Stories of change from four continents this week. I'll start with the quietest: to hold back climate change we must learn to stop throwing so much stuff away. Janet Gunter, writing for ourEconomy, explains why we need a Right to Repair to reduce the West's 'consumption emissions' – and I was delighted to learn that there is a word for 'shame of buying new' (it's Swedish, of course).
Having to wean yourself off throwaway culture is about the best example of a first-world problem that I can think of. Radha Davar and Manguben have rather different concerns: they are villagers in rural India who are getting a regular basic income as part of a trial scheme. It's made radical changes in their lives, as they tell our Beyond Trafficking and Slavery section. They've been able to buy water to irrigate a farm, open a small shop and allow a daughter to continue her education. For these women it all means freedom: not just economic breathing room but freedom to meet new people, to travel, to talk to government officials on equal terms.
It's election day tomorrow in Argentina and Uruguay, and we've joined forces with feminist journalists from the region to explore the numbers, track records and views of conservative candidates. It's timely work: "Never before has abortion been such a high-profile campaign issue [in both countries], while new and explicitly ‘anti-gender’ parties have also emerged," says the team.
