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Advice columns: comfort blankets in the scary world of adulthood

The markers of adult life are shifting – no wonder we’re turning to agony aunts and uncles for guidance. Isabelle O’Carroll reports

Efua Dorkenoo obituary

Determined campaigner against female genital mutilation
Iranians protest over acid attacks against women

Thousands stage demonstration in Isfahan after women are targeted for wearing clothes deemed inappropriate by hardliners
Goth streetwear, monochrome and sportswear: what is health goth?

Forget normcore. Health goth is the latest possibly madeup trend to go viral. Think goths in sportswear, Alexander Wang x H&M and Kanye West, and you’re halfway there, says Morwenna Ferrier
Buying denim the pain-free way: a guide for women over 50

Invisible Woman: Like many of us, I find the idea of buying a new pair of jeans depressing and daunting. So could a new range of services and products help?

How to be a female pop star in 2014 – video

Follow Harriet Gibsone's five simple steps to becoming a 'post-feminist' icon

Dr Stella Ameyo Adadevoh: Ebola victim and everyday hero

Tolu Ogunlesi: The doctor prevented the spread of Ebola in Nigeria – and paid with her life. Now we should honour her, and the other health workers whose dedication is inspirational
Sexual consent classes at Oxbridge: ‘I feel safer in college after doing this’

This term, compulsory workshops on the issue of sexual consent have been introduced at Oxford and Cambridge. A fresher and a facilitator share their experiences
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Nothing's wrong with Renee Zellweger's face. There's something wrong with us

Jennifer Gerson Uffalussy: Pity the woman so brazen as to pull back the curtain on our hypocrisy by letting herself be seen in public past a certain age
Women aren't 'better' at housework – but men sure are better at avoiding it

Jessica Valenti: If we’re too damn tired from doing so much work at home, how are we supposed to make progress on more urgent issues?
By removing photos of childbirth, Facebook is censoring powerful female images

Milli Hill: Birth is a fundamental feminist issue right now - women’s bodies should not be sanitised. Facebook should let us see it as it is
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From barrier to enabler: how politics can help girls live up to their potential

Guardian Professional A shift in attitudes in political systems around the world is necessary to allow girls to fully participate in society, writes Shirin Rai
‘Young women need female role models to inspire success’

Guardian Professional Former managing director of Penguin, Helen Fraser, discusses which women inspired her to achieve
Why the need for a gender divide in school uniforms? Or loos?

Schools should examine their unconscious inequalities – often seen in mundane things – and correct them, even if it sparks complaints, says Laura McInerney
More on gender

Attention, men: don’t be a creepy dude who pesters women in coffee shops and on the subway

Lindy West: The ‘railway Romeo’ targets women who are trapped in a sealed metal tube underground. Guys: women’s time and space are their own – don’t be a douchebag
‘She’ for ‘He’ in children's books

Emma Watson is a strong female character in fiction as Hermione and in the real world – author Cate Sampson calls for more portrayals in children’s and teen books that reflect how women really are
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Why too few women work at senior levels in broadcasting

Lords hears of gender imbalance in media groups
Private Violence: up to 75% of abused women who are murdered are killed after they leave their partners

Domestic violence comes on not like a tsunami but as steady waves, says Kit Gruelle, survivor and advocate featured in HBO’s new documentary
More on women in media

Must the Anthropocene be a Manthropocene?

Kate Raworth: A working group exploring a potential new geological era has only one female scientist. This gender bias within the scientific community needs consigning to the past
FGM: more than 1,700 women and girls treated by NHS since April

Public health minister heralds data collection on female genital mutilation as ‘major milestone’ on road to ending FGM in the UK
More on equality

Swimming is the UK’s real national sport

Letters: The ‘booming national sport narrative’ appears to legitimise spending more money on football than any other sport
R&A decision to admit women is hailed as symbolic moment for sport

The historic vote to allow women to become members of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club has been welcomed by campaigners, golfers and politicians
More on women in sport