Documents released to the public on Thursday reveal that abortion rights were almost overturned by the US Supreme Court in 1992. The Library of Congress released the papers of late US Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun, author of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and staunch supporter of abortion rights. In the 1992 abortion […]
At the 48th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the US mission stated that it might not “reaffirm” the Beijing Platform because of the Bush Administration’s concern about “abortion” language in the platform. Instead, the US mission will most likely state that the US “recalls and reiterates” the Beijing Platform. Ambassador […]
On Wednesday, the Department of Education proposed regulations that would extensively weaken Title IX, the law that prohibits gender discrimination in federally funded education. The Department of Education proposal would make it significantly easier for schools and school districts to have single sex classes and single sex schools. Alarmingly, the regulations would permit schools to […]
Top health experts attending the first International Conference on Women and Infectious Diseases expressed the need for improved efforts to fight infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS among women. According to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), sexually transmitted diseases and other common infections affect women disproportionately, reports the New York […]
California’s Supreme Court on Monday ruled that, in accordance with state law, Catholic Charities must cover contraceptives as part of its employee prescription drug coverage. This is “a huge victory for working women in California,” said state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, according to the Los Angeles Times. “It is plainly discriminatory for health and disability […]
Both Democrat and Republican Senators questioned top Pentagon officials and officers last week about the military’s failure to protect servicewomen from sexual assault, to provide the proper medical treatment and counseling to victims, and to punish the violators. According to the New York Times, military officials have reported 112 reports of sexual misconduct over the […]
The House of Representatives on Thursday passed the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which makes harming or killing a zygote, embryo or fetus while attacking a pregnant woman during the commission of a federal crime, a separate and punishable crime. The bill, passed by a 254-163 vote, also gives personhood and rights to a zygote, […]
Iraq’s US-backed Governing Council agreed on an interim constitution after debating over issues of the role of Islam, representation for women in government, family law, and Kurdish autonomy. However, according to Reuters, the interim constitution states that Islam should be Iraq’s official religion but should only be “a source” of legislation rather than the primary […]
In the weeks since ex-University of Colorado football place-kicker Katie Hnida’s accusation that she was raped by a teammate and sexually assaulted by several fellow players in 2000, seven more women have come forward alleging they were also raped by CU players or recruits. Last week, Colorado University President Elizabeth Hoffman placed head coach Gary […]
Elections in Afghanistan that were planned for June may be postponed due to increased security threats. According to EurasiaNet, a leading expert on Afghanistan, Ahmed Rashid, cites the lack of security and the lack of international funding as the main reason for the possible postponement of the elections. Rashid also expressed his grave concern about […]
A bill that would ban almost all abortions in South Dakota was passed by the state House on Wednesday. The bill, previously amended and passed by the state Senate, now goes to Governor Mike Rounds (R), sometime next week. Rounds has not indicated whether he will sign the bill, but he has previously stated that […]
At a Congressional briefing yesterday, Iraqi women and female members of Congress called for equal rights under the law, increased women’s political participation, and the separation of church and state in Iraq. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) sponsored the briefing with several female members of Congress; the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO), whose Global Task […]
Several new studies reveal that teenagers and young adults accounted for 50 percent of all new cases of sexually transmitted infections in 2000 in the United States. One study, conducted by Family Health International and the Center for Disease Control’s Division of STD Prevention, found that of the 18.9 million new STI cases in 2000, […]
On December 18, 1979, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. The call for a Women’s Convention emerged from the First World Conference on Women in Mexico City in 1975. Until the UN General Assembly adopted the Women’s Convention, there was no convention that addressed comprehensively […]
The U.S. was active in drafting the Convention and signed it on July 17,1980. It was transmitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in November, 1980. In the summer of 1990, the Committee held hearings on the Convention. At that time, the State Department testified that it had not prepared a legal analysis of the […]
The United States Leadership Against HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act of 2003, which became law in May some 17 years after the federal government made its first investments in the fight against HIV/AIDS overseas, is the first comprehensive articulation of U.S. policy toward the global HIV/AIDS epidemic. The new law is the result of a […]
by Marianne Sarkis As you are reading this article, there are between eight and ten million women and girls in the Middle East and in Africa who are at risk of undergoing one form or another of genital cutting. In the United States it is estimated that about ten thousand girls are at risk of […]
Gender affects public opinion, decision-making, voting behavior, and political involvement at all levels — national, local and on campuses. The feminists of the 19th and early 20th century envisioned a day when women would not only vote, but also when women’s votes would affect the outcome of elections, and would create a more compassionate, nonviolent […]
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the world’s largest international source of funding for population and reproductive health programmes. Since we began operations in 1969, the Fund has provided nearly $6 billion in assistance to developing countries. UNFPA works with governments and non-governmental organizations in over 140 countries, at their request, and with the […]
The U.S. government is committed to eradicating the “heinous crime” of trafficking in persons by vigorously prosecuting traffickers, training enforcement officers and assisting victims, according to a new Justice Department report. The report, released August 21 and entitled “Assessment of U.S. Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons,” reviews actions taken by the United States to […]
