In Iran, Masssoumeh Ebtekar, 36, was appointed vice-president in charge of protecting the environment, and director of the Iranian organization for the Protection of the Environment. She is the first woman to be named to such a senior position in Iran since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Ebtekar has had experience in journalism, medicine, and teaching, […]
A federal district court jury in Georgia awarded Vickie D. Galliher one of the largest amounts of money ever involved in federal government sexual harassment case. Last week, the former employee of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Brunswick, Ga. won $72,000 in back pay and $600,000 in damages. Galliher, who possesses a master’s […]
The pre-trial hearing of Sgt. Major of the Army Gene McKinney continued as a commissioned officer testified that McKinney made sexual advances against her wishes while they served in Germany. The officer claims that McKinney made repeated sexual advances, and at one point in 1994 grabbed her arm and tried to kiss her. The officer […]
Aging baby boomers and their economic and political clout have recently brought women’s health care concerns to the attention of the medical community. Experts attribute this shift in part to feminist activists who urged the medical community to make up for its years of neglecting women’s health. As a result, funding for women’s health initiatives […]
The nation’s first breast implant class-action suit is scheduled to close on Thursday, August 14. Women who received Dow Chemical Company’s silicone breast implants are seeking damages for illnesses they say were caused by the implants. The trial began on March 27 of this year.
On August 9, the Citadel appointed Professor Suzanne Ozmeat as its first dean of women. Ozmeat has been an English professor at the previously all-male military school since 1982, receiving tenure in 1986. She has been awarded the Faculty Merit Award twice. As dean of women, her responsibilities will include supervising the development of female […]
A panel consisting of six men and one woman cleared Sgt. 1st Class Alfred Ray Palma on Aug. 8 of charges that he had sex with a trainee. A 20-year-old woman had accused the former Fort Jackson drill sergeant of consensual sodomy, adultery, and inappropriate association with a trainee. Army officials are now considering whether […]
In its 14th year of civil war, Sri Lanka is having trouble finding recruits for its military. The shortage has led recruiters to look more favorably upon young women as potential soldiers. Military officials claim that women make up half the fighters in any Tamil rebel army, but fewer females contribute to Sri Lanka’s fighting […]
Diya Singh from Jaripur, India, has defied tradition by marrying a man outside the Hindu warrior caste to which she belongs. Last week, Singh married a family aide, disobeying the custom that requires marriage within the caste. For allowing the marriage to take place, Singh’s father, Bhawani Singh, was excommunicated from his caste. The Hindu […]
A tight game led to Brazil’s win over the United States 101-95 in the gold medal game of the America zone qualifier for the women’s basketball World Championships. U.S. Coach Nell Fortner attributed his team’s loss to Brazilian forward Maria Paula de Silva, who scored 38 points in the game: “We simply could not stop […]
Fifty female custodians have sued Congress and the Capitol architect for pay discrimination. The highest the women make is $10.08 an hour, while the men get $11.10. After formal mediation was unsuccessful, the women filed a class-action suit with the help of their union: the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees. The employees […]
The Center for Disease Control announced on Thursday, August 7 that the rate of hysterectomies performed in the United States remained constant between 1988 and 1993. Experts had expected an increase in the rate since the number of women over 40 grew during those years. The lower-than-expected rate may be due to an increased number […]
According to Drs. Jane Goodall, Jennifer Williams and Anne Pusey, who have been studying chimpanzee behavior since 1960, recent findings have determined that female chimpanzees are much less dependent on male chimpanzees as a source of power than previously believed. Female chimpanzees usually control their reproductive success. Female chimpanzees, although they have frequent sex with […]
Current and former female employees of the Marin Municipal Water District in San Francisco won $635,000 from their employer in a sexual harassment case. After the two women who filed the suit get a portion of the money, the rest will go to about 75 other women. The women charged their managers with discriminating and […]
For the first time in surfing history, a female pro surfer was allowed to compete with the men. Three-time world champion Lisa Anderson competed this week at the U.S. Open of Surfing, held in California, in both the men’s and women’s divisions. Although Anderson failed to qualify for the men’s final, she believes that competing […]
The disgraced former Oregon Senator Bob Packwood has returned to work in Washington as a lobbyist on tax reform, the tobacco industry, and the balanced budget amendment. Packwood resigned his seat in the Senate less than two years ago amid allegations of sexual misconduct. “In American politics today, you can achieve rehabilitation very quickly,” said […]
Although the number of women police officers in major cities has increased, smaller towns lag far behind. Women officers comprise about 15% of the nation’s largest departments, up from three percent 20 years ago. Advocacy groups and lawsuits have pressured the larger cities to make this change but have not challenged small cities. Thus, suburban […]
Lincoln County prosecutors dropped Medicaid fraud charges against a Nebraska woman who had a state-funded abortion last fall because the charges were “no longer appropriate.” Nebraska Medicaid pays for abortions in cases of rape or incest, but requires that victims report the incident to police. The woman told authorities that she had been raped in […]
Lactation consultants report that women are still reluctant to continue breast-feeding their infants after they return to work. Although technology such as portable breast milk machines has made expressing milk easier than ever, many women are too embarrassed to bring up the subject with their employers, and many employers are reluctant to make adequat breastfeeding […]
The California Supreme Court struck down the state’s parental consent law on Tuesday, August 5. Lawyers argued that the law, which required minors to obtain permission to get an abortion from either a parent or a judge, violated minors’ privacy rights. The court upheld the law last year but, with the departure of two judges […]
