Archive for September 25th, 2009

In 2003, the African nation of Liberia was in turmoil; its president Charles Taylor was involved in a vicious civil war with war lords who wanted to take his place. Caught in the middle were innocent civilians who bore the brunt of the violence. One woman, Leymah Gbowee, had had enough and she and her [...]

Rioters attacked and stripped about 20 Ugandan women who were wearing trousers last week during deadly riots in Kampala. The humiliations were part of a major confrontation between a traditional kingdom and President Yoweri Museveni’s government. Male rioters in a suburb here on September 11 attacked about 20 women wearing trousers. The men, in Rubaga, [...]

Muslims who commit adultery in Indonesia’s semi-autonomous province of Aceh could be stoned to death after the provincial parliament last week passed laws expanding Islamic law. The new laws, which also include multiple lashings in public for those caught having pre-marital sex, were opposed by women’s groups and the province’s governor, and were rammed through [...]

On 25 August the court of Al-Shamli, north of Hail, found Mrs Khamisa Sawadi guilty of the charge of “khilwa” (mingling with two young men to whom she was not immediately related), and the higher court in Riyadh ratified their verdict. One of the two young men who was tried alongside Sawadi may face additional [...]

“I cried a lot, I couldn’t believe I was in prison. The day I was put in jail, I never thought I would be there for a long time,” an indigenous market vendor, Jacinta Francisco, said in Mexico after she was released from prison, where she spent three years for a crime she did not [...]

A new White House Council on Women and Girls is assessing every government agency to see if its programs do enough to benefit women. The first senior adviser on domestic violence and the first ambassador for women’s issues around the globe are developing programs to prevent violence again women at home and abroad. First lady [...]

Amnesty International has launched a new campaign to reduce maternal deaths in Sierra Leone. The accompanying report Out of Reach: The Cost of Maternal Health in Sierra Leone uses graphic and personal testimonies to show how women and girls are often unable to access life-saving treatment because they are too poor to pay for it. [...]

The poll of 800 voters, conducted exclusively for The Courier-Mail, found 64 per cent believed abortion should be legalised, while 31 per cent disagreed. Five per cent were uncommitted. Despite the results, Premier Anna Bligh has consistently refused to decriminalise abortion, saying she does not have enough parliamentary support. The poll, conducted last week, comes [...]

Pro-choice supporters are outraged that a young couple in Cairns are facing trial under the state’s anti-abortion laws. The Pro-Choice Action Collective has declared that it will intensify its campaign to demand the Bligh government intervene in the case to have the charges dropped. Pro-Choice Action Collective activist, Kathy Newnam stated “this young couple should [...]

A Polish court has ordered a Roman Catholic magazine to pay a fine and apologize to a woman for likening her to a killer for wanting an abortion and equating the practice with Nazi crimes. Judge Ewa Solecka ruled Wednesday that Catholics are free to express their moral disapproval of abortion — and even call [...]

Women are well represented in newsrooms but struggle to find a place in senior management or on boards, said Business Day in a report on a study by Gender Links. Women also still earn less than their male counterparts in the media, according to the survey conducted in South Africa and the Southern African Development [...]

After a summer of sleaze in which Berlusconi has been variously accused of “frequenting minors”, sleeping with an escort girl and holding debauched parties at his Sardinian villa, a feminist backlash is gaining momentum. The target is not only Berlusconi but the wider culture of a country in which a prime minister could survive such [...]

Italy: Women Are Not Wallpaper http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48442 Japan: ‘Princess Corps’ Cracks the Glass Ceiling http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48375 Africa: Cross-Border Links to Boost Women’s Economic Empowerment http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48390 SRI LANKA: Women Want Better Pay, Out of Free Trade Zones http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48389 SOUTH AFRICA: Redouble Efforts to Reduce Maternal Mortality http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48393 CENTRAL AMERICA: Crisis Chews Women Up, Spits Them Out http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=48405 MINING-INDIA: [...]





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