The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) has issued a declaration in which the group criticizes U.N.-brokered peace talks between the Taliban and Northern Alliance and makes recommendations on how other nations and the U.N. might help the Afghan people. On the possibility of the Taliban and the Northern Alliance forming a joint […]
A federal court has issued a restraining order requiring protestors to keep their distance from abortion clinics and doctor’s offices in the Western district of New York. The restraining order was issued by U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara of Buffalo yesterday after lawyers for the state, the Pro-Choice Network of Western New York and others […]
An expensive breast cancer regimen that is used to treat women with advanced stages of the disease did not prolong life in four of five major studies. The treatment, which combines high-power chemotherapy treatment with bone marrow transplants, is used only in women who are in advanced stages of the disease and have little chance […]
Research presented at the American Society of Newspaper Editors revealed that the percentage of non-white employees at U.S. newspapers was only 11.55 in 1998. Women, who compose slightly more than half of the U.S. population, made up only 37% of newspaper employees last year. Minority employees were especially lacking in higher-paid and more influential supervisory […]
The U.S. House Representatives passed a bill that would allow local officials to demand a recount of Census figures by a margin of 223-206 on Wednesday. House Democrats and the Clinton Administration opposed the bill, arguing that it was a ploy to frustrate attempts to correct traditional headcounts with statistically sampling. Proponents of statistical sampling […]
Actors Lara Flynn Boyle, Lisa Gay Hamilaton, Camryn Manheim, Marla Sokoloff and Kelli Williams of ABC-Television’s “The Practice” will appear in an informational magazine insert on the topic of breast cancer. The insert, titled “The Best Defense” and sponsored by the Ford Foundation, will be included in May issues of four women’s magazines including VOGUE, […]
Women in Technology International, has announced the names of five women who will be inducted into its “Hall of Fame” this June. This year’s inductees will include Yvonne C. Brill, Sherita T. Ceasar, Thelma Estrin, Ph.D.; Claudine Simson, Ph.D.; and Yukako Ychinago. Brill is an aerospace consultant for the International Maritime Satellite Organization and is […]
A genetically-engineered virus called ONYX-015 has been shown to identify and kill certain cancer cells in recent Phase II clinical trials. Study results found that the virus reduced the size of tumors by 50% or more in 12 of 26 patients, and completely destroyed the tumors of 4 other patients. In total, 60% of study […]
In response to the recent murder of Samia Imran, Pakistani former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has written a letter to the U.N. and human rights organizations decrying a widespread “conspiracy against women.” “There is an all-compassing conspiracy against women … in the name of Islam,” Bhutto’s letter read. “Our society today is in the hands […]
A Japanese man has been charged with smuggling dozens of women into Japan for use in prostitution rings. Toshiro Oyama allegedly led a gang of about 20 Japanese men who brought the Thai women to Japan on regular airplane flights and then hid the women in suitcases before passing through immigration. Oyama was seized by […]
Scientists at the Manchester Royal Infirmary conducted tests on a potential new contraceptive option for men. A group of 23 volunteers took a pill containing varying levels of the hormone progesterone and wore a testosterone patch on their skin that is similar to nicotine patches. The pills were designed to block sperm production, and the […]
The breast cancer drug Herceptin was shown to extend the lives of patients in advanced stages of the disease by an average of four months. Dr. Dennis J. Slamon of the University of California at Los Angeles was one of Herceptin’s key developers, and played a primary role in the years of research that prompted […]
Last fall, anti-abortion activists pledged that they would hold widespread anti-abortion protests at several upstate New York high schools and health clinics that offer abortion services. Last Call Ministries’ Robert Behn proclaimed, “I think God has chosen Buffalo as a battleground where He’s going to fight abortion with great strength.” The protests, known as “Operation […]
Senior Vatican official Monsignor Elio Sgreccia wrote in Italy’s Avvenire newspaper today that the Roman Catholic Church considers emergency contraceptive pills an “abortion technique” and opposes their distribution to ethnic Albanian women who have raped at a Serbian army camp. Sgreccia urged women to separate “the act of violence suffered and the reality of new […]
DC Web Women and San Francisco Women on the Web will sponsor “Take Our Daughters on the Web” events on April 21st. DC Web Women modeled its “Take Our Daughters on the Web” events after the Ms. Foundation’s annual “Take Your Daughter to Work Day.” President Jeanne Marshall explained, “Take Our Daughters on the Web […]
A recent study has confirmed past research showing that women can lower their risk for breast cancer by consuming soy products. Soy contains high levels of phytoestrogens, or plant estrogens. Soy products have been shown to lower levels of estrogen in the blood, thereby reducing an individual’s risk of estrogen-linked diseases such as breast cancer, […]
A study conducted by Dr. Kirkwood Adams Jr. and colleagues at the University of North Carolina reveals “fundamental gender- [sic] related differences in the nature and extent of heart failure.” Researchers studied data on patients with congestive heart failure, a common disease in which the heart looses its ability to pump enough blood to meet […]
Last month, Afghanistan’s Taliban regime and its northern opponents agreed to cease fighting and to create a common government. Under the agreement, the Taliban and the Islamic groups which make up the northern-based opposition would share power in national executive, legislative, and judiciary branches of government. Both sides also agreed to release 20 prisoners each […]
According to a report from Pentagon spokesperson Kenneth Bacon, Serb troops may be raping women on a massive scale in Kosovo. Bacon stated, “We’re getting some very disturbing reports out of Kosovo recently that young Kosovar women are being herded into a Serb army training camp near the town of Dakovica, which is in southwest […]
A U.S. Justice Department report issued yesterday revealed that a high percentage of prison inmates have suffered physical or sexual abuse prior to their incarceration. Most of the abuse took place during the inmates’ childhood and was carried out by spouses, boyfriends, parents, family friends, and other relatives. Among women in state and federal prisons […]
