Mississippi’s governor, Phil Bryant, signed an anti-abortion law on Monday that could effectively shut down the state’s only abortion clinic. The law, House Bill 1390, puts new restrictions on doctors who provide abortions and the facilities in which abortions are performed. The law requires doctors to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and they […]
Today is Equal Pay Day, the date that marks the extra days that a woman would have to work in this year in order to earn what a man earned last year. The symbolic day is marked each year to draw attention to the gender pay gap. The American Association for University Women (AAUW) reports […]
Approximately 150 Afghan girls drank poisoned water on Tuesday at a school in the northern Takhar province. Afghan officials said that conservative radicals who oppose girls’ education are to blame for the poisoning, though they would not name a specific group. A spokesman for the education department of Takhar, Jan Mohammad Nabizada, said, “We are […]
The Pentagon released its annual report (PDF) on sexual crimes in the military last Friday, finding a slight increase in the number of sexual assaults. The number of sexual assaults in fiscal year 2011 increased by 1% from fiscal year 2010. The number is a slight decrease from 2009. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said he […]
Ten companies have pulled their support from the American Legislative Council (ALEC), a conservative organization that lobbied states to pass Stand Your Ground laws. The Stand Your Ground law in Florida is being cited as a defense by George Zimmerman, the man charged with second-degree murder in the shooting death of 17-year old Trayvon Martin. […]
Fawzia Koofi is the first person to announce an intention to run for the presidency in Afghanistan. Koofi, a women’s rights advocate, was elected to parliament in 2005 and was reelected in 2010. Earlier this year, she received acclaim for her memoir, “The Favoured Daughter,” in which she details how she was left outside to […]
The Catholic Bishops announced a new “religious freedom campaign” on Thursday, partially in response to the Obama Administration’s recent announcement that employers’ insurance plans must include contraception coverage. The Bishops said that the campaign will stretch over a number of years and will include a “Fortnight for Freedom” prayer and study campaign leading up to […]
Arizona governor Jan Brewer signed a bill on Thursday that prohibits abortions in the state after 20 weeks. The bill, passed earlier this week by the state legislature, essentially bans abortions after 18 weeks because gestational age of the fetus will be calculated based on the last menstrual period of the woman. In a press […]
An investigative report by BBC Journalist Natalia Antelava has revealed a government policy in Uzbekistan to sterilize women, mostly without their knowledge. Antelava gathered evidence that the government ran the sterilization program before she was deported from the country at the end of February. The BBC reports that many women were forcibly sterilized after giving […]
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) released a report on Monday showing the state-by-state status of the gender pay gap. The report, The Simple Truth about the Gender Pay Gap (PDF), was released in honor of Equal Pay Day, observed this year on April 17th. The AAUW reports that nationwide, women make 77% of […]
The four women who have served on the United States Supreme Court came together on Wednesday to honor the 30th anniversary of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor’s appointment to the bench. Current Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan joined Justice O’Connor at the Newseum in Washington, DC, for a panel discussion on the […]
A group of eight Planned Parenthood organizations filed a lawsuit against the state of Texas on Wednesday to prevent the state from excluding them from its Women’s Health Program. In March, Governor Rick Perry implemented a rule that excludes affiliates of abortion providers from the Medicaid Women’s Health Program, essentially cutting any government funding to […]
The teenage birth rate dropped to an historic low according to an April 2012 report released by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (PDF). According to the report, the birth rate dropped 9 percent between 2009 and 2010. The birth rate for 2010 was the lowest since 1946. Laura Lindberg of the Guttmacher […]
The Miss Universe Pageant changed its rules this week to allow transgender women to compete. The new rules have not yet been released but pageant officials say they are rewriting the language of the rules to allow transgender contestants. Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, told reporters from the Associated […]
The Arizona legislature approved a bill on Tuesday that would prohibit abortions in the state after 20 weeks. According to Think Progress , the bill can essentially ban abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy because gestational age of the fetus will be “calculated from the first day of the last menstrual period of the pregnant […]
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker quietly signed a set of over 50 bills last Thursday, many of which will have a direct impact on women’s health in the state. The bills include requiring teachers to stress abstinence-only sex education, barring abortion coverage through health insurance exchanges, and requiring doctors to consult privately with patients about abortion […]
Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) condemned recent attacks on women last week during a local radio interview while visiting the town of Homer, Alaska. Her remarks were in response to a call-in question from a constituent who asked about her position on reproductive rights. Murkowski called the recent attacks made by radio show host Rush Limbaugh […]
Malawian Vice President and women’s rights activist Joyce Banda became the country’s first female president on Saturday when she was sworn in following the death of President Bingu wa Mutharika. Supporters cheered on Saturday in celebration in the nation’s capital, Lilongwe. The south African country, which has undergone severe economic recession in recent years, was […]
An 87- year old woman was refused the right to vote in last week’s Wisconsin presidential primary due to a lack of proper identification as defined by the state’s new voting regulations. Wisconsin’s strict voter identification requirement, which requires a photo and address in order to vote in elections, was signed into law last year […]
A group of mothers and sisters of inmates in an Illinois prison protested the conditions of the facility this week. Tamms Correctional Center in Chicago has been cited for inhumane treatment of its inmates, often locking them up for 24 hours a day with little or no breaks or interaction with others. Relatives were joined […]
