Tag Archives: afghanistan

True Story: My Date Called Me “Irrational” Over Dinner

Jessica WakemanDecember 13, 2012 //
Dating Bridget Jones
Why Bridget Jones isn't the best role model for single women. Read More »
Ambivalent Single Lobster
Who says lobsters mate for life? This one is ambivalently single. Read More »
7 Terrible First Dates
First Dates So Terrible They Made The News
First dates that were so terrible they made the news. Read More »
true story

Here is a list of subjects in which I would consider myself an expert:

  • the best places in New York City to eat a pulled pork sandwich
  • the Starbucks locations with the most imcompetent baristas
  • the careers of Chris O’Dowd and Dawn Porter
  • season one of UK “Skins”; all the seasons of “The I.T. Crowd”
  • the best products by Benefit Cosmetics
  • anything and everything there is to know about panda bears

These are the frivolties that occupy my personal life. You probably do not know more about these things than I do. You just don’t. Really, don’t even try to tell me something about pandas.

Then there is my professional life: I’m a writer who writes predominantly about the experiences of women across the world. You could say I’m a feminist blogger or you could say I write about women’s political, societal and cultural issues. I have Google alerts for “vagina.” There’s estrogen all up in my RSS feed. I know a thing or two about a thing or two. Keep reading »

Anisa, A 10th Grader In Afghanistan, Murdered For Attending School

Jessica WakemanDecember 6, 2012 //
Meet Malala
5 things to know about Malala, the 14-year-old girl shot by the Taliban. Read More »
Update On Malala
Malala Yousafzai
On Monday, Malala was airlifted out of Pakistan to a UK hospital. Read More »
Frisky Feminism!
Everything The Frisky has ever written about feminism! Read More »
Muslim woman veil photo

Anisa, a young Afghani Afghan woman who had just completed the 10th grade, was murdered outside her home on Sunday, hit by six or seven bullets in her stomach. She had already survived a previous assassination attempt one day prior — likely for being a young woman who dared to make a life for herself. Keep reading »

Afghan Man Murders Cousin, 15, After Her Family Rejects His Marriage Proposal

Jessica WakemanNovember 29, 2012 //
Today's Lady News photo
  • An Afghani man had his 15-year-old cousin Nishina killed after her family rejected his marriage proposal. A cousin and nephew slit Nishina’s throat as she walked to fetch water from a well. This is what happens when violence against women is not taken seriously by a government: according to Human Rights Watch, men in Afghanistan feel entitled to maim or murder women and girls who have angered them. [Guardian UK]
  • Some important marriage equality cases are headed to the Supreme Court tomorrow — read this and brush up on what’s going on. [Mother Jones]
  • Her ex and her fiance were the ones throwing punches, but some media outlets are victim-blaming Halle Berry for the violence. [Feministing]
  • U.S. professional soccer is making its third attempt to form a women’s league. [Think Progress] Keep reading »

What, Is The Taliban Getting Its News From Us Weekly Now?

Julie GersteinSeptember 10, 2012 //
Harry's Naked Video?
prince harry photo
Brace yourselves for a possible Prince Harry naked partying video. Read More »
Harry Races Lochte
Prince Harry races Ryan Lochte in Las Vegas pool
More foolishness in Las Vegas. Read More »
Prince Harry Naked!
Prince Hot Ginge's nude photos hit the internet! Read More »

So you’re the Taliban. You’ve been fighting for your Islamic fundamentalist cause for a couple decades now. Sure, things were a bit easier before the U.S. decided to intervene and kick you out of Afghanistan, but you’re holding your own. But you are just not helping your cause — or credibility — by commenting on Prince Harry’s naked pictures. Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Afghan Teen Flees “Honor Killing”

Jessica WakemanMay 2, 2012 //
Today's Lady News photo
  • If you read one news article today, read this one: NPR has a powerful story about a teenage girl in rural Afghanistan who ran away from her family after she feared a so-called “honor killing” by her brothers because she talked to a boy on her cellphone. The girl ended up staying on a military base until she could be placed in an Afghan women’s shelter, where she eventually was matched up with a husband. It’s a bizarre happily-ever-after story, but one I found extremely touching. [NPR]
  • Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (D) vetoed an anti-abortion bill that would have increased restrictions on abortion providers and limited access to the morning-after pill by requiring doctors to be present for both the prescribing and taking of the pill. [Huffington Post] 
  • Techies! Ever wondered how many women hold IT jobs, run tech startups, or earn degrees in computer science? Women Who Tech has a handy-dandy infographic with all the details. [Women Who Tech]
    Keep reading »

