Friday, January 13, 2012

Women's Views on News

Women's Views on News

Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women launch MEOWgazine

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Jale Arif   WVoN co-editor Musicians for Equal Opportunities for Women (MEOW) has launched  a daily web site – MEOWgazine - featuring interviews, news, event coverage and more. Founded by the world’s leading advocate for women in music, Carla Desantis Black, MEOWgazine not only promises to be the foremost destination for information and networking but also a [...]

Football referee denies making sexist comment

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Summary of story from Mirror Football, January 12, 2012 British football manager, Paul Jewell, has vehemently denied that his criticism of assistant referee Amy Fearn following his team’s defeat to Birmingham last night was sexist. The Ipswich manager has been criticised by the referees’ trades union Prospect today which said his remarks were “clearly sexist”. Jewell [...]

British army’s highest ranked woman officer has been fighting for equality

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Summary of story from The Guardian, January 11, 2012 Nicky Moffat is the highest ranked woman in the British army. She has excelled in all kinds of things during a near 30-year career that might still take her to the very top of the military. In her first ever interview she claims she is not a [...]

Ethopia leads Africa in women’s health

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Summary of story from rhrealitycheck.org, January 11, 2011 Contraceptive use in Ethiopia stands at 29%, double that of five years ago. Maternal deaths are also less than half the rate of just a few decades ago. These figures compared to less than 20 years ago when contraceptive use in Ethiopia among married women of reproductive age was [...]

New climate agreement increases gender equality commitments

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Summary of story from UN Women, January 11, 2012 Gender equality issues rose a step higher on the international climate change agenda at the recent UN climate talks in Durban, South Africa. The Durban Platform, which resulted from the meeting, highlights an unprecedented 11 commitments to gender equality, including a new agreement to create an [...]

Japanese women’s football captain receives prestigious FIFA award

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Summary of story from Majiroxnews.com, January 12, 2012 Homare Sawa, captain of the Japanese women’s football team, was presented with FIFA’S Ballon d’Or award at a ceremony in Zurich on 9 January. This prestigious honor is awarded by FIFA to the world's best player – male or female – and it is the first time [...]

Ugandan woman, Elizabeth Kuteesa, appointed head of key Interpol department

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Summary of story from New Vision, January 12, 2012 Former criminal investigations directorate boss Elizabeth Kuteesa is the first African woman to be appointed by the International Police (Interpol) as head of a key department at its General Secretariat headquarters. Kuteesa, who rose to the rank of Assistant Inspector General of Police in the Uganda Police [...]

India gives centre stage to women in science and technology

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Summary of story from Women in Technology, January 12, 2012 The role of women in science has been the focus of attention at an event in India as the government and industry work to provide more opportunities for female scientists. At the 99th Indian Science Congress in Calcutta prime minister Manmohan Singh used his speech [...]

Turkish women’s groups critical of draft law to protect women

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Summary of story from todayszaman.com, January 11, 2012 A draft law in Turkey intended to protect women from violence has been watered down so much that the 236 women’s groups who originally proposed the changes feel that their “views have not really been taken into consideration.” The Istanbul Feminist Collective (IFC) made the statement at [...]

Women lead the way in world politics

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Summary of story from Policymic, January 11, 2012 When this year's Nobel Peace Prize winners were announced, much of the media coverage focused on the fact that all three recipients were women. Sadly, sometimes this came at the expense of paying enough attention to the amazing reforms and changes they helped to usher in. But [...]

Do quotas work for women?

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Summary of story from the Atlantic, January 11, 2012 Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow and Director of the Civil Society, Markets and Democracy Initiative, examines the thorny issue of quotas. Coleman points to their current usage in the Middle East, where Libya has just announced a ten per cent quota for women in its new election [...]

New guidance on Islamic veils for teachers in Sweden

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Summary of story from thelocal, January 11, 2012 Sweden’s teachers are to be given the power to ban Islamic veils in certain situations, under new guidelines issued by the Swedish National Agency for Education (Skollverket) on Wednesday. The ban can be issued if clothing is deemed to hinder the relationship between pupil and teacher or is [...]

Few girls take school exams in South Sudan

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Summary of story from Sudan Tribune, January 12, 2012 Only 16 per cent of pupils taking their final primary school exams in Rumbek, South Sudan, this week are female. This is despite an overall increase in the number of students sitting the exams from the previous year. Director of Examinations Marial Manesa Makoi has cautioned the [...]

UK government to sue private clinics over breast implants

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Summary of story from The Daily Telegraph, January 12, 2012 UK Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has given a strong indication that the government would be prepared to sue private clinics that refuse to remove Poly Implants Prosthese (PIP) implants for free (see WVoN coverage). The Harley Medical Group, Transform and the Hospital Group have already [...]

IVF study gives fresh hope to older women

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 Summary of story from the Independent, January 12, 2012 Two embryos are better than one for maximising the chances of an IVF baby, according to one of the largest studies of success rates at fertility clinics. Transferring two embryos raises the risk of a twin birth – the greatest hazard in fertility treatment – but [...]

Breast-fed babies cry more

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 Summary of story from the BBC News, January 10, 2012  New mothers should be advised that it is normal for their baby to cry more if they are breastfed, say UK experts. The Medical Research Council (MRC) team says it is important that new parents have realistic expectations in order that they stick with breastfeeding. [...]

Clinton welcomes Pakistan’s new US ambassador

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 Summary of story from the Times of India, January 12, 2012 US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, has welcomed Pakistan’s top diplomat to the US, Sherry Rehman, to Washington. It is the first time that both roles have been occupied by women and the appointment of Rehman (see WVoN here) comes at a time when [...]

Michelle Obama rejects ‘angry black woman’ claims

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 Summary of story from The Guardian, January 11, 2012 America’s First Lady, Michelle Obama, has spoken out after the publication of an unauthorised biography of  herself and her husband by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor. Mrs Obama says the depiction of her in the book as a brooding, “unrecognised force” in the White House [...]

Morocco’s Islamic government to allow abortions

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 Summary of story from the New York Times, January 11, 2012 Morocco’s Prime Minister, Abdelilah Benkirane, is surprising opponents by moving to relax the country's strict abortion laws. A spokesperson for the moderate Islamic party headed by Mr Benkirane, which won a general election only two months ago, confirmed last week that the government would be [...]