The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals heard arguments en banc Tuesday for Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette, et al. v. American Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA), et al., also known as the “Nuremberg Files” case. The Feminist Majority Foundation, along with several reproductive rights groups, filed an amicus brief urging that the Ninth Circuit re-hear […]
Six delegates from the Afghan Women’s Summit, held in Brussels December 4-5, will meet with members of the U.S. House and Senate as well as the State Department to garner support for the Brussels Proclamation, the Summit’s plan for Afghan reconstruction. The delegates, hosted by Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Sam Brownback (R-KS), will present […]
A group of world leaders have announced its plan to open a private, independent college for women in Asia. The college, to be built in Bangladesh, will focus its attention on a liberal arts education for women and attempt to recruit primarily poor rural women through special scholarships. “I see this as sort of a […]
Declaring that the future of Afghanistan hinged on “ensuring the essential rights of all Afghans,” President Bush today signed into law the Afghan Women and Children Relief Act. Feminist Majority President Eleanor Smeal and FM Director of Policy and Research Jennifer Jackman attended the bill signing along with Afghan women leaders, women members of Congress, […]
Studies presented at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium indicate that a new class of hormone therapy may replace Tamoxifen in the treatment of certain types of breast cancers. In post-menopausal women with locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer and also in post-menopausal women with estrogen-receptor and HER-2 positive breast cancer, data suggests that Femara, […]
Two weeks before the U.S. began bombing Afghanistan, an unnamed military officer involved in the planning offered the Washington Post some chilling insight into the Bush administration’s media strategy: “This is the most information-intensive war you can imagine,” the source said. “We’re going to lie about things.” If you expected the press to summon up […]
Afghan women leaders meeting in Brussels concluded a roundtable meeting, sponsored by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and the Belgian government, on Building Women’s Leadership in the Reconstruction of Afghanistan. Participants issued measures to ensure the full participation of women in all aspects of the reconstruction process and the successful implementation of […]
Anti-abortion extremist Clayton Lee Waagner was in possession of a white powder when U.S. Marshals apprehended him last week. Waagner told the arresting officers that the powder could be found in his stolen car and that even though it was not anthrax, it would initially test positive for the bacteria in field tests. Waagner also […]
In Missouri and North Carolina, pollsters and analysts are already beginning to see a gender gap that may prove favorable to women candidates in the November 2002 elections. Senator Jean Carnahan (D-MO) will be facing former Republican Missouri Representative Jim Talent in her race. Talent ran unsuccessfully for governor last year, after gaining only 47 […]
The International Center for Human Rights and Democratic Development awarded Dr. Sima Samar the John Humphrey Freedom Award yesterday in Montreal for her work on behalf of Afghan women and girls. Samar was also recently appointed to the position of deputy vice chair and head of the ministry of women’s affairs in the transitional Afghan […]
Congresswoman Louise Slaughter (D-NY) introduced a resolution yesterday condemning the rounds of anthrax threats sent to abortion providers in October and November of this year. Noting that the Federal Bureau of Investigation declared the threats to be acts of “domestic terrorism,” the resolution urges law enforcement as well as the Bush Administration to locate all […]
At the same time that our government is bolstering support for the “War on Terrorism” by condemning the Taliban’s treatment of women, U.S. lawmakers are putting restrictions on our own reproductive rights. After the September 11 attacks, the U.S. Congress agreed to table all politically divisive legislation in order to focus more energy on security-related […]
Declaring, “Women must be central to all phases of the recovery efforts and that the interest of women must be taken into account in all interventions,” Noeleen Heyzer, Executive Director of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) opened UNIFEM’s roundtable on women’s leadership in rebuilding Afghanistan. Afghan women leaders from the UN sponsored […]
The Senate voted 78-21 in favor of adopting an amendment to the Defense Appropriations Act that would block the United States from participating in the International Criminal Court (ICC). The amendment, a version of the deceptively named American Servicemembers’ Protection Act authored by Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), passed after an earlier attempt by Senator Christopher […]
The Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy concluded in Brussels by issuing a proclamation announcing its demands and recommendations for the successful reconstruction of Afghan society. The recommendations addressed a broad array of issues including education, media, and culture, health, human rights and the constitution, as well as refugees and internally displaced women. In regard to […]
In a meeting coinciding with the Afghan Women’s Summit for Democracy, women’s rights activists from around the world issued a Declaration of Solidarity with Afghan women in support of the Brussels Proclamation. Women from Belgium, Croatia, France, India, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Palestine, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United […]
Anti-abortion extremist, domestic terrorist and prison escapee Clayton Lee Waagner was captured yesterday at a Kinko’s in Springdale, Ohio after eluding federal authorities for almost ten months. Waagner was apprehended after an employee recognized him from a US Marshals Wanted poster. After his arrest, federal authorities confiscated a computer, a gun, and almost $10,000 in […]
Looking for ways to measure 30 years of Ms., I scribbled down notes: the first issue featured unpublished work by Virginia Woolf and Sylvia Plath, two dead women. Now there are talented writers with rooms of their own, who have no intention of committing suicide. Unnecessary mastectomies, cesareans, breast implants–all these were early Ms. exposs. […]
Evangelist Pat Robertson announced his resignation yesterday from his post as president of the Christian Coalition, a right-wing political organization. The Christian Coalition was once seen as a bastion of the Religious Right, claiming 4 million members and a budget of $25 million in 1994. Today, critics say that the group is faltering, with membership […]
Ms. magazine launched its 30th anniversary celebration today by honoring women athletes, artists, philanthropists, and activists at its Women of the Year Awards in New York City. The event was emotion-packed as Ms. awarded September 11 heroes Kathy Mazza, a Port Authority Police captain, Yamel Merlino, an emergency medical technician, and Moira Smith, a New […]
