Human rights groups are calling for the pardon of 15 women imprisoned in El Salvador for suffering a miscarriage.
One Year Since the Kidnappings, #BringBackOurGirls Still Matters
In April of 2014, almost 300 Nigerian schoolgirls were kidnapped by the terrorist group Boko Haram. It’s been one year, and 219 of them are still missing.
“No Ceilings” Report Shows Major Gains and Gaps in Women’s Equality
The Clinton Foundation “No Ceilings” report reveals data measuring women and girls’ participation worldwide over the past twenty years. In many ways, there have been significant increases for women and girls, but there are still massive gaps to be filled and progress to be made.
Clinically Dead Pregnant Irish Woman Taken Off Life Support
The court’s decision to take the pregnant woman off life support was in line with her family’s wishes.
Woman on Life Support Revives Ireland’s Abortion Debate
Ireland’s ban on abortion has come up in debate again following a current case involving a dead woman who is being kept on life support because she is pregnant.
Israel May Fund Abortions For Some Women
The Israeli government may start funding abortions for women aged 20 to 33 if recommendations recently made by a Health Ministry committee are enacted. Israeli women under the age of 17 and over the ago of 40 already receive subsidized abortion services for personal reasons. Women also get almost automatic approval for an abortion if […]
New Campaign Encourages Women to Participate in Afghanistan’s Next Election
A new campaign in Afghanistan urges women to vote – specifically, for candidates that support their rights and equality.
A Women in Academia Mini-Roundtable
It’s clear that women still struggle to find standing in academia. Two FMF interns tackle the issue right at the line where the personal becomes political.
Global Heroes Honored in L.A.
An Afghan rapper. The founder of the first primary school for girls in a Kenyan village. A trailblazing member of Congress who fights to create an AIDS-free generation. An advocate for women’s and children’s rights and empowerment. Tonite in Los Angeles, the Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.) will award these four women with its […]
The Global War on Women
While everyone is consumed in the upcoming election and “women’s issues”, there is yet another disturbing threat at large—the global war on women. The global war I’m thinking of goes beyond reproductive rights to the basic necessity of living free of fear. Last week Malala Yousafzai’s shooting grabbed the world’s attention. Her suffering on account of her desire to attend school put into perspective the violence girls and women face as they exercise their basic rights.
Women Only: Saudi Arabia Further Segregates Society
The fight for Saudi women’s rights has been well-documented in the press, especially the high-profile protests women’s rights activists launched on the heels of the Arab Spring in hopes to win the right to drive in the Kingdom, the only place in the world where women are legally not permitted to get behind the wheel. This observation […]
Women of Color, the Wage Gap and the Paycheck Fairness Act
The average American woman earns only $0.77 to every full dollar that the average American man earns. What do statistics fail to capture about the lives of women of color? A Black woman in the US earns only $0.62 to every full dollar that a white man in the U.S earns. A Hispanic woman earns […]
Should Catholic Bishops Have The Right To Control Your Life?
By Janet Hill, Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW), National CLUW Vice President (United Steelworkers) Catholic bishops are pressuring the Obama administration to dilute the rule proposed by Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to allow women access to birth control without paying out of pocket. There is a narrow exemption that allows religious […]
Does China Have the Solution for the Population Crisis? Not Even Close
by Meghan Yee On October 31, the world population reached 7 billion. According to one Chinese demographer, however, if not for China’s one-child policy, the world population would have hit that number five years ago. China has the largest population on earth with 1.4 billion people. However, since 1979, the National Population and Family Planning […]
The Women of “Women, War and Peace”
By Michele Kort The remarkable five-part PBS series Women, War and Peace concludes on tonight (Tuesday, November 8th) with War Redefined, the capstone piece that brings together the issues brought up in the previous films about conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, Liberia and Bosnia. Narrated by Geena Davis, the film touches on, among other things, […]
The Staggering Facts of Seven Billion
We humans mark a milestone today—the world’s population reaches 7 billion. When I was born there were about 2.2 billion people on earth. When my assistant was born there were a little more than 5 billion people on earth. It took just 12 years to go from 6 billion to 7. As the population climbs […]
Reflections on a Population Surging Beyond 7 Billion
6,998,460,833: the world’s current population, according to an estimate by Population Action International (PAI). In anticipation of October 31st, the day the world’s population is predicated to reach 7 billion, I’ve sat at my desk transfixed by PAI’s scrolling ticker, documenting the rapidly increasing population as it approaches a number troubling to reproductive rights activists, […]
What Does Seven Billion Mean for Women?
The UN has projected that the world’s population will reach 7 billion today, a scary milestone amidst increasing global political and economic instability. More people will only place increased pressure on our environment, on the world’s habitats, forests, and resources such as water. But how does investing in women’s rights tie into slowing the world’s […]
For Saudi Women, Voting Win Masks Driving Crackdown
By Trish Calvarese, 9/26/2011 In a national TV address Sunday, Saudi King Abdullah declared an end to the de facto ban on women’s suffrage. Beginning in 2015, women will be able to vote and run in local elections. This seemingly good news, heralded by the AP as “a major advancement for the rights of women,” overshadowed […]
A Beating for a Phone: Women Struggle to Access Mobile Technology
People are always shocked to learn how widespread and easily available mobile technology is in “developing nations” like Bangladesh, Kenya, and Afghanistan. When my husband visited my city of birth, Dhaka, last year he could not believe how many people had cell phones in a country where more than half of the population cannot access […]