Residents of Sydney, Australia attended the annual Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras this week. This year marked the festival’s 20th anniversary. Sydney lawyer and journalist David Marr said, “behind the frivolity of the parade, the message is that there is unfinished business. In its outrageous, flamboyant way Mardi Gras is a reminder that the campaign […]
In a White House ceremony marking International Women’s Day First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the Taliban militia group for its violations of women’s human rights in Afghanistan. She said, “We must give voice to women in Afghanistan, where women are brutalized and silenced by the Taliban — where girls are barred from school, where […]
Western companies are making millions in a booming mail-order bride and “romance tour” industry that not only degrades women but also exposes many to domestic abuse. Mail- order bride companies feature women from Russia, Eastern Europe, Asia and Latin America in catalogues and on Web sites. Many of the women are portrayed as “traditional, family-oriented” […]
Five of the six female mechanics working for the Washington, D.C. Metro are applying for six manager’s positions in the male-dominated rail maintenance division. Metro is trying to increase the number of women in higher-up positions. Currently there are 1,446 women out of 8,173 employees. The mechanics’ supervisor, Lemuel Proctor, says he would like to […]
The American Association of University Women issued a report stating that girls-only math and science math classes did not improve test scores, but did improve girls’ confidence levels and attitudes towards science and math. Executive director of the AAUW Janice Weinman said, “We went in with an open mind, and what the research shows is […]
Vice-President Al Gore called on Congress to pass laws that would end discrimination against women in the health care industry. Gore said that the President’s health care quality commission had recently reported “very strong evidence of the unequal treatment of women in our health care system.” For example, Gore said, women are less likely to […]
San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown will perform a marriage ceremony for 50 same-sex couples at City Hall. The ceremony is open to the first 50 couples to pay the city’s $35 registration free to be recognized as domestic partners and $30 for the ceremony. Brown said, “On March 25th, we will put a human face […]
Senate Minority Leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) said that President Clinton has vowed to veto any IMF funding legislation that includes abortion restrictions. Daschle said, “We’re just not going to be blackmailed into accepting language that is totally unacceptable.” White House spokesman Michael McCurry said that President Clinton is “certainly moving” towards a veto. House […]
Army, Navy and Air Force officials are rejecting a suggestion by an advisory panel of academics and retired military officers to separate men and women in basic training. A senior military official said, “We want to train as we fight … We are not going to gender segregate.” The panel, led by former Kansas Sen. […]
Democrat Lois Capps was elected to the House of Representatives in a bid for her late husband’s seat against Republican Tom Bordonaro. At 3 a.m., Capps had 66,424 votes and Bordonaro had 54,635, with 257 out of 356 precincts reporting. Capps won despite a vicious campaign initiated by extreme anti-abortion groups. The Campaign for Working […]
Vatican officials declared that they would not consider allowing women to apply for deaconships. The head of the congregation for Catholic education, Italian Cardinal Pio Laghi, and the head of the congregation for the clergy, Colombian Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, said that the church has no reason to change its tradition. When reporters pointed out […]
The family and friends of Robert Sanderson and Emily Lyons planted a tree outside the Alabama abortion clinic that was bombed in January. Sanderson was killed and Lyons was seriously injured in the blast. The tree was planted in the crater left by the explosion. Emergency Coalition for Choice member Stephanie Everett said, “In the […]
In the first conviction for sexual harassment in Greece, a Greek court convicted Dimitris Assimakopoulos of sexual harassment and punished him with a 10 month suspended prison sentence. Assimakopoulos, the head of the Veropoulos supermarket chain in Patras, was convicted of harassing a 23-year-old employee. When the woman complained about the harassment, he fired her […]
French woman Peggy Bouchet launched her 25-foot boat from the Canary Islands in an attempt to become the first woman to row across the Atlantic alone. Bouchet, a 24-year-old engineer, plans to row 3,000 miles to the Caribbean Islands in three months. Bouchet is in contact via radio with the Ocean Rowing Society of Britain.
The Correctional Services of Canada issued a report recommending that apologies and settlement packages be offered to female prison inmates who were involved in LSD studies in the 1960’s. In 1964, psychologist Mark Eveson wrote in theCanadian Journal of Corrections that he had tested LSD on at least 30 women without their consent. Eveson wrote, […]
Islamic women’s groups are voicing their outrage at a growing system of gender apartheid in the Muslim world. During the weeks preceding International Women’s Day, Muslim women throughout North Africa spoke out on television and in their communities. Wassyla Tamzali, an Algerian lawyer and expert in Muslim women’s rights at UNESCO, commented, “Islamic countries have […]
A study released in the European Heart Journal reports that women face a greater genetic risk of heart disease than do men. Dr. Sinikka Pohjola-Sintonen of the Peijas Hospital in Vantaa, Finland said, “While a history of coronary heart disease in first-degree relatives is a risk factor for the disease, the risk is greater in […]
According to a report issued by USA Today, 20 percent of welfare recipients forced to take low-paying jobs are back on welfare within three to six months. The report also found that in Iowa, 49 percent of former welfare recipients who were employed had less income after losing their welfare checks. In Indiana and South […]
The national pro-choice group Refuse & Resist has declared today National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. Pro-choice groups across the nation are commemorating the day in remembrance of Dr. David Gunn, the first abortion provider murdered on March 10, 1993. Dr. Gunn was shot by anti-abortion terrorist Michail Griffin outside a Pensacola, FL. clinic. […]
Virginia State Del. Ward L. Armstrong (D) apologized during a House session for remarks made on the House floor and at a party about Del. Jeannemarie Devolites. Armstrong compared Devolites to Monica Lewinsky, and joked about her “coming over to his place.” Devolites commented, “It whittles away at what all women have achieved down here,” […]
