In his first State of the Union Address Tuesday night, President Bush highlighted gains made in recent months for women in Afghanistan. Pointing out that only a few months ago Afghan women and girls were not allowed to work or go to school, the President claimed that they were were now “free” and part of […]
Anti-abortion extremist and anthrax hoaxer, Clayton Lee Waagner, was sentenced to thirty years in prison Friday for charges related to weapons, theft, and escape charges. Waagner, who has made numerous threats on the lives of abortion providers, awaits charges from federal authorities related to more than 250 anthrax threats he sent reproductive health care facilities […]
Anti-abortion extremists, represented by the right-wing American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), have asked the Supreme Court to review the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision, Now v Scheidler, which upheld the use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) against anti-abortion blockaders. In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously that RICO […]
Last week, hundreds of pro-choice activists across the United States spoke out in support of safe, legal, accessible abortion with One Million Voices, a week of events commemorating the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the US Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Events ranged from screenings of the Feminist Majority’s (FM’s) new educational video “Never […]
Congratulations to the newest Leadership Alliance! Congratulations to the University of Central Florida! They have become officially chartered as a Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, and plan to hold their first meeting next week.
Amid increasing reports of pedophilia among Boston-area priests and the revelation that high-ranking officials in the Catholic church had long-standing knowledge of such abuse, Catholic parishioners are calling for Boston’s highest ranking Catholic official, Cardinal Bernard Law, to resign. At a news conference last week, Cardinal Law, a staunch opponent of abortion and women’s rights, […]
Parents of a girls’ ice hockey team in Chicago are suing the Amateur Hockey Association of Illinois (AHAI), an Illinois affiliate of USA Hockey, which governs organized hockey throughout the nation. The suit claims that AHAI is violating Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination in education, including sports, by prohibiting the team from becoming a […]
Afghanistan’s interim government leader, Hamid Karzai, announced Friday that there will be three women in the 21-member commission he has selected to help establish the country’s loya jirga. Women appointed to Karzai’s commission include: -Mahbooba Hoquqmul, Deputy Chairman of the Commission, is a Kabul University law professor, and prior to the Taliban takeover, served as […]
Sufiyatu Huseini, the Nigerian woman sentenced to death by stoning for alleged adultery, is now being helped by a local women’s rights group (financed by the Ford and MacArthur Foundations) who have hired lawyers to defend Huseini. Her lawyers have changed her defense and claim that the child she bore is not that of her […]
Anti-abortion extremist Clayton Lee Waagner was indicted yesterday on six counts of firearms and stolen vehicle charges. He could receive 15 years to life for each count against him. Waagner may also face charges for allegedly sending over 500 anthrax threat letters to abortion providers and reproductive rights advocacy organizations in 2001. In addition, the […]
Congressional staffers participating in a panel sponsored by the National Abortion and Reproductive Rights Action League (NARAL) discussed upcoming anti-abortion and anti-family planning legislation in the U.S. House and Senate. This year, abortion rights are under legislative attack by the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which seeks to elevate the status of the fetus over […]
In response to the U.S. military’s reversal of its requirement that American servicewomen in Saudi Arabia wear abayas, black head-to-toe robes, while off-base, the Saudi Committee for the Preservation of Virtue and Prevention of Vice, a government office, announced that the women would not be allowed in public without the abaya regardless of their U.S. […]
The wage gap between male and female managers has widened in the last five years, according to a study released today by Representatives John D. Dingell (D-MI) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). Calling the results, “nothing but a wake-up call for corporate America,” Maloney called for further hearings on the status of women in the workplace, […]
John J. Geoghan, a former Catholic Priest, was convicted last week of indecent assault on a minor. According to the suit, while he was a priest in the Boston Archdiocese, Geoghan molested a 10-year old boy in 1991 at a local swimming pool. Geoghan is scheduled to be sentenced February 21 after undergoing a 30-day […]
House Foreign Operations appropriations subcommittee chair Jim Kolbe (R-AZ) urged President Bush to begin spending the $34 million Congress slated for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and cautioned him that if funds were not spent, “There would be consequences.” Kolbe and his counterpart in the Senate, Patrick Leahy (D-VT), emphasized that funding UNFPA was, […]
Hundreds of abortion rights supporters gathered in front of the U.S. Supreme Court yesterday to celebrate the 29th anniversary of Roe v. Wade and show their willingness to defend Roe from challenges launched by the Bush Administration and Congress. The Washington, DC chapter of the National Organization for Women (NOW) organized the vigil in front […]
ABC News President David Westin announced yesterday that news legend Connie Chung would be leaving the network and would possibly join CNN to host her own prime-time show. CNN would not confirm whether or not Chung would be moving to CNN, but the cable network will be holding a press conference with Chung today. Chung, […]
Active Element Foundation 532 LaGuardia Place, #510 New York, N.Y. 10012 (212) 283-8272 www.activeelement.org AEF’s Peaceful Action Initiative promotes nonviolent responses to the terrorist attacks of September 11. It also gives small grants to youth organizations that are seeking to break the cycle of violence. American Friends Service Committee 1501 Cherry St. Philadelphia, Pa. 19102 […]
Following a lawsuit filed by Lt. Col. Martha McSally, the U.S. military has changed its policy requiring female servicemembers in Saudia Arabia to wear the abaya, a heavy black head-to-toe robe, when traveling off base. The military contends that the policy was under review before McSally filed suit against the Department of Defense (DOD) and […]
The New York-based organization Human Rights in China reports that as many as 10,000 Chinese women per year are being trafficked into Southeast Asia and forced to join the sex industry or work as laborers under sweatshop conditions in factories or on farms. The International Organization for Migration estimates that there are 300,000 women and […]
