The iWoman Report: Women's Military Program Cut, FIFA Looking for ACL Injury Links to Hormones, and The Six Triple Eight are Honored by Congress

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Targets Women, Peace, & Security Program

This week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lit a political firestorm with a single post on X (formerly Twitter), where he proudly claimed to have dismantled the Pentagon’s Women, Peace & Security (WPS) initiative, calling it a “woke” program rooted in UN ideology. What he failed to mention? The program was championed and signed into law by none other than his boss President Donald Trump.

The WPS Act, passed in 2017 with bipartisan support, was designed to strengthen U.S. security by integrating women into peacekeeping and military operations. It acknowledged a tactical reality: in many cultural settings, female service members are uniquely positioned to gather intelligence and build trust in local communities—especially with women and children who may be inaccessible to male troops.

Far from being a fringe effort, the legislation was co-authored by now-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (then a Republican congresswoman) and Democratic Rep. Jan Schakowsky. It had support from Sen. Marco Rubio, who called it a global first in recognizing women’s roles in peacebuilding. Even Mr. Trump's daughter, Ivanka Trump, promoted its work overseas, praising its impact in training women police officers in Colombia.

But Hegseth is the latest figurehead in the administration’s crackdown on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, regardless of their origin. His social media post accused WPS of being a “divisive” social justice effort that burdens troops. He promised only to fulfill the legal minimum required by Congress while working to eliminate it altogether.

The backlash was swift. Military leaders, including Gen. Dan Caine, Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, praised the program’s tangible value in combat zones. “Female troops helped us understand the human terrain,” Caine testified before Congress. “This wasn’t ideology—it was strategy.”

Democrats didn’t hold back either. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen bluntly declared, “Hegseth has absolutely no idea what he’s doing.” Sen. Tim Kaine publicly called out the misinformation in Hegseth’s tweet during a Senate hearing.

Ironically, what Hegseth now brands as “woke” was once held up by Trump himself as proof that his administration cared about women’s global empowerment.

Only time will tell whether Congress will act to protect WPS, or if it becomes another casualty in the culture war sweeping through the Pentagon.

FIFA Funds Groundbreaking Study on Women's ACL Injuries and Hormones

In a major step forward for women’s sports science, FIFA has announced funding for a new academic study at Kingston University that will explore a possible connection between menstrual cycles and the risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in female athletes. The study will launch in June 2025 and is backed by the FIFA Research Scholarship program.

Dr. Simon Augustus, a senior lecturer in sport biomechanics at Kingston says the goal is to see if female athletes are predisposed to injuries due to changes in anatomy and physiology during their menstrual cycles.

While research has long shown that female athletes suffer ACL injuries at a significantly higher rate than their male counterparts, the causes remain poorly understood. One theory gaining traction: fluctuations in estrogen and progesterone—female-specific hormones—may increase joint flexibility and slow neuromuscular reaction times, which can make knees more vulnerable during high-intensity play.

The study will monitor athletes from clubs like Chelsea and Fulham. Female players will undergo regular blood tests and physical performance assessments at Kingston’s labs, with hormone levels analyzed alongside metrics like reaction time, stability, and strength. Researchers will also track the specific ways athletes sustain ACL injuries—distinguishing between impact injuries and non-contact, where preventative strategies may be more effective.

The goal? Tailored training and injury prevention strategies that are informed by the athlete’s hormonal profile. This could mean tweaking technique, timing strength training, or altering game load depending on where a player is in her menstrual cycle.

For too long, women's health in sports has been sidelined—sometimes literally. This research isn't just about injury prevention; it's about recognition. Recognition that female athletes aren't just smaller versions of male athletes, and that understanding their unique physiology is critical to leveling the playing field—literally and scientifically.

As more governing bodies and clubs invest in women's health and performance data, studies like this could shape the future of training, rehab, and even scouting in women's football.

Six Triple Eight Receives Congressional Gold Medal, Cementing a Place in U.S. History

In a moment of long-overdue recognition, Congress has awarded its highest civilian honor to the 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black, all-female Army unit to serve overseas during World War II. Nearly 80 years after their remarkable service, the battalion known as the "Six Triple Eight" finally received the Congressional Gold Medal on Tuesday in a moving ceremony held in the U.S. Capitol’s Emancipation Hall.

These 855 trailblazing women served not on the front lines of combat, but as volunteers behind the scenes, clearing an astonishing 17 million-piece mail backlog in Birmingham, England during one of the most brutal periods of the war. With just six months to complete a job many doubted they could do, the Six Triple Eight finished in just three, sorting an average of 65,000 letters per shift and developing a system that matched over seven million U.S. service members to their mail.

Today, only two members of the unit remain alive: Fanny McClendon, 101, and Anna Mae Robertson, 104. While they watched the ceremony from home, over 300 descendants gathered in their honor, many meeting for the first time in a celebration that fused remembrance with resolve.

Recognition for the Six Triple Eight didn’t come easily. The legislation awarding the medal passed unanimously in 2022, but only after years of advocacy, and in an era increasingly hostile to acknowledging diversity in American history. The honor comes after the recent release of the Tyler Perry-produced and directed, Kerry Washington-led film about their significant accomplishments. The ceremony served as a striking contrast to recent moves by the Trump administration to roll back DEI efforts in the military, including the one made in the same week by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The honor brings the 6888th into the company of legendary Americans like George Washington, the Navajo Code Talkers, and the Rosie the Riveters. But it also raises the question: What more needs to be done to ensure stories like theirs aren’t nearly lost to history?

In 2023, an Army base formerly named for Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was renamed to honor Lt. Col. Charity Adams, the commanding officer of the 6888th. That change was part of a broader initiative to rethink how and whom we commemorate in the military. But that momentum now faces stiff political headwinds.

Still, the Six Triple Eight’s achievement speaks for itself. They proved that courage isn’t confined to the battlefield and that even in a segregated Army, Black women could lead, innovate, and succeed under impossible odds.