It was the largest and probably most influential international women’s organization after 1945.

WIDF was founded in Paris in 1945 as an anti-fascist organization with the intent of engaging women in efforts to prevent war and to combat the racist and sexist ideology of fascist regimes.

At its organizing conference, Eugénie Cotton was elected as president and the organization’s goals were defined as promoting active participation in the fight against fascism and in favor of world peace, in protecting public health with particular focus on child welfare, in improving the status of women’s rights, and in building internationalist friendships among women.

The international day for protection of children, observed since 1950 in many countries as Children’s Day on 1 June, was established on the initiative of a WIDF campaign held in 1949.

At various points in its history, the WIDF enjoyed consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations.

It was as a result of proposals from WIDF representatives on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) that the United Nations declared 1975 as International Women’s Year.

From the beginnings of World War II progressive women who were liberal, socialist, or communist, were active in the fight against fascism and the spread of the racist and sexist ideology of Nazism.

During the war, many of these women took part in anti-fascist conferences throughout Europe.

Eugénie Cotton attended a meeting of the Union des Femmes Françaises (Union of French Women) in 1944, which sparked the idea for forming the Women International Democratic Federation.

Among the founding members were Elizabeth Acland Allen (UK), Cécile Brunschvicg (France), Tsola Dragoycheva (Bulgaria), Dolores Ibárruri (Spain), Ana Pauker (Romania), Kata Pejnović (Yugoslavia), Nina Popova (Russia), Rada Todorova (Bulgaria); Jessie Street (Australia), and Marie-Claude Vaillant-Couturier (France), Among the women sending congratulations and support for the founding of WDIF were Clementine Churchill, wife of the British Prime Minister; Eleanor Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States, and Isie Smuts, wife of the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa. Gabrielle Duchêne, a vice president of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and Margery Corbett Ashby, president of the International Alliance of Women, attended the congress.
In the United States, progressive women formed the Congress of American Women (CAW) as the US-affiliate to the WIDF. During the McCarthy Era, it was outlawed by the US government. The new affiliate of the WIDF was created in 1975, called the Women for Racial and Economic Equality (WREE).
Today, WREE continues to be active in the American women’s movement and is a catalyst to reactivate the Women’s International Democratic Federation.

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Feminine hygiene products in the USA today are in need of radical change. In the US, there have been massive campaigns that seek to correlate shame and uncleanliness with menstruation in order to increase profits for manufacturers. Today, the remnants of these campaigns lingers in the back of every woman’s mind each month and has resulted in a lack of knowledge and awareness on this topic. Today, 16.9 million people in the US face “Period Poverty” due to low income and/or the inability or difficulty in obtaining necessary products. Many states, including my state, West Virginia, levy a “Tampon Tax” on these products. This is in addition to the Federal Tax that is levied on them already. Many US states have large amounts of homeless and unemployed women who cannot afford the burden of these taxes. Similar products for male sexual health are not taxed in the same way, reinforcing negative stereotypes about the relative value of the sexual health of men versus women.

Unplanned production and profit driven distribution have led to serious supply shortages, and an increase in “hoarding behaviour” by those who can afford these vital, but ever more expensive products. Additionally, the US imperialist wars and economic sanctions abroad have only worsened this problem, along with the effects of climate change and the extreme weather events that we see today. These issues force women to resort to “Do it Yourself” methods, which can often be un-hygenic and unhealthy alternatives.

The most common and widely used products for sale today are those that were developed nearly 100 years ago. Not only should these products be free and available to everyone, we should be investing in the development of innovative, healthy and modern alternatives. A recent study at UC Berkeley found that tampons from 14 different leading market brands, contain toxic metals such as arsenic and lead, leading to an increased risk of diseases, such as dementia, infertility and cancer. This only emphasizes the need for safe and sustainably sourced alternatives. Women across this country need to fight back, not only against “Period Poverty” and “Tampon Taxes”, but for a radical change in the feminine hygiene products industry as a whole. These are necessary products which must not be used to divide women or make us feel unclean or shameful. We need to demand access to these vital products as a matter of dignity and human right.

Some US states have already abolished the “Tampon Tax” such as Vermont, Maine, New Mexico and California. A Virginia Tech researcher has recently created an eco-friendly and biodegradable material that may offset some of the sustainability and cost issues we face as well. However these efforts are not widespread and are clearly only the beginning steps in this struggle. We all came from a person who menstruated and we should respect and honor this fact for the betterment of society as a whole.

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The labor of women in the household is often underappreciated by society. Women work full time jobs, raise children and take care of the home.

Woman have not always had financial autonomy and often relied on financial allowances from their spouses in 20th century America, as featured by the opening of the Jetsons cartoon from the 1960s.

