The Obama administration announced yesterday in new guidance to health insurance companies that insurers are obligated to cover all forms of birth control under the Affordable Care Act.
Afghan Girls Win Gold at International Science Competition
Three schoolgirls from Afghanistan won gold in biology at an international science competition hosted in Kenya last week.
The ERA Was Just Re-Introduced in the Senate for Ratification
Just in time for Mother’s Day, U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.) re-introduced yesterday a joint resolution to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) to the U.S Constitution. S.J. Res. 15 was introduced with 26 original cosponsors including Senator Mark Kirk (R-Il). The resolution would remove the deadline set by congress for ratification of the ERA.
It’s Been a Month: Purvi Patel is Still in Prison for a Miscarriage
Purvi Patel, a 33-year-old Indian-American who was convicted in Indiana for what she continually asserts was a miscarriage, has now been in prison for more than 30 days.
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Today in Herstory: Mass Meeting Held to Edit the US Constitution to Give Women the Vote
Founding Feminists is FMF’s daily herstory column. May 7, 1894: A lively and well-attended mass meeting was held at Cooper Union in Manhattan earlier this evening, and there certainly seemed to be plenty of people willing to do whatever it takes to remove a single word from the New York State Constitution, which presently grants […]
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Today in Herstory: The Suffrage Parade is Bigger Than Ever
Founding Feminists is FMF’s daily herstory column. May 6, 1911: Anyone who still doubts that the woman suffrage movement is rapidly gaining support must have been a long way from New York’s Fifth Avenue earlier today. The turnout for this year’s annual suffrage parade was unprecedented, with at last 3,000 marching from 57th Street to […]
Four Sentenced to Death, Eight to Prison for Brutal Murder of Afghan Woman
The verdict for the 49 men charged with the murder of 27-year- old Farkhunda came yesterday, following a highly publicized and televised week-long trial and public outrage for violence against women in Afghanistan.
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Today in Herstory: Rose Pastor Stokes Causes Sensation By Distributing Birth Control Information
May 5, 1916: Rose Pastor Stokes has caused a sensation in Carnegie Hall by distributing small slips of paper containing birth control information, a clear violation of Section 1142 of the New York State Penal Code. She took this step at a mass meeting called to celebrate Emma Goldman’s release from prison, where she had just served two weeks in the workhouse for the same offense.
Sen. Reid Promises to Filibuster “Fast Track” for the Trans-Pacific Partnership
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has promised to delay efforts to push through the controversial Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal until the Senate first deals with two stalled bills that may soon expire.
Report Released by Sen. Gillibrand Shows Underreporting of Military Sexual Assault
A new report released by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) this morning shows the Department of Defense (DOD) is grossly under-reporting the number of sexual assault crimes in the US military, particularly those occurring on military bases.
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Today in Herstory: Large Suffrage Parade Takes New York City
May 4, 1912: What a great day this has been for “Votes for Women” advocates!
Maryland State Prosecutor Promises Justice for Freddie Gray
The six police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray of Baltimore, Maryland have been charged criminally with offenses ranging from manslaughter to false imprisonment.
House Reverses DC Law Banning Reproductive Health Discrimination by Employers
The US House of Representatives voted Thursday night to overturn a Washington, D.C., law that makes it illegal for employers to retaliate against employees who have premarital sex or who have an abortion.
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Today in Herstory: Suffragists Take Aim at Senator O’Gorman
April 30, 1915: There was a quite frustrating and somewhat heated exchange of views this afternoon as Inez Milholland Boissevain, Doris Stevens and several other members of the Congressional Union for Woman Suffrage met with U.S. Senator James O’Gorman, Democrat of New York.
400 Women and Children Have Been Rescued From Boko Haram in Nigeria
On Tuesday, Nigerian troops announced they rescued 200 girls and 93 women from Boko Haram – and today news has come out that troops rescued another 160 women and children.
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Today in Herstory: Women Teachers Mount Fight for Equal Pay
April 29, 1905: “Equal pay for equal work” is the demand of an insurgent group of women teachers led by Anna Louise Goessling of P.S. 44 in Brooklyn, New York.
Purvi Patel, Imprisoned for a Miscarriage in Indiana, Has Filed an Appeal
A Stanford law professor, Lawrence Marshall, is taking Patel’s case pro bono.
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Hillary Clinton Calls for Criminal Justice Reform and an End to Mass Incarceration
Hillary Clinton delivered the keynote address at the 18th Annual Dinkins Leadership and Public Policy Forum today, addressing directly criminal justice reforms she would like to see to prevent another “incarceration generation.” “It’s time the end the era of mass incarceration,” Clinton declared to much applause, citing statistics about the disproportionately higher rate of incarceration […]
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Today in Herstory: Fifth Annual League of Women Voters Convention Held in Critical Election Year
Founding Feminists is FMF’s daily herstory columnn. April 28, 1924: Though this is the fifth annual national convention of the League of Women Voters, it’s the first one to be held in a presidential election year since the battle for the suffrage amendment ended in victory on August 26, 1920, so it’s an especially exciting […]
North Carolina House Passes 72-Hour Abortion Waiting Period
The North Carolina state House last week passed a 72-hour waiting period for women seeking abortion care.