After almost 700 years of forbidding women from climbing the sacred mountain Omine in western Japan, the Japanese temple Ominesanji is considering permitting women climbers. The temple sits on top of the 5,640-foot Omine Mountain, one of only two Japanese shrines that forbid women. Ominesanji is a temple for male followers of the Shugendo sect, […]
On Nov. 4, Houston voters will decide whether or not to abolish the city’s affirmative action plan. California citizens voted to ban state affirmation action programs last year. An Oct. 2 poll said that only 29% of voters want to ban the program. The 13-year-old program states that 20% of city contracts must go to […]
Congressional hearings began yesterday for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a bill that would outlaw work place discrimination based on sexual orientation. The bill was narrowly defeated in the Senate last year by a vote of 50-49. Gays and lesbians who were fired because of their orientation described the hostile work environments and blatant discrimination […]
Diane Silberstein, a former publisher and senior vice president for the New Yorker magazine filed a lawsuit Wednesday alleging that her boss fired her because she was pregnant. Silberstein says that New Yorker president Thomas Florio actively discouraged her from taking other job offers while she was publisher. When he found out she was pregnant, […]
Female air traffic controllers testified about pervasive sexual harassment in the work place for the House Transportation Committee yesterday. Several female victims and both male and female witnesses complained that the male-dominated air traffic controller field was hostile to women. They said that women who complained of the constant sexual remarks and fondling were ignored […]
In a comprehensive study released Wednesday, the U.N. reaffirmed that sex education does not lead to higher rates of sexual activity among teens, and encourages safer sex practices among those already sexually active. The study reviewed 68 studies worldwide on the impact of AIDS and sex education on young people. UNAIDS Executive Director Peter Piot […]
The Pope announced yesterday that relations between the Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church had suffered a setback because of the Protestant church’s 1992 decision to ordain women. The Pope explained his view that Jesus desired only male priests and denies that male-only ordination discriminates against women. The Pope also stated that he […]
The military announced Wednesday that they will take personal and military arms away from any military employee who has been convicted of domestic violence. The ruling came a year after the Domestic Violence Gun Ban was passed, which forbids guns to anyone convicted of domestic violence. Conservative politicians such as Newt Gingrich still oppose the […]
A group of Thai and Latino immigrant sweatshop workers who were freed from slave labor in 1995 by a federal raid, won a lawsuit against the garment industry yesterday. B.U.M. International, L.F. Sportswear, Mervyn’s and Montgomery Ward agreed to pay 150 workers $2 million, and Hub Distributors/Miller’s Outpost will pay an undisclosed amount. As part […]
Graciela Fernandez Meijide, a 66-year-old mother whose son was kidnapped by death squads in 1976, has announced that she will run for president of Argentina in 1999 if she wins Sunday’s congressional elections for the Alliance party. Meijide has been a member of the Senate since 1995, and says her son’s disappearance prompted her to […]
A gay couple was granted joint adoption for their foster child yesterday, a decree believed to be only the second in New Jersey. Jon Holden and Michael Gallucio have cared for two-year-old Adam since he was three months old. He was born to a cocaine addict who was HIV-positive. Gallucio and Holden have been together […]
Operation Rescue targeted schools with graphic anti-abortion campaigns in U.S. cities last year. The Pro-Choice Public Education Project (PEP) is running television ads in 370 cities to counter Operation Rescue’s message. The ads will be broadcast on MTV. The one-year-old organization is comprised of nearly 50 pro-choice groups. PEP seeks to correct the misinformation in […]
Two young boys who saw their mother shot to death while she waited with them at a bus stop on Tuesday identified their father as the killer, telling police on Tuesday that “Daddy shot Mommy.” The tragedy, which occured during National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, highlighted the problem of protecting battered women from their abusers. […]
A study commissioned by the Defense Department says that despite a 1993 Congressional order that opened up thousands of combat-related military jobs, very few women hold these positions. Although women are now eligible to be assigned to any non-infantry positions for which they are qualified, there are only 814 women in the 47,844 jobs that […]
A new report by the chairwoman of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services states that sexual harassment, gender discrimination and sexual assaults still plague Army bases. In August 1997, author Judith Youngman visited the Army’s largest training base in Fort Jackson, S.C., where she interviewed 157 women and men. They told her […]
In a report to the federal government, the University of Pennsylvania revealed that men’s athletic programs receive more than twice the funds of women’s athletics. Although this is a violation of Title IX, which states that men’s and women’s athletic programs must receive virtually equal funding, the university said they were making progress. Title IX […]
The International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) honored three women with Courage in Journalism awards last night. The speakers and presenters included noted women journalists such as Katherine Graham, Judy Woodruff, Cynthia Tucker and Cokie Roberts. The $2,000 awards went to women who have put their lives at risk for news — Bina Bektiati, a freelance […]
Wendy Weaver, a coach and teacher at Spanish Fork High School in Salt Lake City, Utah, is suing Nebo School District for firing her because she is a lesbian. Weaver was fired as coach last summer after she divorced her husband and moved in with another woman. The principal told her that she would also […]
The government in India has planned an aid package for over two million girls in the country’s poorest families. They say they will give families who make less than $314 a year $14 when a girl is born, and $14-$28 a year for their schooling. The media suggested that selfish government employees will keep the […]
Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Donna Shalala announced last week that $1 million would be awarded to four community-based projects and one national campaign to help young girls. “With these grants, communities can work together to help young girls stay healthy, stay active, and make the most of their lives,” she said. The […]
