Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Nine years on, Iraqi women under the US occupation

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Summary of story from Democracy Now, December 16, 2011 Yanay Mohammaed, president of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq, met with Democracy Now's Amy Goodman on December 16 to discuss the impact of almost nine years of US occupation on Iraqi women. According to Mohammaed, Iraq has more than one million widows who try [...]

British government accused of ignoring women’s safety

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Summary of story from The Guardian, December 19, 2011 Writing in the Guardian today, barrister and former Member of Parliament (MP) Vera Baird has criticised the British government for its failure to understand matters relating to women's safety. Baird, who chairs the commission on women's safety with the help of MPs Kate Green and Stella [...]

Morning-after pill denial faces challenge from dormant lawsuit

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Summary of story from Reuters, December 19, 2011 A dormant, six-year old lawsuit may offer reproductive rights advocates their best chance at challenging a US directive which denies girls under 17 over-the-counter access to the morning-after pill. The lawsuit, filed in 2005, charged that the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) refusal at the time [...]

Hamas calls for Israel to release Palestinian women

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Summary of story from World Bulletin, December 19, 2011 Hamas, the Islamist party in control of the Gaza Strip, has said it will petition Egypt to pressure Israel into freeing all Palestinian women from its jails. Israel released 550 Palestinians on Sunday in the second stage of a deal with Hamas. The way for Sunday’s [...]

Women in Jerusalem becoming “marginalised” by ultra-religious leaders

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Summary of story from Sky News, December 18, 2011 Women in Jerusalem are facing discrimination because of the growing influence of ultra-religious Jewish leaders, say women's rights campaigners. Around a hundred women sang in the city's streets in protest against an attempt to ban women from singing in public, based on claims made by a [...]

“Sex for fish” system contributing to high levels of HIV in Kenya

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Summary of story from PlusNews, December 19, 2011 In Kenya’s Nyanza Province, HIV levels are double the national average. But the prevalence in the fishing community is even higher, with a 2009 report attributing 25 per cent of new infections in the region to the fishing trade. Around 27,000 women are estimated to be involved [...]

Indian Food Bill prioritises women and children

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Summary of story from The Asian Age, December 19, 2011 A new bill in India proposes a payment of 1,000 rupees per month for pregnant and breastfeeding women. In addition, the bill states that ration cards used for claiming subsidies on grain products would be issued to the eldest female family member. The National Food [...]

Not enough votes to secure women’s seats in Papua New Guinea parliament

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Summary of story from The Sydney Morning Herald, December 19, 2011 A bill guaranteeing 22 women-only seats in Papua New Guinea's parliament has failed to get enough votes to pass into law. The bill was rescheduled for debate next year after just 61 out of 109 MPs turned out to vote – 58 for and [...]

Probe launched into Israeli bus segregation

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Summary of story from Y Net News, December 18, 2011 An official investigation has been launched into an incident in which a young woman was told to sit in the back of a bus driving from Ashdod to Jerusalem in Israel (see WVoN story). Gender segregation is said to be on the rise in Israel as ultra-Orthodox [...]

Egyptian troops drag women across pavement

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Summary of story from News24, December 18, 2011 Troops in Cairo pulled women across the pavement by their hair and slapped a middle-aged woman in the face repeatedly on Saturday. Young activists were kicked in the head until they lay motionless in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Egypt’s military is using a dramatically heavier hand to crush [...]

‘We need more women in politics’: a guest post by the National Women’s Council of Ireland

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Eóin Murray, National Women’s Council of Ireland Irish women have this week been left with a bittersweet taste in their mouths after the release of a bill designed to get more women involved in politics. The historic Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 designates mandatory targets for all political parties, stipulating that they run 30% women [...]

Singer Cesaria Evora dies at the age of 70

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Summary of story from BBC News, December 17, 2011 Singer Cesaria Evora, dubbed the “Barefoot Diva” for often performing without shoes, has died in her native Cape Verde in West Africa at the age of 70. The musican, forced to retire earlier this year due to ill-health, began her career singing in the bars of [...]

The tide changing for the pinkification of girlhood?

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Summary of story from the Guardian, December 18, 2011 When two sisters launched an “anti-pink” campaign two years ago to liberate girls from a toy industry dedicated to churning out pretty princesses for girls, they had no idea of the fuss it would cause. “We got hate mail from all over the world,” says Emma [...]

Peru ‘stops’ parole trip by Lori Berenson to US

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Summary of story from BBC News, December 17, 2011 A US woman who served 15 years in prison in Peru for aiding left-wing rebels says she was prevented by the Peruvian government from making her first trip home. A court had ruled that Lori Berenson, who is on parole, should be allowed to travel to [...]