Muslim clerics from 25 African countries are meeting in Zanzibar, Tanzania for a five-day conference held by the Network of African Islamic Organizations on Population and Development. The conference will focus on issues such as HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence from an Islamic point of view, according to IRIN. The Network was established in 2005 by […]
The South African National Assembly voted 230-41 on a bill to legalize same-sex marriage on Tuesday, making it the first country in Africa to do so. Before the bill becomes a law, it must be approved by the National Council of Provinces and signed into effect by President Thabo Mbeki, according to the New York […]
Eighty-two percent of Americans support comprehensive sex education, and half outright oppose abstinence-only education, a survey released on Monday by the University of Pennsylvania found. The survey results highlight the disconnect between public opinion and policy, as the federal government has spent almost $1 billion on abstinence-only education since 1998 and has allocated $178 million […]
Leaders from several womens rights organizations gathered yesterday for a nationally televised press conference on the role that women’s organizations and voters played in the historic midterm election last week. Feminist Majority Foundation President and Ms. magazine Publisher Eleanor Smeal joined representatives from the National Council of Women’s Organizations, the YWCA, the National Organization for […]
Ireland’s Supreme Court ruled in May that statutory rape consists of any man or boy having intercourse with a girl under the age of 15. Following the ruling, 210 young people were asked to provide their thoughts on the appropriate age of consent for sexual activity, as well as other recommendations on sex education, information, […]
Over 20 schools have reopened in the southern Afghanistan province of Helmand after being demolished by the Taliban insurgency, IRIN, a UN newswire, reported last week. Helmand tribal elders worked with the Afghan government to open 14 mixed gender temporary schools and called upon the government and international organizations to help rebuild permanent structures and […]
A United Nations (UN) panel endorsed a suggestion by Stephen Lewis, the UN special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, to create an agency that focuses solely on women. Lewis has said that HIV/AIDS disproportionately affects women and a well-funded, influential agency could help reduce the prevalence of the disease among women, Kaiser Daily Women’s Health […]
US Representatives Barbara Lee (D-CA) and Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), the co-chairs of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC), have announced that they expect at least seven new members of Congress to join the CPC and that the CPC will be the largest sub-group of the Democratic party in the 110th Congress. The CPC currently has 64 […]
The World Health Organization (WHO) appointed Margaret Chan, a doctor from China, to the Director-general position on Wednesday. In Dr. Chan’s acceptance speech, she noted, “I want us to be judged by the impact we have on the health of people of Africa, and the health of women… Improvement in the health of people in […]
The Mexico City legislative assembly voted on Thursday to legalize civil unions for same-sex partnerships, giving lesbians and gays, along with individuals in platonic, same-sex relationships, the ability to make medical decisions for each other as well as list their partners as beneficiaries of pensions and inheritances. The civil union measure, which passed 47-17, will […]
The Supreme Court heard two cases yesterday regarding the federal ban on certain abortion procedures used in the second and third trimester of pregnancy. The two cases, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood and Gonzales v. Carhart, challenge the so-called Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, which would criminalize doctors for performing a procedure that is medically known as dilation […]
The Reproductive Health Technologies Project announced on Monday that emergency contraception (EC) will be available behind pharmacy counters without a prescription for women 18 years and older as early as this week. Emergency contraception is effective up to five days (120 hours) after unprotected sex, birth control failure, or rape, but it is most effective […]
The women’s vote was key in Democratic victories on Tuesday. Nowhere was its impact more apparent than in the Virginia Jim Webb/George Allen Senate race. Fifty-five percent of women voted for Jim Webb (D), while 55 percent of men voted for George Allen (R), for a ten-point gender gap, according to exit polls. The gender […]
Michigan voters approved a state-wide ban on affirmative action in public education, public employment, and state contracts on Tuesday. The referendum was opposed by many prominent leaders in the political, business, and academic worlds, including both major gubernatorial candidates, Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) – who was reelected on Tuesday – and Dick DeVos (R). Detroit […]
Across the country, anti-abortion ballot measures were defeated and minimum wage increases passed in six states. The punitive ban on abortion in South Dakota, with no exceptions except to “prevent the death” of the woman, was defeated 56 to 44 percent. “This draconian ban was a threat to the lives and health of South Dakotan […]
With Democrats winning a majority of the seats in the House yesterday, House of Representatives Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) will become the first woman and self-declared feminist Speaker of the House in history. As speaker, Pelosi is third in line of succession to the White House. Rep. Pelosi has publicly articulated a positive plan […]
The Supreme Court will hear arguments today in two cases that challenge the federal Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act, which Congress passed in 2003. Six federal courts across the country have struck down the law, finding it unconstitutional and inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling in Roe v. Wade. The ban (PDF), which proponents claim […]
Check back here throughout the night to get the latest news on state ballot measures in the 2006 election. UPDATED 11:31 PM EST The South Dakota abortion ban is at 55 against, 45 for, with nearly 50 percent of precincts reporting. UPDATED 10:46 PM EST According to the Argus Leader, with 194 of 818 precincts […]
CNN has projected several gubernatorial wins for Democrats. Ted Strickland (D) is projected as defeating Ken Blackwell in Ohio’s gubernatorial race. Blackwell, a Republican, was the Secretary of State of Ohio during the disputed 2004 election. Incumbent Governor Jennifer Granholm (D) has been predicted winner of the governor’s race in Michigan. Deval Patrick (D) has […]
Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline has lost his reelection campaign by a margin of nearly 20 percent to Democrat Paul Morrison. Kline is notorious for his quest to obtain abortion records from two clinics in Kansas, including Women’s Health Care Services in Wichita.
