Liberia could elect its first female president on Tuesday. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, a 66-year-old economist who holds a Master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University, is among the top candidates vying for the Liberian presidency. She has served as the director for Africa at the United Nations, president of the Liberian National Bank, head of […]
A second official at the Food and Drug Administration has announced that he resigned in September, due to delays in approving the emergency contraceptive Plan B for over-the-counter status. Dr. Frank Davidoff, internal medicine specialist and editor emeritus of Annals of Internal Medicine, served a four-year term on the Nonprescription Drugs Advisory Committee and was […]
On the fourth anniversary of the US bombing of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, Afghanistan has begun releasing the first results from its parliamentary election on September 18. The ballot count is completed and the election has enetered a challenge period for those who seek to contest the election. Early election reports indicate warlords, opponents […]
The Senate unanimously voted on Tuesday in favor of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). The House passed its version on September 29, but the Senate did not vote before VAWA expired on October 1. Tuesday’s vote ensures that programs receiving VAWA funding will be able to continue. Senator Joe Biden, co-author […]
The British government is considering a proposal to ban forced marriages, making clerics, imams, and parents liable for prosecution. The proposal comes in response to the estimated hundreds of British Muslim, Sikh, and Hindu women forced into arranged marriages each year. Currently, British parents who force their children into marriage can be prosecuted on counts […]
A bill currently in Indiana would exclude lesbian and gay couples and single individuals from the use of assisted reproductive technology, including intrauterine insemination, egg or embryo donation and in vitro fertilization. The proposed regulations would require “intended parents” to be married (in a state that already has a ban on gay marriage), and specifically […]
Friends and colleagues of Harriet Miers, President Bush’s nominee to the Supreme Court, are widely quoted in the press today confirming that Miers is opposed to abortion. Texas Supreme Court Justice Nathan Hecht, a longtime colleague and companion of Miers’, told the Washington Post, “I know she is pro-life. She thinks that after conception, it’s […]
The editor of an Afghan women’s rights monthly magazine was arrested on Saturday in Kabul. Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the male editor of Haqooq-i-zan, which means Women’s Rights, was accused of publishing articles that went against Islamic teachings. One of the articles that drew the ire of the conservative Supreme Court raised questions about execution and […]
The announcement of Harriet Miers as Bush’s nominee for the Supreme Court yesterday pushed news of additional indictments of Representative Tom DeLay (R-TX) to the background. Less than one week after being indicted by a Texas grand jury on criminal conspiracy charges, DeLay was indicted by a different grand jury yesterday on two more serious […]
In a rare press conference today, President Bush implied that he has never discussed abortion with Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. A reporter asked, “You’ve taken the time to express that you know her heart, her character. You’ve emphasized your friendship. So it seems reasonable that over the course of the years you’ve known her […]
Eleven Nigerian police officers who were part of a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have been suspended from the Nigerian police force in the course of investigations into the sexual abuse of Congolese women and girls. Nigeria withdrew all 120 of its peacekeepers in Kinshasa, the DRC’s capital, […]
Despite the passage of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as part of the Department of Justice Reauthorization in the House of Representatives, the Senate failed to vote on the measure (S 1197) on Friday. Thus, VAWA expired on October 1. The National Organization for Women reports that the Senate did not hold a voice […]
Almost two-thirds of women, and over one-quarter of men, in the National Guard and Reserves report experiencing some kind of sexual harassment or assault. Nearly half of all incidents occurred while on-duty. These numbers come from a Veteran Affairs Department (VA) survey, conducted in 2002-2003, and released last week by Representative Lane Evans (D-IL). The […]
President Bush today nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court left by Sandra Day O’Connor. “The good news is that Bush appointed this time a woman to fill Sandra Day O’Connor’s seat,” said Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority. “It took two tries, but he finally got […]
As Breast Cancer Awareness Month begins, Breast Cancer Action (BCA), a grassroots organization of breast cancer survivors and their supporters, has launched the fourth phase of its Think Before You Pink campaign. The campaign encourages consumers to look deeper into breast cancer product tie-ins. “Pink ribbon marketing efforts make a significant difference in corporate bottom […]
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act programs through fiscal year 2009. The legislation increased funding for new rape crisis centers and increased grant money to organizations working on domestic violence issues. However, an amendment to the legislation, sponsored by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner (R-WI), was passed and […]
Anna Burger, 55, a longtime feminist, labor organizer and political strategist, has been chosen to chair the Change to Win Coalition, a labor union federation that has broken away from the AFL-CIO. The union leaders who selected Burger, who is also secretary-treasurer of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), were all white men, but their […]
Portugal’s parliament on Wednesday voted to hold a referendum to decriminalize abortion during the first 10 weeks of pregnancy. For the referendum to be accepted, not only must it gain a majority of votes, but also more than half of the nation’s registered voters must cast a ballot. A date for the poll has not […]
John Roberts was confirmed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court today by a vote of 78 to 22 in the US Senate. Roberts was opposed by leading civil rights, women’s rights, civil liberties, disability rights, labor, separation of church and state, and lesbian and gay rights groups, including the Feminist Majority. “I do not […]
The Department of Justice reauthorization bill (HR 3402), which includes the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), will be voted on by the House of Representatives today. An amendment that would weaken the bill’s emphasis on domestic violence funding for communities of color will also be voted on today. The Manager’s Amendment was submitted late last […]
