In the past 16 years, the number of female judges in Maryland has quadrupled, increasing from 5.4 percent in 1981 to 19 percent this year. Many attribute this growth to Governor Parris Glendening’s pledge to increase judicial diversity. Women’s rights groups have applauded Glendening’s actions and argue that, while insensitivity to gender is still an […]
The twentieth-century Robin Hood is Phholan Devi, an Indian woman who formed a group of male bandits to steal from upper castes and kill 20 men who gang-raped her. After three years as an outlaw, the woman and her gang surrendered to the authorities on the condition that the police would imprison them for no […]
Inder Kumar Gujral, Prime Minister of India, vowed last week t o oppose a bill through Parliament that would guarantee a third of India’s parliamentary seats for women. The bill sparked intense debate in parliament and caused divisions in every political party. Gujral says that he supports gender equity but argues that affecting major social […]
The Feminist Majority, along with other human rights, labor rights, and women’s rights organizations, participated in a noontime leafleting action in front of Hecht’s Department Store on Thursday, August 14. The action was aimed at educating consumers about Guess’ inhumane treatment of contract workers. Most of these workers are immigrant women who work for sub-minimum […]
The United States has decided to suspend operations indefinitely at the Afghan Embassy. State Department spokesperson James P. Rubin said the action was taken because “of the U.S. belief that there is no effective government in Afghanistan, which is divided between two warring factions.” The embassy is occupied by two diplomats from each government, however […]
In a highly significant ruling, the Indian Supreme Court banned sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The ban also provides that sexual harassment awareness should be advertised in offices and by the government, and provides that complaints should be handled by a committee headed by a woman, with half its members women. The ban, […]
Alexis Herman’s work in attempting to resolve the UPS strike is being praised by members of both sides, and she is credited with the resumption of direct negotiations that took place Thursday, August 14. The Secretary of Labor is the lone African-American woman among white men. Political consultants say that she has a “light touch” […]
When she signed her scholarship papers on Thursday, August 14, distance runner Mandy Garcia became the Citadel’s first female scholarship athlete. Garcia, of North Carolina, will participate in both cross country and track while at the military college. She is currently the only member of the Citadel’s women’s team, which will compete in the Southern […]
A Louisiana state law adopted recently makes “covenant marriages,” that is, marriages where both parties waive the right to a no-fault divorce, legal. The purpose of this law is to create a “more binding legal union” where couples will be obligated to work out smaller problems, and allowed divorce only over reasons such as adultery, […]
Staff Sgt. Herman Gunter has become part of the fifth military trial this year to arise from an Army inquiry regarding sexual misconduct at Aberdeen Proving Ground, the training center northeast of Baltimore. On August 14, a military court dropped two allegations against the drill sergeant for “sexual intercourse by fear,” a charge similar to […]
The ineffectiveness of their decision to boycott Disney has led Southern Baptists to reconsider their strategy. Leaders of the denomination asked their followers on August 13 to keep from spending at least $100 on Disney products and services over the next year. This goal is more modest than the original one Southern Baptists voted for […]
The American Psychological Association is ready to consider a resolution that would restrict the circumstances under which so-called “reparative therapy”–aimed at converting homosexuals into heterosexuals–can be ethically practiced. Similar but stronger resolutions have failed in the past, but because the current effort does not define the therapy as unethical, it is expected to pass. The […]
A study commissioned by the Older Women’s League reported that while managed care often provides aid to patients in detecting and preventing health problems, it can limit patients’ access to specialists and unusual treatment options. These findings are particularly ominous for women, who typically live longer than men but suffer from more chronic diseases. Older […]
The comic strip “For Better or Worse” will shift attention to the love life of its gay character, Lawrence, for a four-day series. The Universal Press Syndicate informed over 1,700 papers of the forthcoming series, and 20 or more newspapers have decided to use reruns from 1995. Lynn Johnston, “For Better or Worse” creator, faced […]
In this fiftieth anniversary year of India’s independence from Britain, Indians are celebrating anew the work of Gandhian activists such as Usah Metha. Metha, a 77 year-old women, served as one of the Indian underground’s first disc jockeys in 1928. She also worked with Gandhi on his 1942 campaign to force the British to leave […]
William M. Smith faces up to 10 years in prison for possession of a firearm due to the federal Domestic Violence Offender Gun Ban, which makes it a federal offense for anyone with a previous domestic violence conviction to own a gun. Without the protection of this law, Smith’s second domestic attack on his wife […]
Representatives of Afghanistan’s fundamentalist Islamic Taliban militia have increased their efforts to gain U.S. recognition. The Taliban’s designated ambassador to the United Nations, Abdul Hakeem Mujahid, recently met with State Department officials and members of the House and Senate staffs. So far, only Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have recognized the Taliban. […]
A new technique for detecting breast cancer, sentinel node bioposy, is being fine-tuned by surgeons around the country. The technique, developed several years ago by Dr. Armando E. Giuliano of the John Wayne Cancer Institute in Santa Monica, California, involves a simple procedure that takes less than an hour and can be done on an […]
During the National Women’s Day celebration in South Africa on August 9, women protested violence and inequalities against women. Women held demonstrations to denounce the violence in their country, which last year had the highest number of reported rapes in the world. Winnie Mandela, President of the African National Congress Women’s League encouraged women to […]
On August 13, the Small Business Administration published proposed changes to its minority program, which allows federal agencies to reserve contracts for minority-owned firms. Small Business Administrator Aida Alvarez said the goal of the revisions is adding to the program several thousand new firms. Alvarez believes these additions will be mostly white women-owned firms. Diana […]
