Tag Archives: women news

Democratic Republic Of Congo Worst Place On Earth For Mothers

On Motherhood
Why are we treating moms like second class citizens? Read More »
Best Places For Moms
The United States is waaay down on the list. Read More »
Mother's Day 2013
Why hello, Mother. Read More »
children in congo
  • The Democratic Republic of Congo is the worst country in the world for mothers, according to the annual report on motherhood from Save The Children. The best place on Earth, in terms of education, income, maternal health and child mortality, continues to be Finland, Sweden and Norway. We should be ashamed of ourselves, America. [BBC]
  • This is beyond fucked up: an Air Force brochure advises sexual assault victims to “submit.” [WIRED]
  • On the Lilith Fund, an organization that gives small grants to women seeking an abortion. [Texas Observer] Keep reading »

Men In Pakistan Village Decide Women Are Not Allowed To Vote

Meet Malala
5 things to know about Malala, the 14-year-old girl shot by the Taliban. Read More »
Saudi Women Can Vote
The King of Saudi Arabia declares women can vote. Read More »
Women Shouldn't Vote
Says a reverend who is a complete misogynist. Read More »
Frisky Feminism!
Everything The Frisky has ever written about feminism! Read More »
pakistani woman voting

Welcome to Pakistan! Home to the second largest gender gap in the world, according to the World Economic Forum’s 2012 Global Gender Gap Report. Many women in Pakistan face violence, intimidation and sometimes death for wanting to receive an education. Sounds like a recipe for repression.

The AP reports that in 564 of 64,000 Pakistani polling districts women could not vote in the 2008 election. It is looking to be much the same for the upcoming May 11 election. Why? Because the village men deemed it so.

One of these 564 districts is the village of Mateela. There men gathered and decided that women would not be allowed to vote in the upcoming elections.   Keep reading »

Donald Trump Helpfully Reminds Us All Men Are Rapists, Always

Marine To Fox News
female Marine photo
Sexual assault should not be part of her job. Read More »
Military Ban Lifted
women in military
The military has lifted the ban on women in combat roles. Read More »
A Soldier's Thoughts
women in combat
An ex-soldier on lifting the ban on women in combat. Read More »
donald trump rape tweet

Just in case you thought that men should be expected to obtain consent from women before engaging in sexual behavior with them, bigoted blowhard Donald Trump is here to remind you all men are rapists, always. Why else would 26,000 service members have reported experiencing [second item] “unwanted sexual contact” last year? It’s because, Trump tweeted, men and women have never, ever worked alongside each other in coed workplaces without men raping their colleagues. In a followup tweet Trump — who, correct me if I’m wrong, attended a military high school but has never served a day in the actual military, unlike actual women in combat — said “top military brass” didn’t want “a mixer.” But “dumb politicians” just had to endanger these vulnerable women at the hands of all the rapists in uniform. Sorry, ladies. Rape away, dudes — I know you can’t help yourselves. [Examiner]

Turkish Airlines Bans Crew From Wearing Red Lipstick, Nail Polish

Miniskirt Ban
Indonesia to thoughtfully ban miniskirts so women don't "invite" rape. Read More »
Uggs Banned By School
Uggs were banned at one middle school, but it's not why you think. Read More »
Another Miniskirt ban
Italian town considers a miniskirt ban to "restore urban decorum." Read More »
red lipstick
  • Turkish Airlines has banned stewardesses from wearing red lipstick and nail polish, claiming bright makeup “impairs visual integrity.” Critics say the restriction is a sign the moderate Islamic country is becoming more conservative, in particular towards women’s sexuality. [Guardian UK]
  • According to the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Carl Levin (D-MI), there are over 70 sexual assaults involving military personnel every single day. This comes following the news that 26,000 service members had reported “unwanted sexual contact” in 2012, up from 19,000 the year before. In response, President Obama sharply rebuked those who are “betraying the uniform.”  [Yahoo, Salon]
  • A Fox News host asked, hella inappropriately, if 14-year-old Malia Obama is on birth control. [Madame Noire]
  • A history of smear campaigns against politicians centered around abortions. [Feministing] Keep reading »