Paris Paloma, a British musician, made a song that has become an anthem for womens’ rights.

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Brown’s work was pivotal in sending the message that women’s rights were actively being violated and allowed for many of these women to come forward with the confidence that their voices would be heard. The Correctional Institute was mandated to follow along with many reforms focused on inmate safety, women’s health reforms within the system and a new reporting system for abuse of said inmates going forward.

After Brown’s work within the Florida prison system, she focused her attention toward another case. The case of Jeffrey Epstein and his sexual abuse and the illegal trafficking of young girls and women. In 2008, Epstein had been allowed to plead guilty to only two counts of prostitution charges. This was done with the help of Alex Acosta, the US Attorney at that time. Unbeknownst to the victims at that time however, was the fact that Mr. Acosta had secretly led a team of federal lawyers that negotiated a plea deal that granted Jeffrey Epstein immunity from federal sex trafficking charges, directly violating the rights of his victims. Brown was the one who uncovered this “professional misconduct” and printed it for the world to see.

Brown’s investigation into this corruption of justice over the years has led her to document her findings in her 2020 book “Perversion of Justice”. This was a collection of a series of articles she wrote starting in 2017. Brown’s articles on the Jeffrey Epstein case meticulously documented, not only the roles that many powerful people played within this case, but also the accounts of “courageous victims that faced their fears and told their stories.” She was able to uncover 80 of Epstein’s alleged victims accounts, some as young as 14 years old. While Epstein was free, Brown stubbornly worked to right this wrong, collecting enough documentation to fill an entire room. Her work was critical evidence in the re-arrest of Jeffrey Epstein in 2019. Geoffrey Berman, one of the federal prosecutors of this case, stated that his team was “assisted by some excellent investigative journalism.” Even when other journalists around Brown warned her to be careful as she may find herself reassigned “to the obituaries department” for going too deep or asking too many questions, Brown persisted. And it is her persistence that we must extole today.

There have been many women in history that deserve our respect and praise in their fights for freedom, justice, and the rights of all women and girls. Julie K Brown was not the first, nor will she be the last. But without her determination and steadfastness throughout her career, we would not be where we are today. The voices of the many victims of abuse that Brown has raised up, would not be heard today throughout the world, inspiring us all to stand up and fight for our rights and our fellow sisters rights.

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Rachel Anne Accurso, also known as Ms. Rachel, is an educator and specialist in child development. She is best known for her educational videos on YouTube for infants, toddlers and young children. She not only promotes education for children but also advocates for children’s rights all over the world:

“I wouldn’t be true to myself if I didn’t use my platform to speak out for every child, everywhere,”

– Ms. Rachel

Accurso is the global ambassador for Palestine Children’s Relief Fund (PCRF), an organization she has worked closely with in supporting fundraising efforts. She has received backlash and even accusations of antisemitism for showing support to children in Gaza and the middle east.

“I have so much empathy for an Israeli mom, waiting for her child to come home,” she expressed in an interview. Despite expressing support and empathy for Israeli children who are also suffering due to the war, she still faces criticism from pro-Israel groups, with one such group going as far as to label her the “antisemite of the week”.

These groups by far do not represent the views of all Jewish, or even all Israeli people. Many members of the Jewish community support Ms. Rachel or at least think it’s wrong to group her with the likes of actual antisemites. When asked for comment on these accusations, Ms. Rachel responded, “The backlash, it’s painful but…I know who I am and I know what’s right.”

In times of crisis and war, genuine advocates for children like Ms. Rachel deserve positive recognition. During her acceptance speech for Woman of the Year 2025, Ms. Rachel called to prioritize children’s safety, education, and basic rights, extending care beyond borders.

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With the release of the latest emails, the British royal family finally caved to public opinion by stripping Prince Andrew of his titles and royal residence. Trump’s platform hinged on him releasing the Epstein files, and now that he is in office, he has reneged on his promise, leading to a sensationalism of the issue. It is disturbing to see that there are political figures who are willing to ignore these substantiated accusations simply to sway votes. In addition, there are many people who also choose to blindly follow the MAGA movement, including supporting Trump despite the potential that he would be incriminated. When Trump broke his promise to release the files, it became evident that there was never any intent to protect women and children but to instead gain political power. 

Outrage has spread through much of America, including former Trump supporters, and the American populace is rapidly losing faith in the corrupt “pay-to-play” political system that enables political oligarchs to commit such crimes with little to no consequence. The widespread public demand for justice for Epstein’s victims was needed. However, dozens of women have come out over the span of two decades, against the sexual crimes of Epstein and his associates, including Trump himself. Despite these women’s substantial testimonies, justice for the victims was delayed for far too long. This case, and many others, expose how little credence and importance is given to the victims’ voices, especially women victims. In our society, it is almost expected that sexual assault cases are easily dismissed, and the victims slandered and silenced. 

