Abortion Law Harms Kenyan Women and Girls

Anyone who believes that making abortion illegal saves lives has probably never experienced desperation or been affected by misinformation. When access to safe abortion is denied, women turn to dangerous back alley and at-home methods of abortion. Women in countries that outlaw abortions will drink turpentine or bleach, jump from stairs or a rooftop and [...]

The History of International Women’s Day

Monday, 8 March 2010, 9:38 | Category : International Issues
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Today is International Women’s Day. Around the world women will be celebrated through rallies, political action, and gifts.
 To celebrate both International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month here is a timeline showing a bit of the history of International Women’s Day:
1857- New York Lower East Side Female textile/garment workers staged a protest against 12 hour [...]

Why I won’t be watching the Olympics this year

Saturday, 13 February 2010, 5:35 | Category : International Issues, Pop Culture
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I usually love watching the Olympics. There is so much to love, the passion of the athletes, the elaborate ceremonies and the competition that paradoxically unites most of the world. The Olympics can so often bring out the best in people; after Nodar Kumaritashvili’s tragedy today it was beautiful to see the way [...]

When Talking to Boy’s Gets You Buried Alive

Friday, 5 February 2010, 16:24 | Category : International Issues
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No seriously…. a Turkish girl was buried alive by her father for quote, “hanging out with boys.” The Huffington Post reports,
The body of a 16-year-old girl police say was buried alive by relatives in an “honor” killing carried out as punishment for talking to boys has been discovered in Kahta, Turkey.
Turkish police discovered the body [...]

Gandhi’s birth control of choice

I recently read an article about the correspondence and meeting between two of the most independent thinkers of the 20th Century, Margaret Sanger and Mahatma Gandhi. The two activists met in 1936 when Sanger traveled to India to speak with Gandhi about birth control. By that time Sanger was advocating internationally for artificial contraceptives and [...]

Is Rogue Anti-Choice Deception Winning in Ireland?

As Ireland waits for a landmark ruling by the European court of human rights, controversy over abortion and women’s health in Ireland has become a hotspot for international scrutiny. According to the Human Rights Watch, Irish legislation, in which women who obtain an abortion are sentenced to life in prison, is putting women’s lives at [...]

Haiti’s Earthquake Could Disproportionally Impact Women

Thursday, 14 January 2010, 10:54 | Category : International Issues
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Media outlets continue to flash scenes from the devastated nation of Haiti. A ticker of organizations that need money in the relief effort run under newscasts as we sit, watch and hope for better news. Even before the 7.0 earthquake shook this nation about 2000 miles from the U.S., people were suffering.
Haiti is the poorest [...]

Peace for Women in 2010

Thursday, 7 January 2010, 13:40 | Category : International Issues
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As we look towards a new year, one usually hopes for peace and happiness. Unfortunately, peace seems to be a far off notion for the U.S. Escalated violence in Afghanistan resulted in 317 U.S. military deaths last year. So this number doesn’t include deaths of coalition soldiers or Afghani citizens.
A month ago, President Obama announced [...]

Essentialism Rears its Ugly Head: Chinese Shopping Centre Builds “Women-Only” Parking

Monday, 28 December 2009, 17:53 | Category : International Issues
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Because lord knows women don’t know how to drive. And they certainly can’t be trusted to park if the spaces aren’t decorated in so-called “girly” colors. No… I’m not kidding. A Chinese shopping center in the Hebei province has built a car park designed particularly for women. The objective being to make the spaces wider [...]

Spain’s Lower House Approves New Bill Expanding Abortion Access

Thursday, 17 December 2009, 17:30 | Category : Abortion, International Issues
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Spain’s lower house voted today to approve a piece of legislation that would dramatically alter status quo restrictions on abortion. Outside of the invasive stipulations that undermine young women’s autonomy, this new bill would allow women to terminate their pregnancy up to 14 weeks. According to Steven Ertelt,