The Immigration Appeals Centre in London has denied the asylum appeal of four of the 31 Afghan asylum seekers who were on board the hijacked Afghan aircraft that arrived at Stansted airport in Essex on February 7 of this year. A 21-year-old former medical student told immigration officials, “I’m not prepared to go back to […]
On a host of national television news talk shows this week, Republican Vice Presidential hopeful Dick Cheney attempted to justify his Congressional voting record, which proved him to be anti-gun control, anti-abortion rights, anti-education spending, and anti-ERA. Despite the Bush campaign’s effort to highlight Cheney’s “moderate” and Democrat-friendly image, Cheney’s Congressional and federal appointment records […]
The University of Hawaii shed its 77-year-old rainbow logo because of the rainbow’s association with the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) community. School officials claim that the decision was not an anti-GLBT statement, and argued that the rainbow symbol brought a “stigma” against the school. Representatives from a local GLBT Community Center criticized the […]
Forty delegates from finance sectors across 14 African countries will convene in South Africa this week to discuss methods of empowering poor women. The conference, organized by Women’s World Banking (WWB), will establish a regional network representing 326 institutions that aims to increase women’s access to finance, technology, and markets. “What we need are more […]
Ninety women non-governmental organizations are proposing that the Malaysian government become more gender-sensitive by allowing women to have a voice in every aspect of the country’s development plan, the Eighth Malaysia Plan. Their proposal would give women voices in all areas including entrepreneurship, agriculture, and sports. Datuk Shahrizat, who is in charge of the women’s […]
To stem the rampant levels of domestic violence that afflict Latin American women, five international organizations have backed a plan that will establish networks of prevention and rehabilitation for survivors of psychological and physical abuse. The ground-breaking plan will include home visits by nurses and social workers to those who are at risk or have […]
Women’s rights advocates and legal experts are pushing to reform China’s existing marriage law to ban family violence, which occurs in 30 percent of Chinese families, according to surveys conducted by the All-China Women’s Federation. Chinese women are targets of domestic abuse because of their economic dependence on husbands and poorer educational backgrounds, according to […]
Six more officers in the Los Angeles Police Department were charged with misconduct yesterday for allegedly shooting unarmed gang members and framing them for crimes they did not commit. The six are also accused of delaying calling an ambulance for a victim bleeding to death as a result of the shooting. These officers are just […]
Dr. Edouard Sakiz, CEO of Exelgyn, has been awarded the rare distinction of Commander of the Legion of Honor by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The ranking is one of the highest awarded by the French Government. As CEO of Roussel Uclaf, Dr. Sakiz pioneered the development of RU486 (now known as mifepristone in the […]
In a report released on July 26th, the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control showed that 70 percent of women over age 50 have had mammograms within the last two years. This is up from 61 percent in 1994. The report also showed that death rates from breast cancer among […]
In February, when the four New York City police officers who killed unarmed Guinean immigrant Amadou Diallo in a barrage of gunfire were acquitted of murder, protesters took to the streets. Among them were members of Women in Mourning and Outrage, a group that seemed to emerge spontaneously from a wellspring of pain, anger, and […]
A recent poll conducted by Handgun Control, Inc. suggests that the gender gap in opinions regarding gun control could mean stronger support for Vice President Al Gore in his presidential candidacy. The poll, released July 24, says that when suburban women interviewed in six key states were made aware of the candidates’ stances and records […]
Tweny-one-year-old Methal Dayem, who was fatally shot on January 8, 1999, refused to give up an independent lifestyle for the submissive version of womanhood that her male cousins attempted to force upon her in the name of Islam, prosecutors and female family members say. On July 26, Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Thomas J. Pokorny […]
Lynne Cheney has her own conservative record to back feminists’ concerns about a possible Bush-Cheney White House. In today’s New York Times, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott called her “fantastic,” and some top Republicans feel she deserves a cabinet appointment in a G.W. Bush presidency. Cheney served as Chairwoman of the National Endowment for the […]
The safety of NGO workers in Peshawar, Pakistan is endangered by Islamic extremists who charge that NGO activities violate the codes of Islam. In early July, Maulvi Ziaul Haq, a local Islamic cleric who resides near the headquarters of the NGOs, accused NGOs in weekly sermons of spreading secularism. Six years ago, more than 15 […]
Violence against women has increased in Kosovo, suggesting that postwar trauma has added yet another threat to women’s safety. Domestic violence is still not considered a crime in Kosovo, and lawyers are often reluctant to take cases that target husbands for wife beating and rape. “Violence on women has deep roots in the Kosovar Albanian […]
Spanish women’s organizations sued a prominent Islamic leader for writing a book that offers detailed instructions on wife-beating. Spain’s Federation of Separated and Divorced Women, which presented the lawsuit on July 24th in Barcelona, accused Mohammad Kemal Mustafa, author of Women in Islam, for inciting violence and discrimination against women and violating article 510 of […]
Tens of thousands of young Eastern European women are being lured into the sex trade by criminals who are making enormous profits. By coercing them into leaving the poverty of their own countries, like Bosnia and Macedonia, for a better life in Western Europe, these criminals deceive women into becoming prostitutes and then enslave and […]
A NY Times/CBS News Poll shows that, despite recent suggestions that voters see no distinction between Vice President Al Gore and Texas Governor George Bush, Americans recognize “pronounced differences” on how the candidates would approach certain important issues, including health care, the environment and abortion. Voters also distinguish the two candidates’ leadership qualities, although over […]
Early this morning, Richard Cheney accepted George W. Bush’s invitation to join him on the Republican ticket in the upcoming presidential election. Cheney, former Secretary of Defense under George Bush, may have a “moderate persona” but his voting record is ultra-conservative. Cheney opposes reproductive rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, openly gay servicemembers in the military, […]
