said the Taliban are now “hell-bent” on “hunting down” the prostitutes to publicly execute or “humiliate for their own pleasure”. They added the women face being gang-raped by th ..read more

From the Raw Story - MSNBC's Nicolle Wallace slammed an anti-abortion law passed by Texas Republicans after the United States Supreme Court refused to block the law in a decision released overnight. Wallace said "everything has changed" after the court decision. "The U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, for all intents and purposes has green lit the reversal of Roe v. Wade, not just in Texas, but potentially all across this country," Wallace reported. "In refusing the block the draconian, near-complete ban in Texas, the Supreme Court has signaled its approval for what is the most restrictiv ..read more

From CNN: In India, Muslim women advertised for 'sale' on the 'Sulli Deals' app defy trolls who tried to silence them  Hana Mohsin Khan says she knows why she was targeted on a website that appeared to offer her for sale.   "(It's) because of my religion. Because I am Muslim," she said. In early July, the 32-year-old pilot and proud feminist was among more than 80 Muslim women -- journalists, writers and influencers -- whose photos were posted on a mock app called Sulli Deals, a derogatory term for Muslim women typically used by right-wing Hindu men. Users were offered a chan ..read more

From La Prensa Latina Media: Peruvians’ view of their remote ancestors has taken on a new immediacy thanks to the innovative reconstruction of the face of an upper class women buried some 3,700 years ago. “She has a great resemblance to a woman of today,” archaeologist Dayanna Carbonel told Efe, referring to the “Lady of El Paraiso,” whose tomb was discovered in 2016. Carbonel leads the team carrying out excavations at the vast El Paraiso complex, home to the oldest known temples on the central coast of what is now Peru. The bust, with its long face, prominent nose and cheekbones, sm ..read more

Emine Fetvaci, a prominent scholar and accomplished teacher whose research areas include the arts of the book in the Islamic world, and Ottoman, Mughal, and Safavid art and architecture, has been appointed to Boston College’s Norma Jean Calderwood University Professorship in Islamic and Asian Art, effective January 1, 2021. Emine Fetvaci (Daniel Star) "Emine Fetvaci is one of the world's leading scholars of Ottoman painting, and she is playing an important role in redefining Islamic art history by exploring Islamic art in conversation with a broader early modern world,” said Boston Coll ..read more

The Irish Times: Four leading female academics have put their names forward for the position of provost of Trinity College Dublin. Prof Linda Doyle, former dean of research; Prof Linda Hogan, former vice-provost; Prof Jane Ohlmeyer, professor of history and chairwoman of the Irish Research Council; and Dr Sarah Alyn-Stacey, associate professor in French, have all confirmed to colleagues that they have applied for the position. Provost Patrick Prendergast is due to finish his 10-year term on July 31st, 2021, and the next head of Trinity will take over the following day. The identity of an ..read more