The FMUS podcast

Brilliant feminist advocate Kemi Akinfaderin discusses with Françoise recent diplomatic negotiations on gender equality and SRHR: the UN Commission on the Status of Women, UN Commission on Population and Development, and World Health Assembly. Kemi analyzes the achievements and sticking points, how the global North’s reluctance to share technologies and pathogens prevents progress for women and gi...

  Queer and feminist movements are on the frontlines against powerful anti-gender forces in Europe, with important allies in education, health, media and academia. There is much that Western Europe can learn from Eastern and Central Europe, say Ada Zabrzewska and Roberto Kulpa of Edinburgh Napier University. Their in-depth research shows that, while strategies vary according to context, visibility...

More than a year after the dismantling of USAID by Elon Musk’s DOGE and the freezing of the $40 billion U.S. foreign assistance budget, how is global development faring? How is global health, and sexual and reproductive health specifically, affected by the Trump Administration’s evolving policies? Did you know that, in exchange for U.S. aid, Trump now requires U.S. access to global South countries...

In January 2026, the Trump Administration further weaponized U.S. foreign aid when it issued a new policy, cynically entitled “Promoting Human Flourishing in Foreign Assistance.” Through three separate Executive Orders, the Administration now seeks to use $40 billion of U.S. assistance to bar Global South countries, the UN and any non-governmental organization (foreign or US) from speaking about o...

Democracy and human rights are under severe attack everywhere, including in Europe. Far-right actors use anti-gender and anti-abortion arguments to build their political base, win elections, and use their political power to adopt much broader authoritarian agendas. To defend justice and freedom, we must understand what these movements are up to. Roberto Kulpa of Edinburgh Napier University joins F...

A growing body of evidence shows that we can prevent and stop violence against women and girls – from programs that reduce poverty, improve couples’ communication, question harmful gender norms or ban the corporal punishment of children. Avni Amin, of the World Health Organization, explains how RESPECT, a document that summarizes and evaluates available knowledge, can guide policymakers’ choices....

 Can women's rights still be advanced at the UN? – With Gita Sen Gita Sen, feminist political economist and member of DAWN, explains to Françoise why she has resumed her activism and lobbying for sexual and reproductive rights at the UN. At a time when the effectiveness and relevance of the UN are being questioned, this may seem counterintuitive. But feminists from the Global South are determined...

Contraceptive methods based on awareness of one’s own fertility seem to be everywhere these days – promoted by MAHA health influencers, touted by evangelical Christians and ultra-Catholics, advertised by FemTech. But do they work? Why are women and persons capable of pregnancy turning to them? Did the field of sexual and reproductive health err in shunning them? Should we be worried by the deep-po...

Women’s Rights and Democracy in Poland – with Wanda Nowicka Two years after the far-right Law and Justice party lost control of the government in Poland, have progressives and feminists been able to reverse the damage to democracy and human rights, including women’s rights? Wanda Nowicka, member of the Polish Parliament and longstanding feminist activist, outlines what has been achieved despite si...

Jessica Stern, former U.S. Special Envoy to Advance Human Rights for LGBTQI+ persons and founder of The Alliance for Diplomacy and Justice, discusses with Françoise the connections between feminism and LGBTQI+ rights, why politicians weaponize LGBTQI+ communities and especially trans rights at election time, and why she’s working to center human rights as a core principle of US foreign policy. Tun...

Globally, girls experience adolescence very differently than boys do, explains Evalin Karijo, award-winning leader and Associate Director of the GIRL Center at the Population Council. 40% of adolescent girls (10-19) are neither in school nor in training or paid employment, as compared to 10% of boys their age. Early and forced marriage and early pregnancy still limit girls’ opportunities, and HIV...

Dr. Rebecca Steinfeld (PhD, Political Science) is a leading expert and campaigner on reproductive health and rights. In this conversation with Françoise, she explores the complex world of infant feeding — from the cultural and medical pressures around breastfeeding to the realities many new mothers face.   Is breastfeeding always best? Why do so many mothers feel judged no matter what they choose?...

