Latest news with #fibroids
The Guardian
11 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
What it's really like … to know I'm going to miss my Harvard graduation because of Trump's travel ban
Next May, I should be walking across a stage at Harvard – my two-year-old daughter in my arms, my name called out, my doctoral hood placed over shoulders that have carried far more than academic ambition. It was going to be more than a graduation. It was to be a culmination, a reclamation. My daughter's presence would symbolise not only my personal triumph but the very journey that led me here: discovering my own uterine fibroid when I decided to become a mother inspired my doctorate. Together, mother and daughter would cross a finish line that generations before me weren't even allowed to approach. This summer, after years of balancing motherhood, research and rigorous study, I was ready to return briefly to Harvard to defend my doctoral dissertation – one final, vital step before next year's graduation. Instead, I am in Sierra Leone, denied the ability to return – not due to misconduct, overstaying or fraud – but simply for being Sierra Leonean. Under new restrictions enacted in June 2025, Sierra Leoneans – and nationals from several other countries – are now denied non-immigrant visas. Our individual circumstances do not matter. I have met every previous legal requirement. I have complied with every visa stipulation throughout my academic journey. I can demonstrate a clear intent to return home. My research is on African women's reproductive health, and I intend to continue working on the continent. Still: no. The sudden denial, without recourse or meaningful appeal, sends a chilling message to thousands of international students who now face a similar fate: educational dreams suspended, futures uncertain, doors closed without warning or reason. This amplifies the already overwhelming fears and hurdles we face. It has never been easy to get a visa. I had to prove financial solvency, undergo invasive medical screenings, pass extensive background checks, and demonstrate to US immigration authorities that my presence would constitute 'national value'. Even after fulfilling these rigorous demands, students such as me are now vulnerable to sudden exclusion. The impact of this ban reaches deeper than individual disappointments. It disrupts academic communities, weakens critical international collaborations, and undermines global scholarship that profoundly benefits the US. My research – focusing on uterine fibroids, a condition severely affecting women's lives across Africa and globally – is critical to advancing women's health. Through my social impact venture, Youterus Health, we centre African women's experiences, turning insight into action by mobilising resources and creating systemic solutions for neglected gynaecological conditions – including abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids and adenomyosis. These conditions directly affect maternal health, economic empowerment and global equity. Our work elevates uterine care within maternal and reproductive health agendas, challenging historic neglect and reshaping healthier futures for women and communities everywhere. Harvard has embraced me and my work. When I gave birth to my daughter in 2023, I sat for my written exams just two weeks later. Harvard's unwavering support during that intense period made me believe that merit would always outweigh difficult circumstances. The US government's decision undermines this belief, revealing a deeper systemic issue: a harsh, bureaucratic racism selectively silencing voices from African and Middle Eastern countries. This exclusion is neither isolated nor new. African scholars have long navigated bureaucratic hurdles designed to quietly but persistently deny our presence. This latest policy continues a historical pattern of selective exclusion. Yet even during earlier restrictions, such as bans during Trump's first term, many of us held hope. We believed our achievements, resilience and the genuine value of our work would speak louder than our passports. Today, students from banned countries face intensified exclusion without clear paths for appeal or resolution. I have tried to remain positive, to respond with grace. But the truth is, this decision cuts deeply. It denies me not only the moment I earned on that graduation stage but dims the aspirations of countless others who, like me, envision using their education as a force for global good. What do we do when we've done everything right yet find ourselves standing at locked doors? We speak louder. We write bolder. We name these wounds clearly, defiantly. And we persist in rewriting the narrative. I am not just missing the Harvard graduation. The US will be missing what I can offer. Our value – my value – is not defined by a stamp in a passport. Yet, this moment calls for allies in academia, policy and beyond to recognise and actively challenge these systemic barriers. Because a closed door for some diminishes the potential of all. Fatou Wurie is a doctoral candidate at Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health and founder of Youterus Health, a pioneering African women's health venture.
Daily Mail
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Kamala Harris cackles about Playboy magazine and delivers 'awe-inspiring' word salad in bizarre interview
Former Vice President Kamala Harris left Australians confused on Sunday during a question and answer session at the Australian Real Estate Conference, as she tried to share a funny story about her mother. Harris sat with real estate industry veteran John McGrath for over an hour during the conference and recalled that her mother was very focused on women's reproductive health, which included sharing her thoughts about 'fibroids' and 'hormones.' 'My mother was actually very funny because she would say, 'You look at the cover of Playboy magazine, let me just tell you, the reason that people are looking at these things, understand what they were developed for the perpetuation of the human species,'' Harris recalled laughing. 'She was very practical that way.' 'A great lady,' McGrath replied shortly before shifting immediately to another question. Video of the exchange in Australia emerged on social media as an attendee at the conference recorded and shared it. Harris also spoke at length about issues important to her but struggled with the concept of humility, circling the idea in a way that suggested she was unclear about what it was. 'I don't aspire to be humble. And I don't recommend it, I think that one must be humble. But to aspire to be humble would be quite inauthentic. If one understands that, just, I mean, there's so much that is magnificent and awe-inspiring about this world and its people. And when you take the moment to just listen to an individual's story, whether it's someone you're sitting next to on the plane or standing in line with at the grocery store, there is so much about this world that we know and we don't know. And that is very humbling to realize the dreams that people have, the struggles that they've overcome and the magnificence of that. To realize the beauty of the human spirit, that we are by nature, I think, as a species, we don't give up.' she said. But Harris wasn't finished, emphasizing the importance of ambition outside of humility. 'Part of the key to our survival is that we are adaptable but we are also ambitious. I applaud ambition. I applaud ambition. I think it is a good thing, to reach, but not without also understanding that in so doing, one must do the hard work. One must understand the context in which they exist. One must be respectful,' she said. Harris also included throwbacks to famous word-salads of her political career including a mention of being 'unburdened by what has been,' the importance of 'speaking truth' and being aware of the significance of the 'passage of time.' 'I think it's very important to understand that people who fight for equality, fight for freedom, they see what can be and are unburdened by what has been they believe in what is possible. So even though it may be characterized as a fight, it really is it should I think be thought of in the context of a fight for something as opposed to against something,' she said. At one point the moderator said he believed her 'best work is ahead of you, for sure, 100 percent.' 'I am unemployed right now,' she said with a smile. 'Go on, let's speak truth.' When she was asked to give advice to young women in the real estate industry, she repeated her motto about not listening to people who tell them to wait their turn. 'I don't hear no. I eat no for breakfast,' she said.