Now that there is a large public outcry, it is important that we continue to demand justice. More importantly, we must use the momentum to create a culture where people become outraged by injustices against women and children and will push the justice system to hold perpetrators accountable. We must not sit idly by while those in power try to cover up their criminal deeds.

Executive Committee,

Women for Racial and Economic Equality.

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PREAMBLE

As a result of the people’s pressure to guarantee the basic freedoms for which they had just fought, the Founders of our Republic included a Bill of Rights as part of our nation’s Constitution. The women of our Republic struggled for freedom with fervor and dedication, yet only in this century did we win the right to vote. Still our rights as human beings are denied, ignored and scorned. We are not equal before the law; nor does society at large recognize our equality. Our numbers in political office remain pitifully small. There can be no real equality or freedom while any section of our people is denied its rights. In this, the United Nations International Women’s Decade, and the Bi-Centennial of the American Revolution, the need is desperate for a WOMEN’S BILL OF RIGHTS–for legislation to specifically guarantee the equality of all women in our country.

Full equality for all both women is a basic human right–its absence denies both men and women their full human dignity.

Our lives suffer from backward, pervasive concepts about women. Unequal pay scales, lack of representation, and degrading images of women projected by the mass media and the educational system are symptoms of institutionalized male supremacy.

As direct victims of racism, Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Native American and Asian women suffer special oppression. But the tan combination of racism and male supremacy in our country combine to damage the family life, health and well-being of women and children of ALL nationalities.

The government spends billions of our tax dollars on a military budget which brings huge profits to the giant corporations. The cost to all poor and working people is felt in intensified inflation and unemployment, and in massive budget cuts of social services.

FULL EQUALITY DEPENDS ON OUR RIGHT TO GET AND KEEP JOBS WITHOUT SACRIFICE OF FAMILY LIFE OR HEALTH. ECONOMIC SECURITY—WITHOUT RACIAL DISCRIMINATION—IS THE FOUNDATION FOR FULL EQUALITY AND DIGNITY IN SOCIETY AND IN THE FAMILY. The following basic demands are our WOMEN’S BILL OF RIGHTS:

OUR RIGHTS TO A LIVELIHOOD AND ON THE JOB

1. A job at a living wage for every women and men who can work.
2. A guaranteed income—with no forced work requirements—for every family at adequate standards as set by the Bureau Labor of Statistics.
3. Guaranteed Federal Compensation to women, especially Black, Chicano, Puerto Rican, Asian, Latin and Native American women, for past discrimination including in hiring, job training, promotion, rate of pay, and education. Implement affirmative action programs to overcome both racist and sexual discrimination.
4. Respect the private lives of welfare recipients; eliminate indignities and degrading treatment.
5. Enforce equal pay for equal and comparable work.
6. Preserve and extend laws to protect the health, safety and comfort of workers—such as weightlifting maximums, guaranteed rest periods, protection of women’s reproductive capacity, etc. Prohibit use of protective legislation as an excuse to discriminate against women.
7. No compulsory overtime. Reduce the work week to 30 hours with no pay cut.
8. Extend the minimum wage, Fair Labor Standards, and National Labor Relations Acts to cover all workers, including domestic and agricultural workers.
9. Provide job training, apprenticeship, and upgrading programs in all fields and job categories.
10. Strengthen Social Security coverage to guarantee a decent standard of living for older women. Provide a cost-of-living escalator, and include credit for years spent in child-rearing.

OUR RIGHT TO QUALITY EDUCATION & CHILD CARE

1. Free, quality, integrated education for all children based on the multi-racial, multilingual, multi-cultural character of our population.
2. Universally available, federally funded, parent controlled child care from age six months.
3. Free, open admission to higher education.
4. Subsidies and other necessary provisions to enable adults to return to school.
5. Guarantee quality education by paying adequate salaries and providing decent working conditions for teachers.
6. Rid all curricula, textbooks, and learning material of racial, national and sexual stereotypes. Bring the history of oppressed minority peoples fully into the curriculum.
7. Require full integration and quality education as standards for local school districts before Federal funds are granted.

OUR RIGHT TO FIRST-RATE HEALTH CARE

1. Comprehensive, federally funded health coverage.
2. Paid leave for women and men care for sick children.
3. Protection against forced sterilization and experimentation. Insure our right to abortion with paid leave. Safe birth control.
4. Six-month maternity leave with pay; up to two years leave without loss of job or seniority.
5. Decent housing and social services for older women.