American researcher, medical doctor, and President of Gynuity Health Projects, Beverly Winikoff, tells Françoise Girard about the latest research into ulipristal acetate, also known as the emergency contraceptive Ella. Available over the counter in many countries, ulipristal can be used as a much-needed additional option for terminating pregnancy. But would its use as an abortion pill endanger its...

  What if healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, education and housing were rights recognized in your country’s constitution? In South Africa, they are! Sasha Stevenson, a human rights lawyer based in Johannesburg and the Executive Director of SECTION27, talks with Françoise about the brave and passionate work her organization has done, in partnership with community-based groups, to turn t...

Neil Datta, Executive Director of the Brussels-based European Parliamentary Forum on Sexual and Reproductive Rights (EPF), discusses EPF’s new report Beyond The Chaos, a New World Is Emerging: Making Sense of the Trump Administration’s Impact on Reproductive Rights and Gender Equality. EPF provides technical support to 30 all-party parliamentary groups across Europe to advance sexual and reproduct...

Dr. Satang Nabaneh, an award-winning legal scholar and Director of Programs at the University of Dayton’s Human Rights Center, discusses her recent edited volume, Female Genital Mutilation in Africa: politics of criminalization, that examines the role of criminal law in combatting this harmful traditional practice. Nabaneh reflects on legal strategies to end FGM, the situation in The Gambia and el...

María Antonieta is a Mexican feminist, an advocate for women’s and youth rights with over 20 years’ experience as a leader in the struggle for sexual and reproductive health and rights. Early in her career, she founded Balance, a feminist organization that supports women and adolescents in Mexico to make free choices about their sexuality. Most recently, she was the Executive Director of Ipas Lati...

Vanessa Daniel is the author of the just published Unrig the Game: What Women of Color Can Teach Everyone about Winning. The founder and CEO for 17 years of the Groundswell Fund, a leading funder of WOC-led grassroots and electoral organizing, Vanessa worked as a labor and community organizer for over 25 years. She and Françoise discuss the obstacles to WOC leadership in social movements in the US...

Pregnant persons in the US face increased criminalization for their pregnancy decisions and outcomes, even in so-called “blue” states that guarantee the right to abortion. Denise Tomasini-Joshi, the co-CEO of If/When/Now: Lawyers for Reproductive Justice, discusses this worrying trend with Françoise, and outlines the actions her organization is taking to protect reproductive rights and bodily auto...

The Trump Administration is pulling out of the World Health Organization, reneging on the Sustainable Development Goals, and no longer participating in the ongoing negotiations for a global pandemic treaty. Nina Schwalbe, CEO of public health think tank Spark Street Advisors, discusses with Françoise the implications for global health of these destructive actions.

Françoise speaks to Monica Oguttu of Kenya about the catastrophic cuts to USAID by Elon Musk’s so-called ‘DOGE,’ and their dire impact on the lives and health of women and girls on the ground. Monica is a nurse-midwife, a health advocate, and the Executive Director of KMET, the Kisumu Medical and Education Trust in Western Kenya. 

Dr. Angel Foster is a professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Ottawa and held the 2011-2016 Endowed Chair in Women’s Health Research. Francoise speaks to her about making medical abortion care available to women who need it an era of increasing restriction. 

In this episode, Françoise interviews Jodi Jacobson, the Founder and Executive Director of Healthcare Across Borders, as well as Founder and Editor of Rewire News. Françoise and Jodi describe the challenges of maintaining  access to sexual and reproductive health  in the face of rising attacks from the authoritarian right. 

In this episode, Françoise interviews Beth Schlachter, Senior Director of US External Relations MSI Reproductive Choices. They discuss the ongoing dismantling of USAID by the Trump administration and its harmful impact on millions worldwide.

Fred Rioux discute avec Françoise Girard, fondatrice de FMUS de l'histoire derrière la fondation de FMUS. Les sujets abordés comprennent la façon dont le féminisme apporte plus de justice, de liberté et de bonheur dans le monde. Françoise évoque également la tendance des mouvements autoritaires à tenter de contrôler l'autonomie corporelle des femmes et des jeunes filles.