The riots that took place in Indonesia during May resulted in an estimated one hundred and fifty-two rapes, twenty of which resulted in deaths. An Indonesian businessman, presumably due to the riots, has seen sales for his “safety corset” sky rocket recently. The concept of the safety corset is similar to the chastity belt of […]
Two local U.N. aid workers in Jalalabad were killed in a Taliban-controlled area of Afghanistan after being kidnapped on July 13. The U.N. began investigating the deaths after the men’s bodies were found this weekend. Mohammed Nazir Habibi, age forty-nine, worked for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. Mohammed Hasidim Bahsaryar, age fifty-five, worked for […]
A Southwest Chinese school teacher repeatedly raped his students, aged 6 through 13, every day, often several times a day, over the course of three years, according to the Yancheg Wanbao newspaper. Authorities in the province of Tielu told AFP newspaper officials that Tang Jin, 29, was arrested last month after complaints from parents. Parents […]
Women, eager to avoid wage discrimination, glass ceilings on promotion, and the lack of freedom they face in the modern-day workplace, continue to start their own businesses, adding to the almost 8 million woman-owned firms nationwide. These companies now employ 18.5 million people and produce $2.3 trillion in annual revenues. “Women get discouraged by the […]
Norway, which hails itself as one of the most egalitarian nations, announced new rules that would introduce affirmative action programs to promote equal employment opportunities for men in traditionally “female” occupations. Norway’s government will amend several equal-rights regulations that will allow greater numbers of men to work in the traditionally “female” professions of child care […]
After Sunday’s deadline, by which all foreign aid agencies were to relocate to dilapidated housing on the outskirts of Kabul, the Taliban government raided six remaining aid agencies, shutting down offices and arresting local staff. The office of the coordinating body of aid agencies was also taken over by the Taliban. Many agencies refused to […]
Although her superiors admit that she is qualified to be a judge in Egypt’s judiciary, Fatima Lashin is still not permitted to serve on the bench after ten years of struggle, debate and publicity. “I belong to a country where my greatest grandmothers used to be queens and priests 5,000 years ago. But I can’t […]
Officials at the Pentagon are submitting a proposal that would lower the maximum punishment for adultery. This policy change would decrease the number of prosecutions and give a less harsh discharge to those found guilty of adultery. It would still be a crime, but the code would dictate under what circumstances adultery would be prosecuted.The […]
The Massachusetts State Senate passed a bill into law on July 16 that would give child custody to a parent who produced a “preponderance of evidence” that his or her spouse was a batterer. The burden of proof would then shift to the accused batterer holding them responsible for disproving the evidence to gain custody. […]
A Michigan Judge has blocked a twelve year old pregnant girl who is a victim of incest from being taken by her parents to Kansas to obtain an abortion Raped by her brother, the girl is twenty-eight weeks pregnant. Her doctor failed to properly diagnose her four times. Michigan outlaws abortions after twenty-four weeks except […]
Human rights organizations that have been investigating reports of rape in Jakarta, Indonesia have received death threats from unidentified men. The organizations estimated at least 168 cases of rape during the riots and several afterwards. Most of the victims were part of the Chinese minority that is often scapegoated in times of crisis. Twenty women […]
As gay youths become more open about their sexual orientation, they are being subject to more “visible” abuse in Washington, DC area schools, according to Linda Shevits, a Maryland education official to whom discrimination cases are reported. In response to this phenomenon, school districts are attempting to form comprehensive programs that include staff training and […]
On the heels of the landmark verdict of liability in NOW v. Scheidler which found that there is a nationwide conspiracy of violence against abortion providers and women who seek reproductive health services, Susan Hill, President of the National Women’s Health Organization, which represents clinics in the case, and Attorney Fay Clayton, Esq., who is […]
Hillary Rodham Clinton praised the early leaders of the women’s movement at a convention in Seneca Falls commemorating the 150th anniversary of the first women’s rights convention in 1848. Urging attendees to “finish the work begun here,” the first lady evoked the names of suffragists such as Lucretia Coffin Mott and Elizabeth Cady Stanton while […]
The House of Representatives voted on July 16 to require health care plans of federal employees to offer coverage for prescription contraceptives if they offer coverage for other prescription drugs. All five methods of prescription contraceptives would be covered: the Pill, diaphragm, IUD, Norplant, and Depo-Provera. A few health care plans sponsored by the Catholic […]
Taliban planning minister Qari Din Mohammed rejected the UN’s warning that humanitarian groups would leave Afghanistan if their working conditions did not improve. He announced that the foreign aid groups have until Sunday to show a willingness to retreat to the delapidated housing to which they were assigned. “We Moslems believe that God the Almighty […]
In a blow to the young women’s reproductive rights, the House passed a bill yesterday that makes it illegal to transport a minor across state lines to attain an abortion procedure. The bill, which passed by a vote of 276 to 150, failed to gain the two-thirds majority mandated to override a presidential veto. A […]
Rates of domestic abuse are steadily increasing in Poland, where the country’s strict allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church and the sanctity of the traditional nuclear family that reinforces male dominance. Many women are finding it impossible to attain legal or psychological counseling for abuse, especially in a country where a Polish proverb touts “If […]
Semira Adamu, a Nigerian woman who sought refuge in Belgium to avoid being forced to marry a 65-year-old Nigerian polygamist against her will, has won temporary reprieve. Adamu was expected to be forcibly deported to Africa over two weeks ago on SEBENA Airlines, but the airline declined to perform the transport “for reasons of security.” […]
Human Rights Watch, a Washington-based public interest group, recently published a study that found police brutality to be “nationwide” and “institutionalized.” The 400-page report, entitled “Shielded from Justice: Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States,” describes how communities reacted to police brutality in 14 US cities using data from the FBI, the civil rights […]
