The chief minister of an opposition-ruled Malaysian state recently claimed that women were the main cause of social ills and moral decadence, due to attire that exposed their bodies. Minister Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat also added that their clothing invited men to rape or molest them, stating, “Even my faith as a religious teacher […]
The Medical Research Council of South Africa, the country’s foremost medial body, released a study that finds teachers responsible for 33% of all rapes of schoolgirls. South Africa has one of the highest instances of rape and child abuse in the world. Last year there were more than 50,000 reported rapes, however, most rapes are […]
Over four hundred women held a rally in Tokyo on Sunday to show support for and discuss the United Nation’s Fourth World Conference on Women. Some women called on the Japanese government to use the national census surveys to draw more attention and re search to gender inequalities. Other women pointed to the recent rape […]
Over 100 women’s groups, collectively represented by the National Council of Women’s Organizations (NCWO), and comprised of over 6 million women launched a formal protest of the exclusion of women as moderators in the presidential and vice-presidential debates. According to a NCWO press release, the Council expressed its concerns regarding the lack of women in […]
A morning after pill known as Plan B, approved by the FDA in mid-1999, is now available to Washington state women who want to prevent pregnancy without visiting a doctor first. The pill is an emergency contraceptive that should be taken within 72 hours after intercourse. According to a special provision in Washington state’s law, […]
It’s that time of year again, when headlines with the luminous word “Nobel” float over beaming photos of the newest laureates. Every October the world watches while the Swedish Nobel committees honor the best writer, economist, scientists, and so on. No prize is more unpredictable, prestigious—or profitable. As well as the million-dollar purse, there is […]
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, meanwhile, defends its impartiality on the physics, chemistry, and economic sciences prizes and won’t discuss the question of women awardees. “There is an attitude that scientists are not influenced by nonscientific concerns, like discrimination against women,” says Elisabeth Crawford. “What counts is expertise.” Yet Crawford points out that once […]
During the second New York Senatorial debate between Hillary Clinton and Rick Lazio, Clinton made clear her position on abortion rights and stressed the importance of a Congress, a President, and a Supreme Court that also supported this freedom. She brought up Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush’s support of Justices Scalia and Thomas, who […]
On October 7, 2000, the National Women’s Hall of Fame inducted 19 women into the Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Seneca Falls, New York, the birthplace of women’s rights and the location of the first Women’s Rights Convention in 1848. This year’s inductees include: Faye Glenn Abdellah (1919 -) – the first woman […]
A recent Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation revealed that only one-third of funds given to Atlanta Catholic Social Services for the resettlement of refugees in Atlanta are actually used to assist the refugees with housing, food, and other services. For each refugee, the US government provides the agency with $740. According to the Journal, the national office […]
In last night’s debate, Republican vice presidential nominee Richard Cheney masked the Republican Party Platform on abortion and gay and lesbian rights. Cheney would not directly answer a question regarding the recent FDA approval of mifepristone, a safe and effective method of early, non-surgical abortion. Cheney merely said that he felt the president would not […]
Yesterday, Republicans in Congress removed provisions that would extend hate crimes status to violent crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation and disability from the defense authorization bill, eliminating any possibility that such protections would be codified by law in this legislative session. The language was added to the defense authorization bill after Republicans refused to […]
The US Food and Drug Administration approved another option for American women to control their reproductive health. Lunelle, a monthly shot to prevent pregnancy, was proven to be 99 percent effective in clinical trials of over 1,000 women. The expected cost is between $30 and $37 per injection. Women taking Lunelle still have monthly menstrual […]
The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), along with the Sex Trafficking Victims Protection Act, passed a joint House-Senate conference committee by a vote of 356-28. This version of the Violence Against Women Act will provide $3 billion for battered women’s services and state programs to combat domestic violence, and extends the 1994 version of the […]
The French parliament will soon debate new legislation that seeks to liberalize abortion laws by extending the legal period for abortion to 12 weeks. In 1975, France legalized abortions within the first ten weeks of pregnancy. The proposed legislation would curb the large numbers of women, estimated at least 5,000, who each year have to […]
Lesbians and gays in Namibia are outraged over a statement made by Home Affairs Minister Jerry Ekandjo urging police officers to “eliminate gays and lesbians from the face of Namibia.” In the past, Minister Ekandjo compared homosexuality to murder. The Namibian Constitution, adopted in 1990, states specifically that “recognition of the inherent dignity and the […]
Using military gains as leverage, the Taliban militia has met with high-level officials in France, the US and other countries to press for recognition as Afghanistan’s ruling government. The US has continued to withhold recognition because of the Taliban’s support of bin Laden, the regime’s rampant terrorism throughout Afghanistan, and the Taliban’s horrific violations of […]
The reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) will keep thousands of domestic violence shelters and violence prevention programs up and running, as well as a national domestic violence hotline that answers 142,000 calls per year. Despite bipartisan support, Republican leaders have made VAWA a political football and have not yet allowed it to […]
Congressional opponents to the FDA approved abortion pill, Mifeprex, also known as RU 486, are threatening to introduce bills that would heavily restrict the availability of the pill. Rep. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has proposed restrictions that would chip away at the availability of the pill and would greatly limit the number of doctors who would […]
In the presidential debates last night held in Boston, MA, Republican nominee George W. Bush attempted to skirt his anti-choice position, while Democratic nominee Vice President Al Gore pledged that he “support[s] a woman’s right to choose.” Bush tried to muddle his position on abortion and on the FDA’s recent approval of mifepristone, a method […]
