Nearly 100,000 Italians have signed a petition entitled “Women Offended by the Premier” that went into circulation after Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi insulted rival leftist politician Rosy Bindi on live television three weeks ago. Berlusconi told Bindi that she was “more beautiful than intelligent,” according to BBC News. Bindi replied, “I am not a woman […]
Associates of Scott Roeder, the alleged murderer of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller, MD, have announced plans to auction items online to support Roeder’s legal defense. Items to be sold in the auction include an Army of God manual, an autographed protest bullhorn, and a prison cookbook written by Shelley Shannon, who shot Dr. Tiller […]
Last Thursday PepsiCo pulled a controversial iPhone application that was criticized for being sexist. The application “Amp up before you score” provided users with pick-up lines for 24 different stereotypes of women including “married,” “treehugger,” and “sorority girl.” A description also accompanied each type of woman including “This shouldn’t be a problem” for the sorority […]
The Senate passed The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act yesterday on a 68 to 29 vote. The bill extends the definition of federal hate crimes to include attacks motivated by sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability. President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law, the New York […]
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill Wednesday restoring the $16.3 million in funds for domestic violence shelters that he originally cut from the state’s budget with a line-item veto in July. The new law creates a temporary source of funding for shelters by diverting the money from the state’s alternative fuel and technology fund, […]
The US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights and Oversight held a hearing Wednesday to examine international violence against women and solutions. Women’s rights activists are currently seeking the re-introduction of the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA). Melanne Verveer, the United State’s first Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues, testified at the […]
Conservative group Personhood Nevada, led by Richard Ziser, has filed a ballot initiative with the secretary of state’s office that would outlaw abortion. If passed, the initiative would extend due process rights to “everyone possessing a human genome,” the Associated Press reports. In order for this initiative to reach the ballot, petitioners must obtain the […]
As a Peruvian congressional committee met Tuesday to review a bill allowing limited exceptions to the country’s ban on abortion, hundreds of protestors both for and against the measure demonstrated outside. The proposed law would legalize abortion in cases of rape, incest, or fetal deformity, according to the BBC. Currently abortion is illegal except when […]
“Women hold up half the sky” is an old Chinese saying. The contemporary American version is this: Women for the first time in U.S. history constitute half of the nation’s paid labor force.
An Arizona judge ordered Maricopa County Sheriff Joseph Arpaio to end a requirement for inmates to prepay transportation and security costs prior to obtaining an abortion. A 2005 lawsuit struck down the Arpaio’s policy of prohibiting jail officials from transporting a prisoner for an abortion without a court order. However, Arpaio allegedly began requiring women […]
Enforcement of an anti-choice Oklahoma law set to take effect on November 1st has been delayed by a temporary restraining order granted Monday. Oklahoma County District Court Judge Twyla Mason Gray’s order delays enforcement of the law to December 4th so she can “look further into the case,” according to Women’s E-News. The law in […]
Kuwait’s constitutional court ruled today that married women have the right to obtain a passport without spousal permission on the grounds that the requirement violates the principal of equal rights for women and men. This ruling reverses a 1962 law that required a husband’s signature to receive a passport, reports the Associated Press. The ruling […]
An amendment to the 2010 Senate Foreign Operations Spending Bill that would permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule is drawing protest from anti-choice groups. National Right to Life Committee Legislative Director Douglas Johnson told the Congressional Quarterly that his organization is preparing to fight the bill. “If the leadership wants to use this as a […]
The Florida High School Athletic Association reached a settlement last week with Jacksonville parents who filed a Title IX discrimination lawsuit against them. According to the Miami Herald, the terms of the settlement require the FHSAA to pay $41,200 in legal fees, notify the parents in writing two weeks before any proposed changes to an […]
Two suicide bombers attacked the International Islamic University in Pakistan today, targeting a women’s cafeteria and the Islamic law department. The attack killed at least 4 and wounded 18 others, BBC reports. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack thus far. One student told the BBC that “There were gunshots at first and then […]
A fleet of 35 pink taxis, driven exclusively by women, are now in business in Puebla, Mexico. The taxis prohibit men from riding, serve women tired of advances from male cab drivers, and attempt to address increasing safety concerns. Aida Santos, a Pink Taxi driver said, “Some of the woman who have been on board […]
First in a series on escalating abortion clinic violence in the aftermath of Dr. George Tiller’s murder “In the old days, at least we knew what they were up to. If they were blockading us or firebombing us, we knew it. This is more insidious, more like a stealth strategy. And it is making life […]
For the first time in US history women are about to become the majority of the nation’s paid workers. The recently released Shriver Report: A Women’s Nation Changes Everything is a comprehensive study of this milestone. Today, women are the primary breadwinners or co-breadwinners in 63.3% of American families. “The changes in social policies, such […]
A lawsuit was filed today challenging a parental notification law set to go into effect in Illinois on November 3rd. The complaint (see PDF), filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois on the behalf of the Hope Clinic for Women and Dr. Allison Cowett, challenges the law’s constitutionality and states that “the Act […]
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the vaccine Gardasil Friday for males ages 9 to 26. Gardasil was approved to prevent genital warts caused by two strains of human papillomavirus (HPV): HPV6 and HPV 11, according to WebMD. Gardasil, which is already approved for women, blocks four types of HPV that cause most cervical […]
