Female delegates of Afghanistan’s Loya Jirga won one of their major demands. The final draft of the constitution now states that all citizens of Afghanistan, both men and women, have equal rights under the law. According to IRIN News, a female delegate said, “This is one of the major demands of women and we hope […]
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NH: Federal Judge Strikes Down Parental Notification Law
A federal judge yesterday blocked a New Hampshire law from taking effect that would require minors to notify their parents before they had an abortion. Adolescents who could not show proof within 24 hours that they had notified at least one parent would have been prohibited from obtaining an abortion, unless they had received a […]
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Portuguese Nurse Pardoned for Performing Abortions
The President of Portugal issued a pardon for a nurse who has been in jail since February 2000 for performing abortions. According to Agence France Presse, Mario do Ceu Riberio was one of 42 women put on trial last year for having abortions or for running abortion networks, and the only one to be sentenced […]
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GA: Court Denies Medicaid Coverage for Abortions
A Georgia court on Monday ruled that the state is not required to pay for medically necessary abortions for poor women through Medicaid. Seven Georgia clinics, represented by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), had submitted an emergency request to cover abortions under Medicaid that are deemed necessary to protect a woman’s health, basing their […]
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Pakistani Women Gain Right to Choose Whom They Marry
Pakistan’s highest court ruled that a Muslim woman can marry of her own free will without the permission of her parents or guardians. According to Voice of America, this decision overrules a Lahore High Court ruling that demanded that women need parental consent to marry. Leading human rights activist Tahira Abdullah asserted that “young girls […]
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Afghan Women Demand Equal Rights For Women in Constitution
Female delegates attending Afghanistan’s Loya Jirga succeeded in winning an agreement to replace the words “citizens of Afghanistan” with the expression “women and men” in one of the articles in the Constitution regarding education. The current draft lacks language that defines “citizens” as both women and men. According to Eurasia Net, female delegates are hoping […]
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17 People Accused of Being Party to Illegal Abortions in Portugal
Seven Portuguese women are standing trial for having illegal abortions. Public prosecutors are also charging the doctor for having performing the abortions and nine other people as accomplices, including one of the parents of a woman who had an abortion. The trial of these women has led to calls to change Portugal’s highly restrictive laws […]
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Federal Appeals Court Upholds Ohio Abortion Procedures Ban
On Wednesday, a federal appeals court upheld Ohio’s restrictive abortion procedures ban. The Ohio law contains a limited exception for the health of the women–an exception that is much narrower than the exception set forth by the US Supreme Court in its ruling on a Nebraska abortion procedures ban in 2000. The Associated Press reports […]
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65 Million Girls Unable To Attend School, More Likely To Suffer Abuse
The United Nations has reported that over 65 million girls around the world are unable to go to school, which then increases the chances that they will die in childbirth, live in severe poverty, or suffer violence and abuse. According to the report, “because of the persistent and often gender discrimination that runs through most […]
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UN Envoy, NATO Commander Condemn Inaction on Afghan Peace Troop Expansion
Both UN special envoy to Afghanistan Lakhdar Brahimi and NATO Chief George Robertson have warned that the consequences to Afghanistan’s future will be disastrous if the international community does not immediately provide the resources and personnel to expand international peacekeeping forces throughout the country. The UN Security Council, NATO, and even the United States – […]
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Afghan Woman Loya Jirga Delegate Under UN Protection
Facing threats after she spoke out the appointment of mujahideen commanders to committee chair positions at Afghanistan’s Loya Jirga, Malalai Joya, a delegate from Farah Province, was placed under United Nations’ protection. According to the Associated Press, Joya spent the night at the U.N. compound. UN security personnel accompanied Joya throughout today’s Loya Jirga session. […]
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Peru’s First Female Prime Minister Resigns
Peru’s first woman prime minister resigned on Monday after being asked to by President Toledo. Beatriz Merino resigned after less than six months in the job. According to Reuters, Merino said she had been a victim of a smear campaign. Merino is a graduate of the London School of Economics, a Fulbright scholar, and holds […]
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Woman Delegate Protests Selection of Committee Chairmen
Protesting the selection of male commanders as committee chairs at the Loya Jirga in Afghanistan, a female delegate argued on the floor of the Loya Jirga that these mujahadeen fighters brought war to Afghanistan and should be tried in international courts. Malalai Joya, a delegate from the Farah Province, asked the Loya Jirga why they […]
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FDA Holds Hearing on Over-the-Counter Status for Emergency Contraception
The Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) and leading medical and women’s health organizations urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) at a public hearing today to make Plan B emergency contraception (EC) available over-the-counter. Testifying on behalf of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Dr. Beth Jordan told the FDA’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory Committee that “the scientific […]
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***BREAKING NEWS*** FDA Panel Approves Emergency Contraception Over-the-Counter
In a resounding win for reproductive and women’s rights advocates, the Food and Drug Administration’s Reproductive Health Drugs Advisory and Nonprescription Drugs Panels voted 23-4 to recommend over-the-counter status for Plan B, a brand of emergency contraception. Testifying on behalf of the Feminist Majority Foundation, Dr. Beth Jordan told the FDA panels that “the scientific […]
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Women Delegates Protest Loya Jirga Voting Process, One Woman Elected
Women delegates at Afghanistan’s Loya Jirga, grand council, are protesting that their male colleagues are trying to shut them out of leadership positions and that the men treat the women like second-class citizens. A female delegate from Kabul stated, “from the very beginning the process was flawed because we are totally outnumbered here by the […]
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Miami Archdiocese Releases Report on Priest Sex Abuse
The Archdiocese of Miami, Florida released a report this weekend revealing that 38 of its priests have been accused of sexual misconduct in the past 45 years. The report also shows that insurers for the archdiocese have paid $9.3 million in settlement fees and legal costs in relation to priest sex abuse claims since 1966, […]
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MN: Health Dept. Criticizes Website Linking Abortion, Breast Cancer
Minnesota Health Department officials are questioning a statement posted on the department’s website to comply with a new law asserting that having an abortion increases a woman’s risk of breast cancer. According to internal emails obtained by the Star Tribune, a department director named Mary Manning circulated an email memo asking staff to tell anyone […]
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Italy Limits Reproductive Rights
The Italian Senate approved a bill yesterday restricting assisted fertilization to heterosexual couples and banning the use of donor sperm, eggs, or surrogate mothers. According to Reuters, the bill, which is now approved by both houses of Parliament, will now return to the lower house before becoming law. The opposition’s lawmaker, Giovanna Melandri, is worried […]
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IL: Group Pushes to Clear Rape Kit Backlog
A group of women in Chicago has banded together to address a mounting backlog of untested rape kits at the Illinois State Police Crime Lab. The Women’s DNA Initiative announced their plans on Sunday in the Chicago Tribune to raise as much as $1 million to have the rape evidence tested at private firms. Shortly […]