The state Supreme Court in Montana ruled yesterday that the state legislature had no valid grounds to enact a recent restriction on a woman’s right to abortion, since the law would, in no way, protect a woman’s health. The court denounced the law banning physicians’ assistants from performing abortions because, “The legislature has no interest, […]
Nine Congresswomen walked into a Foreign Relations Committee meeting yesterday and attempted to present Committee Chair Sen. Jesse Helms (R-NC) a poster-sized letter, signed by over 100 House members, in support of the U. N. Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). This action follows nearly three months of requesting a meeting […]
A Superior Court jury, comprised of seven men and seven women, awarded nearly $2 million dollars in damages to nine female golfers who claimed that they were discriminated against because of their gender at the Haverhill Country Club. In addition to being given poor tee times, the women claimed that the club denied them fair […]
A federal appeals court in Chicago on Tuesday upheld state laws in Wisconsin and Illinois that ban late-term abortions. The 5-4 ruling conflicts directly with a decision made last month by another federal appeals court that overturned similar laws in three other states. Yesterday’s ruling stated that the Illinois and Wisconsin laws are constitutional, but […]
After hearing the extremist Taliban militia express interest in working with the U. S. government on extradition of terrorist Osama bin Laden, President Clinton on Tuesday denounced the Taliban’s draconian treatment of women and girls. While he did not discuss the Taliban’s overtures regarding bin Laden, Clinton stressed the importance of the restoration of women […]
The government of Denmark presented legislation on Tuesday that would ban models who are younger than 18 years old from being used in pornographic material. Current law already bans possession of pornographic photographs and film or videos that have minors as models or actors, but there have been recent newspaper reports that Danish and foreign […]
Secretary of State Madeleine Albright suggested yesterday that the extremist Taliban militia that is responsible for gender apartheid in Afghanistan might be granted improved relations with the United States if they release international terrorist Osama bin Laden. In response to reports that the Taliban may be willing to discuss bin Laden with the United States, […]
The birth rate for teenagers fell for the seventh year according to a report issued Monday by the National Center for Health Statistics, a branch of the Department of Health and Human Services. According to the NCHS study, the birth rate for teenage girls is the lowest since 1987. The national birth rate among 15-19 […]
The coroner who identified the body of slain University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard testified in court today that Shepard’s attackers, accused of beating Shepard to death due to his sexual orientation, hit him at least 20 times and cracked his skull a half-dozen times. Coroner Patrick Allen was testifying in the trial of Aaron […]
A study released today by the Women’s Leadership Fund shows that newspaper stories on female candidates are more likely to include personal and family information such as age, marital status, appearance and hair color than equivalent stories on male candidates. Articles on male candidates are more likely to highlight men’s positions on issues such as […]
Former U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun (D-IL) faces a familiar opponent — Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jesse Helms (R-NC) in her quest to be the U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand. President Clinton has nominated Moseley-Braun for the post, but the nomination requires Senate confirmation, unless Clinton makes the appointment during a congressional recess. Helms said […]
Longtime moderate Republican and pro-choice voice in the U.S. Senate, Rhode Island’s Sen. John Chafee, died Sunday, Oct. 24 at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. Described as “the most popular Republican in the history of [Rhode Island’s] overwhelmingly Democratic state,” Chafee’s long and much-lauded political career included four elections to the U.S. Senate, six years […]
In a paradoxical pair of votes, the Senate yesterday approved a bill to restrict late-term abortion and passed a referendum endorsing the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision as “an important constitutional right.” The restriction on late-term abortion would make it a felony for a physician to employ the procedure unless it is “necessary to save […]
Human Rights Watch (HRW) released a report on the status of women in Pakistan called “Crime or Custom? Violence Against Women in Pakistan.” The report revealed epidemic levels of violent crime against women. HRW reported domestic violence rates as high as 90 percent, a rise in so-called “honor killings,” and 8 reported rapes per day. […]
At a gala event sponsored by the Feminist Majority Foundation and Glamour Magazine, over 300 celebrities joined with human rights advocates Monday at the Forrest Ballroom of New York city’s W Hotel to speak out against the terrible abuses women are suffering under Taliban military rule in Afghanistan. Twenty-one year-old Maryam Shams, a refugee, recounted […]
The 1999 World Survey of the Role of Women in Development concludes that while globalization has afforded women new opportunities in paid employment, with few exceptions that employment has been offered under inferior conditions and been accompanied by a disproportionate increase in financial responsibility. The survey indicated that poor women, more than any other group, […]
A study of 1,350 women in the Boston suburb of Newton, which has a breast-cancer rate 13% higher than the statewide rate, found that women with higher incomes and education levels were more likely to develop the disease. Scientists speculate that the difference can be attributed to environmental factors, such as professional lawn treatment and […]
The Denver city council is considering a measure that would allow unmarried couples, including gay and lesbian partners, to register their partnerships at city hall. Denver would join Boulder, California, and 35 other cities in 25 states nationwide with such a registry. The registry would not constitute a marriage or even a common-law marriage, and […]
Sharifa Akhlas, an Afghan journalist who spoke out against the Taliban’s abuse of women, was one of three women to win the International Women’s Media Foundation Courage in Journalism award on Wednesday. In 1998, Akhlas was arrested and beaten by the Taliban and forced to flee to Pakistan after she defied their ban on women […]
House Republicans this week proposed cutting the Women’s Educational Equity Act, a 25-year-old program to promote girls’ education in elementary and high schools. Under the act, the federal government provides materials and programs aimed at eliminating gender bias or encouraging girls to pursue careers in math, science, engineering and technology. They also track statistics on […]
