The Guardian: Why Trump’s travel ban hits women the hardest
Michelle Chen, contributing writer at the Nation and contributing editor at In These Times and Dissent magazines

“[U.S. President] Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ is a frontal assault on many universal human rights principles. But the latest temporary reinstatement of the order’s 120-day refugee ban — pending an anticipated October Supreme Court ruling — is already quietly undermining the most fundamental universal humanitarian rule: it puts women and children … last. … Women remain deeply vulnerable whether they are escaping military air raids or ‘safe’ in an official refugee camp overseas. … Moreover, they face ancillary gender-based human rights violations that tend to explode in conflict situations, including epidemics of sexual abuse and labor and sexual trafficking. … [E]ven if Trump’s ban is ultimately struck down, the administration and Republican Congress will continue to inflict disproportionate harm on refugee women. In May, … Trump enacted the ‘global gag rule’ … As Trump drives to harden the borders of terror war, he’s quietly expanding his assault on refugee mothers, sisters, and daughters — an invisible war on women that, tragically, knows no boundaries” (7/16).