Next month, women will be able to compete for 3 of France’s 63 air force academy places. The U.S. and a handful of other countries currently allow women to fly combat missions. Twenty French women already pilot transport planes and an AWACS surveillance jet.
Congresswomen Criticize Mitsubishi
After meeting with Mitsubishi officials and concluding they are in denial about the seriousness of sexual harassment claims brought against the company, Representative Patricia Schroeder (D-Colo.) is coordinating a congressional response to the case. Six congresswomen joined Schroeder Wednesday (5-1) in calling for the Equal Employment Opportunities Commission to seek a court order to prevent […]
Senate Votes to Criminalize Female Genital Mutilation
The Senate approved an immigration bill amendment to make it a crime to perform female genital mutilation — on girls under the age of 18, carrying penalties of up to five years in prison and fines. The amendment, introduced by Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev) and passed by a voice vote, was added to a bill […]
Texas Appeals to Supreme Court to Uphold Affirmative Action
The state of Texas has asked the Supreme Court to allow race as a consideration in affirmative action programs designed to diversify the student body of the University of Texas. The petition, Texas v. Hopwood was authored by Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe and seeks a reversal of a federal appeals court ruling that called […]
Kenya Program Offers Help to Battered Women
A Kenyan organization called the Women’s Rights Awareness Program (Wrap) has released a survey which reveals high awareness of widespread violence against women but little willingness to take action against the problem. More than 70 percent of the women and men surveyed said they knew wife beating occurred in their neighborhood, yet nearly 60 percent […]
Japanese Women Challenge Sexual Harassment
On Wednesday (5-1), Washington Post printed a feature article on the pervasive nature of sexual harassment in Japanese companies. In Japan, the women men deal with on a regular basis are either office ladies” who are to do whatever their male bosses ask of them, or workers at hostess bars who are expected to treat […]
Anti-Affirmative Action Hearings Held in Congress
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday (4-30) on the proposed California initiative that will end affirmative action and gut sex discrimination if passed by California voters in November. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) publicly denounced for the first time the self-titled California Civil Rights Initiative”calling its language extraordinarily misleading.” Feinstein cited Clause C of […]
Abortion Waiting Period Signed into Law in Wisconsin
A law signed Tuesday (4-30) by Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson will require women seeking an abortion to consult with a doctor twice at least 24 hours before obtaining an abortion. Victims of rape who have filed a police report are not subject to the law, nor are victims of incest who have filed a police […]
Georgia Plans to Dismantle Black Majority Districts
A plan to reduce the number of state legislative districts in Georgia with black majorities has been approved by a federal court. The Justice Department and voting rights groups advocates have opposed the plan which is an interim plan that only applies to the 1996 election. The plan reduces the power of black constituents to […]
Rapist Sentenced to 28 Years for 11 Rapes
A Sebastopol, California man convicted of 11 counts of rape and sexual assault against five women was sentenced Monday (4-29) to 28 years in prison, the maximum sentence possible. Lonnie Victory drugged the women, tied them up, and videotaped the rapes. The videos were shown in court and showed the drugged victims choking and vomiting, […]
Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling Against Parental Notification Law
On Monday (4-29), the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 against hearing an appeal by South Dakota to restrict abortions for minors. The South Dakota law, which had been found unconstitutional by a U.S. appeals court, would have required minors to notify their parents 48 hours before getting an abortion. It was the only such law […]
Togo Woman Speaks of U.S. Prison Conditions Upon Release
At a news briefing on Monday (4-29), Fauziya Kasinga said she would like the whole world to end the practice of female genital mutilation. The case of Kasinga, who fled her native Togo in 1994 at the age of 17 to escape FGM, will be heard by the U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals on Thursday, […]
Religious Leaders Support Veto of Abortion Ban
Protestant and Jewish leaders have signed a letter sponsored by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in support of President Clinton’s veto of a bill to ban a form of abortion used to save the life, health or future fertility of the woman. The letter, signed by nearly 30 leaders, was to be released at […]
Detroit Man Convicted of Woman’s Murder
The man who attacked Deletha Word after a minor auto accident and forced her to jump off a bridge to her death has been convicted of second-degree murder. On August 19, Martell Welch, Jr. pulled Word from her car after it stalled on a bridge over the Detroit River. He proceed to rip her clothes […]
Breast Cancer Research Setback
According to research to be published in the April 30 issue of Nature Genetics, there may be unknown genes that cause familial breast cancer in addition to the identified genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. In December 1995, scientists had estimated that BRCA2 would play a role in 45 percent of inherited cases of breast cancer. However, […]
Supreme Court Lets Stand Ruling Against Parental Notification Law
On Monday (4-29), the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6-3 against hearing an appeal by South Dakota to restrict abortions for minors. The South Dakota law, which had been found unconstitutional by a U.S. appeals court, would have required minors to notify their parents 48 hours before getting an abortion. It was the only such law […]
Religious Leaders Support Veto of Abortion Ban
Protestant and Jewish leaders have signed a letter sponsored by the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice in support of President Clinton’s veto of a bill to ban a form of abortion used to save the life, health or future fertility of the woman. The letter, signed by nearly 30 leaders, was to be released at […]
Detroit Man Convicted of Woman’s Murder
The man who attacked Deletha Word after a minor auto accident and forced her to jump off a bridge to her death has been convicted of second-degree murder. On August 19, Martell Welch, Jr. pulled Word from her car after it stalled on a bridge over the Detroit River. He proceed to rip her clothes […]
Breast Cancer Research Setback
According to research to be published in the April 30 issue of Nature Genetics, there may be unknown genes that cause familial breast cancer in addition to the identified genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. In December 1995, scientists had estimated that BRCA2 would play a role in 45 percent of inherited cases of breast cancer. However, […]
Women’s Party Gain Seats in California Student Government
Candidates from a coalition of the women’s party and other liberal parties won six of 20 senate seats in the Associated Students of the University of California. Renee Dall was the first women’s party candidate to win one of five executive office positions. The only remaining autonomous student government in the U.S., the ASUC represents […]