Women On Afghan TV Told To Wear “Less Makeup, More Veil”

Jessica WakemanFebruary 16, 2012 //
Killed For Baby Girl
baby girl photo
An Afghan woman was killed for bearing a baby girl. Read More »
Today's Lady News
Today's Lady News
An Afghani rape victim has been ordered to be released. Read More »
Abuse Victims
abused woman photo
NGOs estimate 90 percent of Afghan women are victims of abuse. Read More »
TV presenter photo

Your daily reminder that as screwed up as our government’s attempts to control women’s bodies is sometimes, it could be worse: female TV presenters in Afghanistan have been warned by the government to lay off the makeup and wear veils more frequently. The Information & Cultural Ministry asked TV networks to require women to wear a veil and forgo “dense makeup” in respect to “Islamic and Afghan values.” The ministry was reportedly pressured to make this advisement by a council of Islamic religious scholars. The continued policing and controlling of women’s bodies is just another example of how misogyny is still very much afoot in Afghanistan. [AFP]

Afghan Woman Reportedly Killed For Bearing Baby Girl

Jessica WakemanJanuary 30, 2012 //
Victims Of Abuse
abused woman photo
NGOs speculate 90 percent of Afghan women are victims of abuse. Read More »
Girls Run The World?
pregnant Beyonce
Not so much, Beyonce. Read More »
Pink Stinks For Toys
princess dress girl photo
Some parents are upset their little girls are given pink toys. Read More »
Frisky Feminism!
Everything The Frisky has ever written about feminism! Read More »
baby girl photo

Today in News That Makes You Want To Crawl Back Under The Covers: police in Afghanistan say a woman was reportedly strangled to death by her husband because she gave birth to a baby girl. The husband reportedly warned his 22-year-old wife after she gave birth to their first daughter that he’d kill her if she did it again. The husband fled his home last week around the same time a neighbor found the wife’s body in their house; he has not been found, but his mother has been taken into custody for allegedly helping him plot how to kill her. This alleged murder is just another example of the ways women are still horrifically abused and killed in Afghanistan to this day. [CBS News]

Today’s Lady News: Female Vets Less Supportive Of Wars

Jessica WakemanDecember 23, 2011 //
  • Female veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are less supportive of the wars than their male counterparts, according to a survey by the Pew Research Center. I know we have some veterans who read The Frisky — please chime in in the comments! [Slate]
  • The Dutch magazine Jackie that called Rihanna a “n—-bitch,” leading the editor-in-chief to resign, has retracted its apology. [Clutch Magazine]
  • Michigan’s governor signed a bill yesterday to ban benefits for state employees’ domestic partners, claiming it was to save money — as opposed to bigotry. [Jezebel]  Keep reading »

Today’s Lady News: Afghan Women Protest Street Harassment In High Heels & Head Scarves

Jessica WakemanJuly 14, 2011 //
  • Afghan women held a protest in high heels and head scarves in Kabul today to protest street harassment. “The idea behind street harassment is that women should not be out of their houses,” organizer Noor Jahan Akbar, 19, told Reuters. [Reuters]
  • The actress Geena Davis was in D.C. yesterday lobbying for the Healthy Media for Youth Act, which would encourage positive role models for both girls and boys in children’s media. [Politico]
  • Turns out Michelle Obama is really hard to smear with racist bunk. [Salon]

Keep reading »

The Military’s Dirty Little Human Trafficking Secret

Julie GersteinJune 1, 2011 //

We tend to think of human trafficking as something that happens over there, a crime committed by someone else. But, as discussed in a piece in the current issue of The New Yorker, it turns out that human trafficking is part of the bedrock that keeps the U.S. military afloat in places like Afghanistan and Iraq. And poor women from around the world are its victims. Keep reading »

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