A law passed by the House would reduce penalties to states who have not computerized their child support systems. The legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Clay Shaw (R-FL), would decrease the penalty to 4 percent of their child support funding this year, 8 percent next year, 16 percent in 2000 and 20 percent each following year. […]
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) officially opened the African Women’s Media Center (AWMC). The IWMF was created to aid women journalists in Africa by providing training and networking possibilities. An IWMF spokesperson said, “African women face enormous challenges in being accepted as serious professionals in a field traditionally dominated by men.” The Center will […]
Eileen Collins will become the first woman to command a space shuttle mission in U.S. history. White House spokesman Mike McCurry said the announcement is, “good news for all of those who are supportive of our efforts in space and who believe it should be a gender-neutral zone.” Collins, a 41-year-old Air Force lieutenant colonel, […]
According to a report published in the journal Medical Care, women, Hispanics and Asians wait longer than white men for organ transplants. The study was conducted by Ann Klassen and associates at the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in Baltimore. Researchers reviewed 7,422 patient records from the United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement Transplant […]
In celebration of Women’s History Month the Feminist Majority Foundation’s award-winning web site is featuring a special section on Women’s History Month. The Women’s History feature includes: a daily fact about a special event or person in women’s history, a women’s history quiz, research information, event listings, a list of notable 20th century women, women’s […]
Kanwar Ahson was shot and critically injured while entering a courthouse in Karachi, Pakistan. Ahson was to answer charges that he and his wife, Riffat Afridi, had sex outside of marriage. Afridi’s father, brother and intended fiancee were arrested for the shooting. Afridi, a member of the Pathan ethic group, was sentenced to death by […]
The Florida House of Representatives voted to override a veto on a ban of late term abortions. Governor Lawton Chiles had vetoed the ban, stating that although he himself was pro-life, the bill did not protect women’s rights. Chiles believes that abortion decisions should be left up to women and their doctors. Legislatures in 19 […]
Circuit Judge Buford M. Parsons Jr. ruled that Sharon Bottoms will not be allowed to visit her son while her partner, April Wade, is present. The Judge offered no explanation for his ruling. Parsons affirmed a 1993 decision by a juvenile court to transfer custody of the child, Tyler Dustou, from Sharon to her mother […]
The Supreme Court ruled by common consent that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which protects against sexual harassment in the workplace, includes harassment by members of the same sex. The court ruled in favor of Joseph Oncale in Oncale vs. Sundowner Offshore Services. Oncale had charged the company with ignoring complaints […]
Members of Connecticut’s state legislature are proposing a bill that would require all insurance companies to cover the cost of prescription birth control. Currently, half of all insurance companies in the United States deny payment for contraception. The proposal would require major plans to pay for birth control pills, intrauterine devices, diaphragms, Norplant and Depo […]
Violence against gays, lesbians and bisexuals is increasing, according to a survey published by the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs. The survey reported 2,445 documented anti-gay attacks, a 2 percent increase over 1996, and 18 murders in 1997. The survey documented 14 areas across the United States, including New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles. […]
The Bureau of Prisons has agreed to increase its sexual harassment training and provide psychiatric and medical services to inmates who have been assaulted. Prison authorities will also institute a confidential system that will allow inmates to report attacks within the next six months and will stop housing women in the men’s Secure Housing Unit. […]
Abortion rights activists argued against a Virginia law requiring parental consent before a minor can obtain an abortion, before the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday. Simon Heller of the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy, argued that the law is unconstitutional because it denies mature girls the right to decide what is best […]
Women’s rights activists met at the U.N. headquarters in New York to address the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. The group issued a signed statement, declaring “Heads of state must go on record to all the world about how they will take leadership in making violence against women in daily life unacceptable.” Activists […]
Four women have filed a class action lawsuit against Ingles Markets Inc., the largest grocery store chain in the Southeast. The women claim the store discriminates against female employees by denying promotions, management opportunities, equal pay and desirable job assignments. “When I met with my superiors to discuss my interest in an assistant store manager […]
One year after the Vienna Philharmonic announced its decision allowing women to join, the National Organization for Women says the orchestra has made little progress and remains dedicated to a “racist and misogynist philosophy.” Sonja Ablinger, a member of the Austrian parliament, said that the orchestra’s hiring procedures are designed to keep women out. “These […]
Approximately 200 women in Japan went on a “General Women’s Strike” yesterday. Participants held a rally in Tokyo, marching to Japan’s Parliament and giving copies of a proposed law that would prohibit discrimination against women in all fields to women legislators. Currently, there are no anti-discrimination laws in Japan. Companies are only encouraged to end […]
Emily Lyons, a clinic nurse and counselor who was seriously injured in the bombing of an Alabama abortion clinic, vowed that she would “not stay down.” During a press conference at the hospital where she is still a patient, Lyons said “I want everyone to know that this person survives. I will not stay down.” […]
The Taliban militia group punished a teen-age girl for walking with an unrelated man with 100 lashes in front of a crowd of 20,000 in Afghanistan’s sports amphitheater. Taliban authorities accused the girl of committing adultery. The girl, known as Suhailullah, stood for 60 of the lashes and sat down for the remaining 40, without […]
The trial of the National Organization for Women vs. the director of the Pro-Life Action League, Joe Scheidler, begins this week. NOW vs. Scheidler was filed as a federal class-action lawsuit in 1986. The case was initiated by then NOW president Eleanor Smeal, after the president of the local Pensacola NOW chapter was injured during […]
