In another deadly attack against civilians, two Afghans working for a German aid agency were killed in southeastern Afghanistan. According to the Associated Press, a field officer and a driver working for the aid group Malester were killed in their car from gunshots. These murders were the latest in a string of deadly attacks on […]
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China to Recruit Women Astronauts in 2005
China plans to begin looking for women astronaut candidates from high schools in 2005. This is a victory for China’s major women’s group, the All-China Women’s Federation, which has been lobbying the government extensively to include women astronauts in its space programs since March, when announcements were made about China’s intent to expand its space […]
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Gallo of Sonoma Refuses to Give Workers Health, Other Benefits
The United Farm Workers (UFW) will sit down with Gallo of Sonoma tomorrow for the latest in a series of contract negotiation meetings. The labor union and the wine company have been in negotiations since March of 2003, and the UFW contract expired in November 2003. At stake are health and other benefits for the […]
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Governor Breaks Promise and Alters Abortion Policy in Alaska
Governor Frank Murkowski (R) of Alaska broke an election-year promise made in 2002 when he signed a bill into law affecting abortion policy last week. The “informed consent” law will require women to certify in writing that they have received all the information concerning abortion that will be posted on a new website to be […]
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Parental Consent Requirements May Increase Teen Pregnancy
A study released last Thursday found that requiring parental consent for teens seeking prescription contraceptives appears to increase teen pregnancy rates. The teen pregnancy rates of McHenry County, Illinois, which requires parental consent for teens to get prescription contraceptives, were compared with neighboring counties that don’t have these requirements, according to the American Journal of […]
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Women Can Be Convicted of Homicide for Risky Behavior during Pregnancy
After Regina McKnight delivered a stillborn baby in 2001, prosecutors speciously linked the baby’s death with McKnight’s cocaine use and promptly convicted her of homicide – a conviction that American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) attorneys are seeking to overturn. McKnight now faces 12 years in prison. This unprecedented conviction means that women must be the […]
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Appeals Court Rules Sports Seasons Discriminate Against Girls
A federal appeals court last Tuesday upheld a previous ruling that the scheduling of Michigan’s high school sports seasons discriminates against female athletes. The unanimous ruling of the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals agreed with a 2001 federal district court decision that the current practices of the Michigan High School Athletic Association in scheduling girls’ […]
Report: Afghanistan Could Implode With Terrible Consequences
A recent British Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs report asserts that the improvement of security in Afghanistan is one of the highest priorities in the world. The report concludes that more resources for the current International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) are desperately needed. According to the report, “There is a real danger if these resources […]
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Vatican Issues Scathing Attack on Feminism
The Vatican issued a disturbing letter this past Saturday assaulting the feminist movement. The letter attacks the “lethal effects” of feminism, which the Vatican sees as motivated by a desire to “obscure” the “natural” differences between men and women, and thus creating what they see as the most ruinous result, helping to create a movement […]
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Secretary of Health Thompson Unsupportive of Emergency Contraception
In a letter to US Representative Robert Aderholt (R-AL), US Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson stated that Alabama family planning clinics are not required to provide emergency contraception. The Alabama Department of Public Health, however mandated this past April that all its clinics must offer emergency contraception (EC) or the department would run […]
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Romany Women Confront Prejudice from Inside and Outside their Community
Women of the Roma diaspora are organizing across Europe in attempts to challenge patriarchy within the culture, and bigotry from the outside world, reports The Guardian. Roma women, commonly known as “gypsies” are triply discriminated against in their daily lives, “As Roma, as women, and as persons belonging to a socially disadvantaged group” as the […]
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Fox News Crosses the Line with Commentary on Teresa Heinz Kerry
Fox News reporters Chris Wallace and Brian Kilmeade responded Tuesday evening to potential First Lady Teresa Heinz Kerry’s prime-time speech with inappropriate xenophobic remarks. Wallace mocked and ridiculed Heinz Kerry, according to Media Matters for America, saying on-camera that he “half expected her to break out into ‘Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina’” by the end […]
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Experts Urge for More Protection for Women Against AIDS
Several leading AIDS experts have called for an urgent increase in work on HIV killing gels that will help protect women from contracting the virus, especially in relationships where they cannot count on their partners to wear condoms. According to the Washington Post, gels and creams and the female condom could work to prevent the […]
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Democratic Party Falls Short of Representing Women at Convention in Boston
Women politicians have been noticeably underrepresented this week at the Democratic National Convention in Boston, with opportunities to speak or fulfill ceremonial duties given mostly to men. Eleanor Smeal, president of the Feminist Majority Foundation and leader in the ongoing fight to ensure that the Democratic party provides opportunities for women, told The Hartford Journal, […]
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New Report Highlights Gender Disparities in Participation in the Sciences
A recently released GAO report found that while participation in the sciences by women has increased in recent years, more needs to be done to gain full educational equality. The largest increase has been in the life sciences, with significant gains in women earning degrees and pursuing professional fields. The report shows that the field […]
At Least Two Killed at Polling Centers in Afghanistan, Aid Group Leaves
At least two people were killed, including a member of the Afghan election coordinating body, by an explosion at a polling center in Ghazni, Afghanistan. The United State’s military puts the number of Afghans killed at six, including two UN workers, while United Nations is reporting only two deaths. According to Reuters, Afghan authorities are […]
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Court Injunction of Mississippi Law Protects Abortion Access
Judge Tom Lee of the US District Court blocked enforcement Friday of a Mississippi law that would effectively make second trimester abortions unavailable in the state. The court injunction came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights on behalf of the Jackson Women’s Health Organization, one of only two clinics […]
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Poverty, Patriarchy and the Spread of AIDS in Lesotho
Poverty and ingrained notions of women’s lower status have lead to explosive rate of AIDS infection among women in Lesotho, a small nation in sub-Saharan Africa. AllAfrica reports that one in two women ages 15-24 are HIV-positive, compared with one in four men. In an in-depth investigation of this problem, The New York Times found […]
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Plan B Maker Reapplies for Over-the-Counter Status
Following the rejection in May of its petition for over-the-counter (OTC) status for the emergency contraceptive Plan B, Barr Laboratories submitted an application last Thursday, July 22, to make Plan B available over-the-counter for women age 16 and older. The age qualifications on this application come in response to the FDA’s statement of concern about […]
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Two Iraqi Women Killed While Working for Coalition Forces
Two Iraqi women working with British forces in Basra, Iraq were killed earlier this morning, July 26. Gunmen fired gunshots at the women while they were in their car traveling to work at the Basra airport. The Associated Press sites this as another example of Iraqi insurgents targeting Iraqis working with coalition forces. Threats against […]