Weekly News Wrap

Hello and Happy Friday! Thank you so much to everyone who shared The Rise this week—we saw a 20% increase in subscribers because of your willingness to spread women’s stories.

Here’s what’s on the rise:

World

• Amit Soussana, an Israeli woman, became the first released Hamas hostage to speak publicly about experiencing sexual abuse while in captivity, supporting U.N. reports of conflict-related sexual violence.

• A West African women’s rights movement, We Are the Solution, trains and supports women farmers who typically lack access to education, resources, or land ownership. 

• In northern Spain, a group of Catholic nuns has opened a bar inside an 11th-century sanctuary, serving beer to visitors in hopes of spreading the message of God. 

Business and Tech

• Providing childcare to employees is a worthwhile investment for companies, according to a new study. For every $1 spent on benefits like onsite daycare or childcare stipends, employers saw a gain of up to $4.25 from lower employee attrition and reduced absenteeism.

• A new app is asking women to submit photos of sexual partners’ genitals, claiming it can use AI to detect sexually transmitted infections in the images. It’s marketing itself as a sexual wellness tool for women, but critics have been quick to surface concerns about consent and data privacy.

Politics

• In oral arguments this week, the Supreme Court seemed inclined to rule against efforts to restrict access to the abortion pill. The discussion was notable for its candid discussion of female reproductive health, particularly from the women justices, who mentioned menstruation, live tissue, and D&C during the proceedings.

• Democrat Mary Lands flipped a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives after defeating her Republican opponent in a special election on Tuesday. Supporters say her victory underscores the backlash to the state’s recent reproductive restrictions.

• Donald Trump will officially appear in criminal court on April 15 for charges related to hush money paid to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Learn more about who Daniels is and her allegations against Trump here and here.

Sports

• The Utah women's basketball team was “deeply troubled and shaken” after experiencing racism near their hotel in Idaho. The players were headed to dinner when the driver of a passing truck called out with offensive language, including racial slurs.

• Caitlin Clark received a “historic” $5 million offer to play in the Big3 basketball league. Co-founder Ice Cube thinks it’s “definitely doable” for Clark to accept the offer while playing for the WNBA, but it’s unclear whether regulations would allow her to do both at once.

• Spanish prosecutors want a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence for Luis Rubiales, the former Spanish Football Federation president who forced a non-consensual kiss on player Jenni Hermoso.

Culture

• The Women’s Prize for Nonfiction is a new literary award that aims to address the gender imbalance in nonfiction writing. The inaugural nominees include books about AI, misinformation on the internet, and slavery in America. 

• Spice Girl Mel B. released an updated version of her memoir with three new chapters that expand on her experience as a survivor of domestic violence.

Further Reading

Did you encounter any other women’s stories this week? We’d love to hear them—reply and let us know.