Bangladesh’s High Court ruled late last week that individuals can not be forced to wear religious attire, including the burqa, in workplaces, schools, or colleges. This ruling follows a recent report that Rani Bhabani Women’s College in northern Bangladesh has required that all women wear burqas, according to the Canadian Press. The school has also […]
A federal court yesterday ratified an agreement to block two provisions of a new Louisiana state ultrasound law. The Center for Reproductive Rights and six Louisiana abortion clinics filed a lawsuit challenging the law earlier this month. The agreement is between the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) and the Louisiana state Department of Health and […]
The California Nurses Association (CNA) is bringing a class-action lawsuit against California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), and Sutter Health, CPMC’s overseeing company, for intentionally engaging in hiring discrimination against Filipina nurses. Three medical center employees submitted statements to the San Francisco Human Rights Commission claiming that between 2007 and 2009, they were instructed not to […]
Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning announced yesterday that he will not attempt to defend the state’s new abortion screening law. Bruning has accepted a permanent federal injunction on enforcement of the law, which required women to submit to a full medical screening before seeking an abortion, according to the Associated Press. Brunings’s office announced that […]
Caera Sturgis, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the Wesson Attendance Center in Mississippi for excluding her name and photo from the senior year book after she chose to wear a tuxedo in her portrait. Sturgis attended the school from Kindergarten through high school, had a […]
Indonesia launched its first women-only train carriage on the Jakarta public transportation system today. The goal of the women-only carriages is to minimize sexual harassment of women on trains. Several more carriages will enter into service soon. The carriages, with bright pink seats, have only been introduced on the express Jakarta-Bogor line, but more will […]
The Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys has administered an informal admonition of former Deputy Attorney General Eric Rucker because of allegations of misconduct in an abortion investigation. The board had been considering allegations that Rucker made false statements to the Kansas Supreme Court about an investigation of abortion providers in Overland Park and Wichita, […]
South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford signed a bill today that will increase the required waiting period prior to an abortion from one hour after an ultrasound to 24 hours. Sanford signed the bill at a Crisis Pregnancy Center (CPC), Spartanburg Carolina’s Pregnancy Center, according to CBS. CPCs pose as legitimate health centers and offer “free” […]
Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court has ruled that registered same-sex partners should receive the same inheritance rights as married couples. According to the Associated Press, the court decided yesterday in favor of two plaintiffs who had lost their partners and were forced to pay an inheritance tax similar to those paid by distant relatives. “The Constitutional […]
The 9th Court of Appeals has imposed an emergency stay on same-sex marriages in California. Sponsors of the California ban on same-sex marriage filed an emergency appeal, claiming that same-sex marriage would harm the state’s interest in promoting “responsible procreation through heterosexual marriage,” according to the Associated Press. Same-sex marriages were scheduled to resume in […]
The University of North Carolina (UNC) has decided to institute an opt-out option for abortion coverage in school sponsored health insurance. Abortion coverage does not factor into the cost of the university’s insurance, which ranges from $350 to $375 a semester, according to National Partnership for Women and Families. The existing plan gives students a […]
Mexico’s Supreme Court ruled 9 to 2 today to uphold a Mexico City law that allows same-sex couples to adopt. Mexico City is now the first Latin American capital to legalize both same-sex marriage, which the Mexican Supreme Court upheld earlier this month, and same-sex couples’ adoption rights, according to Reuters. The Mexican federal Attorney […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new emergency contraceptive, Ella or ulipristal acetate, which is effective at preventing pregnancy up to five days after contraceptive failure or unprotected sexual intercourse. In June, a panel of FDA expert medical advisors unanimously agreed that it is safe and effective in preventing the release of […]
The Florida District Court of Appeals upheld a pregnant woman’s right to exercise authority over her body late last week in Burton v Florida. Samantha Burton, already a mother of two, was forcibly held in Tallahassee Memorial Hospital at the end of her pregnancy because doctors feared that she would miscarry. According to the American […]
The Taliban stoned a young couple to death this weekend in northern Afghanistan because the couple allegedly committed adultery. The woman, Sadiqa, was engaged to another man when she and a man named Qayum attempted to elope. Qayum already had a wife at the time. A local tribal council (jirga) had ruled that the crime […]
US District Court Judge Ralph Tyson of Baton Rogue has issued a temporary restraining order on enforcement of a new Louisiana law that requires women to undergo an ultrasound prior to receiving an abortion procedure. The law was scheduled to take affect Sunday, according to Independent Weekly. The hold will remain in effect until August […]
In an exchange with reporters outside the United Nations late last week, a high-ranking UN official described sexual violence during war as one of the greatest security risks of our time. Margot Wallstrom the UN’s Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, told reporters that using rape as a tool of war […]
In an effort to adhere to Title IX regulations, Quinnipiac University is adding both a women’s rugby and golf team, in addition to reinstating their women’s volleyball team. Last year, the women’s volleyball team was cut and competitive cheer put it in its place due to budget constraints and in order to meet Title IX […]
US District Judge Vaughn Walker ruled to remove the temporary stay of same-sex marriages in California this afternoon. Same-sex marriages will resume in California August 18th, unless Proposition 8’s supporters are able to quickly obtain a stay from a higher court, according to the Sacramento Bee. In response to a request by supporters of Proposition […]
A woman who claimed to be Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani, an imprisoned Iranian woman who faces execution for the crime of adultery, despite solid evidence that she is innocent, appeared yesterday on Iranian primetime television. The woman confessed to being an accomplice in her husband’s murder. The TV program pixilated the woman’s face and used a […]