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The U.S. House has passed a bill that voting rights groups have repeatedly warned would make it harder for millions of Americans, including married women, to vote.

The Republican-controlled House on Thursday voted for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act. The legislation purportedly aims to block non-citizens from voting, which is already illegal and is very rare.

The bill would require an individual to present in person a passport, birth certificate or other citizenship document when registering to vote or updating their voter registration information.

Voting rights groups have said the bill will pose a barrier for millions of American women and others who have changed their legal name because of marriage, assimilation or to better align with their gender identity. An estimated 69 million American women and 4 million men do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name.

Republicans who support the bill claim that states will be able to create processes so people can prove their citizenship if their name doesn’t match their birth certificate. 

Voting rights groups also worry the bill will disenfranchise others from marginalized communities who are less likely to have the necessary documentation on hand. More than 9 percent of citizens of voting age — or 21.3 million people — do not have documents that prove their citizenship readily available.

They also warn the bill, if it becomes law, would eliminate popular methods of voter registration, such as online, mail and registration drives — adding demands on a women-led election workforce that has faced burnout and harassment after years of disinformation about election integrity. 

The House also passed the SAVE Act last year, but it died in the Senate. It’s now headed back to upper chamber, where Republicans have a 53-seat majority and the legislation needs 60 votes to pass.

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The representatives from the Income Security and Child Care team explained that the House budget resolution proposes funding cuts to offset policies like attacking immigrant families and creating tax cuts for the wealthiest people and corporations. Although House Republicans have promised not to touch social service programs like Medicaid, the resolution advances a budget that cuts trillions of dollars for the committees that administer these programs, which may leave these committees no choice but to reduce or eliminate their services.

As such, programs like Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF); Social Services Block Grant (SSBG); Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); Medicaid; and the Child Tax Credit are at risk. Social services are crucial to millions of women and children across the U.S. because they provide food assistance, healthcare, and federal funding to states for additional services. These programs also make it easier for families to afford childcare, which has been “prohibitively expensive” for many Americans in recent years.

NWLC is working to push back on harmful tax proposals like this one and minimize the damage to women, families, and the economy by educating the public on what these programs and tax changes will mean for everyday people. Through their collaborations with state advocates and constituents, they are facilitating conversations with congressional delegations on why the federal budget is important to the American people and emphasizing the real-world impacts of the changing budget. The Center is also promoting policy solutions that will help women and families, such as accessible childcare, raising taxes on the wealthy, and expanding a child tax credit. Members of the Income Security and Child Care team emphasized that childcare helps child development, stimulates the economy, and helps parents go to work, so it is beneficial to all people.

Politico recently reported that the Senate is unlikely to take up negotiations over the House budget resolution before the end of March, which is necessary to reach a compromise with the House. It will focus on funding the government before the projected shutdown date of March 14. The Feminist Majority Foundation encourages concerned constituents to call their Congressional representatives about the importance of securing funding for women and families. As Fatima Goss Graves said during the briefing, “I believe firmly that the antidote to fear is joining together in community in solidarity…Courage inspires more courage, and we are beginning to see that more and more.”

Originally published by the Feminist Majority Foundation.

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WASHINGTON–One of the top priorities for the new Congress is the so-called “SAVE Act,” which doesn’t save—it destroys. 

And once again, women will be among the first to find their rights taken away. 

Instead of safeguarding the right to vote it jeopardizes the freedom of millions by making it harder—or impossible—to access the ballot. 

The SAVE Act demands that voter registration applicants produce proof of citizenship documents—in person!   

That would functionally destroy mail registration, and impact more than 21.3 million people of voting age who don’t have proof of citizenship available. 

The fact is, most married women cannot present a valid birth certificate under the SAVE Act, as it does not display their current legal name. 

Just like that—the SAVE act threatens the vote for as many as 69 million women who have taken their spouse’s name but do not have a matching birth certificate.  

And the SAVE act would make voting harder for seniors, adoptees, students, tribal citizens, low-income earners, active-duty military, voters of color, and more than 60 million people who live in rural areas by eliminating online voter registration overnight. 

Let’s not forget—every ounce of the “voting integrity” movement is built on lies.  A study of the 2016 election found that officials referred only an estimated 30 incidents of suspected noncitizen voting for further investigation or prosecution. 

But that’s enough for the backers of the SAVE Act—who only want to save their power over who gets to vote and whose votes are denied.   

The SAVE Act is a nightmare, a threat, and another blatant attempt by powerful interests and extremist politicians to disenfranchise millions of American citizens— 

Democrats, Republicans and Independents alike.  NOW calls on Congress to keep democracy safe and reject the SAVE Act. 

Originally published by National Organization for Women

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