The United Nations Subcommission on Human Rights ruled Thursday that international law mandates the Japanese government to take responsibility for crimes committed by its soldiers during WWII. The Japanese military lured and/or abducted as many as 200,000 young and poor women from Korea, China, Indonesia, and the Philippines during WWII for the purpose of sexually […]
A government-led study of the emotional well-being of Iranian women in the conservative holy Iranian city of Qom and the more liberal capital of Tehran revealed that social and cultural restrictions on women may cause widespread depression. While all Iranian women are subject to numerous social and cultural restrictions, the enforcement of these mandates is […]
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women Radhika Coomaraswamy will travel to Afghanistan next month to evaluate the condition of women there under the repressive Taliban regime. Coomaraswamy will meet with Afghan women refugees in Pakistan and travel to the Afghan cities of Kabul, Bamiyan, Herat and Faizabad. Stops in Pakistan will include Islamabad, Peshawar, […]
The conservative Southeastern Legal Foundation filed suit against the city of Atlanta yesterday, charging that a city policy which has set aside one-third of city contracts for minority and women-owned businesses is “illegal and unconstitutional.” The policy, which has been in effect for the past 24 years, is a successful program that has been emulated […]
Organon, Inc. has developed a new electronic “reminder card” for women taking oral contraceptives. The small plastic device resembles a credit card and is intended to remind women to take their daily pills. Beginning on the first day of their monthly regimens, women are instructed to activate their reminder cards by pushing a button. Once […]
The United Nations refugee agency reported today that as many as 160,000 Afghans have fled their homes due to fighting between the fundamentalist Islamic Taliban regime and its northern opposition. Kris Janowski, spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), said that approximately 150 people arrive in the capital city of Kabul each day, […]
Australian start-up company Acrux Ltd. has developed a new method of administering hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Acrux creators say the new method, which uses a spray similar to an asthma inhaler, would eliminate the need for patches, which are expensive and can cause skin irritations, or pills, which can induce nausea. “The quest has long […]
American Home Products Corp., maker of the Norplant contraceptive, has agreed to settle numerous lawsuits filed on behalf of more than 36,000 women. The lawsuits argued that American Home Products Corp. failed to adequately inform consumers about the contraceptive side effects. Norplant prevents pregnancy for a period of approximately five years and consists of hormones […]
Representative Steve May (R-Phoenix), has never denied being gay in his adult life, but has long made it a policy to discuss his sexuality only when asked. However, when Representative Karen Johnson (R-Mesa), characterized gays and lesbians as disease-carrying threats to moral society this past February, he could not hold back his indignation. Johnson had […]
The Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association (COBA), a union representing New York City correction officers, filed a Federal lawsuit against the city’s Department of Corrections over a department mandate that requires female officers to wear pants and not skirts. Corrections officers defended their policy, arguing that skirts prevent officers from running as quickly as they could […]
David Davis had been employed by Minneapolis’ public schools for nearly 3 decades before he began his new life as “Debra” Davis last year. Last fall, one of Debra’s colleagues, teacher Carla Cruzan, filed a complaint against the state of Minnesota’s Human Rights Department Monday, arguing that Davis’ use of the women’s restroom violated her […]
A new Harvard University study concludes that the heart health benefits gained through brisk walking are similar to those gained through participation in aerobics, jogging, and other forms of strenuous physical activity. The study also confirmed smoking causes significant damage to women’s heart. Researchers found that women who walked 3 miles per hour or faster […]
A massive truck bomb exploded near the home of Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar in Kandahar yesterday, killing at least 10 people, 3 of whom were body guards. The blast injured many more, and shattering the doors and windows of buildings up to one kilometer (0.6 miles) away. According to the Afghan Islamic Press, the […]
Judge William Sargeant of Maricopa County Superior Court in Arizona ordered state child welfare workers to help a 14-year-old girl obtain a late-term abortion in another state. Arizona state law bans most abortions performed after 20 weeks of pregnancy. Francie Noyes, spokesperson for Arizona Gov. Jane Hull, explained that the Sergeant’s order is legal because […]
The Times of London recently reported that “The ugly and militant tactics of American anti-abortionism have arrived in the United Kingdom,” and especially in Northern Island, the only part of the British Isles that is not bound by the 1967 Abortion Act. Anti-abortion activities have already forced the closing of the Ulster Pregnancy Advisory Association […]
The Cipriani family, owner of several ritzy New York City-area restaurant, has been sued for sex bias. The lawsuit, filed by the state, alleges that women were denied lucrative and managerial positions at the restaurants, and were instead relegated to low-paying jobs as cashiers and coat-checkers. Attorney General Eliot L. Spitzer said that the suit […]
Dineo Mogapi is the matron of the Kagisano shelter, Botswana’s first refuge for abused women. With one year of service behind her, Mogapi is proud to proclaim her shelter’s many successes. “When women leave here they contact us later to say things have really improved,” she declared. Mogapi has arranged shelter for 23 women and […]
Islamic aerospace engineer Shazahd Khaligh has filed suit against her employer, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JSL) and her former supervisor, Fred Hadaegh. Khaligh alleges that Hadaegh told her she should not work or seek an education because she is Muslim. At the time, Khaligh was seeking a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California. Hadaegh, […]
The Herald Magazine recently published an article contending that “scores” of Afghan women have turned to prostitution in order to support themselves. Widowed by decades of civil war, forbidden from work , and largely confined to their homes, Afghan women have few opportunities to gain income. Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) spokesperson […]
The Pakistan-based Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan issued a statement Monday urging the U.N. to take action to bring an end to Afghanistan’s decades-long civil war. “If the U.N. really wants to restore peace to Afghanistan, it should first half supply of arms to the combatants,” read the statement. “Later, tangible moves should […]
