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 […]
Eight months ago, Asma Khader helped to set up a human rights group called the National Campaign for Ending So-Called Honor Crimes in Jordan. Yesterday, the group announced a new public campaign to reverse a law that assigns little or no punishment to the purveyors of so-called “honor crimes.” A beating, murder, rape, or other […]
A National Religious Leadership Roundtable representing more than 40 religious groups recently held a meeting to discuss ways to foster acceptance of lesbian and gays within religious institutions. Attendees at the Colorado Springs, Colorado gathering represented Muslim, Jewish, Catholic, Quaker, Methodist, Lutheran and Mennonite faiths. Rabbi Stephen Foster of Congregation Emmanuel in Denver was one […]
Afghan refugee families protested the “gradual invasion of Afghanistan by Pakistan, Arab militias and Talibs (members of the Taliban regime)” in numerous demonstrations this past week. Rallies were held in a San Francisco-area park, across the street from Pakistan’s embassy in Washington, D.C., and in the cities of London, Paris, Toronto, and New Delhi. Angry […]
The Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) reported Sunday that Afghan scholar Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost has offered $113 for U.S. President Bill Clinton’s head. “If anyone kills Clinton I will pay a reward of five million afghanis ($113),” Dost was quoted as saying. “If America sets the price of Osama bin Laden at $5 million, then […]
A new study conducted by the nonpartisan Center on Budget and Policy Priorities found that income levels of the poorest 20% of female-headed households fell an average of $580 dollars per family from 1995 to 1997, despite widespread economic growth. The CBPP’s analysis included benefits including food stamps, housing subsidies, and the Earned Income Tax […]
For years, Mexican business have required women seeking employment to submit to mandatory pregnancy tests, and have fired women who become pregnant. Employers say they have a right to know if a potential employee is pregnant because they simply can’t afford to pay for the 12 weeks paid maternity leave they must provide if a […]
The Promise Keepers, an evangelical Christian men’s groups whose goal is to “take back the nation for Jesus” and restore men’s leadership role in the family, held a gathering of more than 12,000 men at a basketball arena in Hartford, Connecticut this weekend. Exhibitors at the recent gathering included “Jews for Jesus,” a group that […]
