Women This Week: Colonel Nicole Malachowski’s Historic Thunderbird Flight Removed From Air Force Website

Department of Defense Continues Purge of Servicewomen From Websites 

In an ongoing purge of women in the military from Department of Defense websites, the U.S. Air Force has removed historic pages featuring female pilots. Most notably, many documents recognizing Colonel Nicole Malachowski for her trailblazing achievement as the first woman to pilot with the Thunderbirds—the elite demonstration squadron for the U.S. Air Force—have been removed. Malachowski was accepted as a Thunderbirds pilot in 2005 after a rigorous selection process for experienced fighter pilots, which included, at the time, a minimum of 1,000 flight hours, superior flying skills, and nominations by her chain of command. During her twenty-one years of service, she also flew F-15E Strike Eagles in three operational squadrons and commanded a fighter squadron. Colonel Malachowski, now retired, told us: “This is not about just my story, or any singular individual story, it is about mass censorship. Tens of thousands of articles, videos, photos, and social media posts have been deleted. All of them involve women and minority service members and veterans. This is mass censorship of historical facts, a truly dangerous direction for our country to willfully go down.” She then added, “We highlight historic firsts for good reason: to acknowledge barriers and challenges that have been overcome. It helps us remember that there was a time when women and minorities couldn’t do certain things like serve in our military or fly military aircraft. We acknowledge historic firsts, so we keep the door open for the second, third, and fourth, etc.” Malachowski ultimately concluded, “We need our military to reflect the face of America. By acknowledging the contributions of women and minorities, we inspire the next generation to serve. Representation matters, especially in terms of recruitment and retention.” 

Protestors Call for Stricter Measures in Aftermath of Rape of 16 Year Old Girl in Portugal  

A viral social media video showing the alleged rape of a sixteen-year-old girl in Portugal has triggered a push for stricter legislation to hold users and social media platforms accountable for non-consensual video and image sharing. Despite receiving over 32,000 views, the police were not made aware of the incident until the victim went to the hospital for care. The three suspects, between the ages of seventeen and nineteen, were arrested but later released. Although they were banned from contacting the victim, their social media accounts were left up. Demonstrators in Lisbon gathered in front of the Parliamentary building to protest the lack of accountability as well as the role of social media in propagating male chauvinism. Political representatives joined, arguing for the enactment of legislation that would hold social media platforms responsible for the posting and sharing of such content. Protestors also want to see rape treated as a public crime. Rape is currently treated as a semi-public crime in Portugal, meaning that criminal proceedings against the perpetrator can only proceed if the victim reports the crime.  

Crisis in Sudan Severely Impacting Women and Children as Two-Year Anniversary of Civil War Passes 

Two years since the conflict broke out in Sudan, more than 30 million people—over half the population-are desperately in need of aid. A new report by the NGO Forums in Sudan, Chad, and South Sudan has highlighted the unprecedented humanitarian and protection crisis in the country, which is disproportionately impacting women and children. Sudan constitutes one of the largest displacement crises globally. Over 11.5 million people are internally displaced and more than 3.7 million have fled refugees to neighboring countries. Gender-based violence is severe, and there few resources for victims. Nearly 9 million are living or on the brink of famine, and malnutrition is severely impacting children and pregnant women. “The people of Sudan urgently need support and solidarity. The UN Security Council must institute an arms embargo on all of Sudan, while countries around the world must steeply increase their humanitarian assistance. Sudan’s partners must also exert real pressure on the parties to the conflict to stop targeting civilians and to bring the perpetrators of international humanitarian and human rights law violations to justice,” said Erika Guevara Rosas of Amnesty International. “The world must stop ignoring Sudan.” 

Diya Mehta is the intern for the Women and Foreign Policy Program and contributed to the research for this post.