Some Feminists Are Upset About The Onion’s Piece On Chris Brown Beating Rihanna To Death

the onion rihanna

Yesterday, we, and many, many others, breathed a sigh of relief when Chris Brown told a radio station that he and Rihanna had once again broken up. (They’re both too young for him to be “wife”-ing her, he said.) Humor site The Onion did their spin on the story today, penning the story “Heartbroken Chris Brown Always Thought Rihanna Was Woman He’d Beat To Death,” in which Brown (obviously, not really Brown) laments he’ll never get to murder her in a domestic violence incident. Here’s a sample:

After revealing yesterday that he had recently split up with longtime girlfriend Rihanna, a heartbroken Chris Brown tearfully told reporters that he always thought the 25-year-old singer was going to be the woman he’d beat to death one day. “Despite all the ups and downs, I was so sure Rihanna was the one I’d take by the throat one day and fatally assault, and even toward the end I continued to hold out hope that we’d be together until the day she died at my hands from blunt-force trauma,” Brown, 24, said in a radio interview this week, telling DJs he still has abusive feelings for his ex-flame and is hopeful that he might punch her again one day.

Simply, I thought the piece was cringe-inducingly hilarious — it’s supposed to make you viscerally uncomfortable about how far domestic violence can go. Not everyone agrees, instead seeing it as mocking violence against women of color. Keep reading »

Color Of Domestic Violence
On Kasandra Perkins and the color of domestic violence. Read More »
I Witnessed DV
domestic violence
Jessica watched a man commit domestic violence on the street. Read More »
Domestic Violence Advice
court room
... from a prosecutor who has seen it all. Read More »

Rhode Island Legalizes Same-Sex Marriage!

France Legalizes Gay Marriage
France becomes the 14th country to legalize same-sex marriage. Read More »
NZ Passes Gay Marriage
And parliament breaks into song to celebrate! Read More »
Nancy Reagan Loves Gays
nancy reagan
Hey, GOP: even Nancy Reagan supports marriage equality. Read More »
lesbian brides
  • Rhode Island became the 10th state in the nation to legalize same-sex marriage last week! The state House and Senate both approved marriage equality and the governor signed it into law on Thursday. Congratulations, Rhode Island! [Feminist.org, Salon]
  • Today In Irony: the Air Force’s chief of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response has been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman. [HyperVocal]
  • The cost of birth control is higher in some low-income neighborhoods than in wealthy ones, according to a small study done in Florida. [Huffington Post]
  • Will this TED talk turn every man who watches it into a feminist? [Upworthy]
  • Meet Holly Jacobs, 29, who stood up to an ex-boyfriend who posted private pictures of her on revenge porn websites. [BetaBeat]
  • Good news, gays! You can change, just like rapists and murderers, according to Christian wackadoodle Pat Roberson. [Think Progress] Keep reading »

New York Times Needed Some Help Writing Headlines

Today's Lady News photo
  • The New York Times changed their online headline on this story from “sex charges” to “sexual assault charges” after getting slammed on Twitter. The piece was about the Morehouse student athletes who have been accused of sexual assault. [New York Times]
  • A young Afghani woman was shot dead in front of 300 people by her father for “dishonoring” her family. [Amnesty UK]
  • On Babes At The Museum, a web site of attractive women who frequent art museums. [Gallerist NY]
  • Members of a Cal State San Marcos sorority dressed up like Latina gang members (“cholas”) because I guess that’s funny? [Clutch Magazine]
  • Our Hitched columnist Andrea Grimes on how Texas is seeking to further restrict minors’ access to abortion. [RH Reality Check]
  • The pros and cons of abandoning the word “feminist.” [The Atlantic] Keep reading »

Serial Groper Gets Off Scot-Free, Because That’s How We Do

Gun Pulled On Flasher
flasher with gun
Woman pulls gun on flasher, flasher puts penis away and runs. Read More »
Legs Filmed On Subway
legs photo
Some creep is filming videos of your legs on the subway for YouTube. Read More »
BareMinerals Fail
They had frat boys hold signs reading "You look beautiful sweaty." Read More »
groping

Oh, FFS, America. Last year, New York City was captivated by the tale of the good-looking, really well-dressed, white man — totally the kind of guy who want to bring home to your bubbe — who was sexually assaulting women in public. The man the tabloids called the “Gentleman Groper” was later fingered as a lawyer named Paul Kraft, who plead guilty to groping or taking crotch shots of numerous women in wealthy neighborhoods like the Upper East Side or the Financial District. Here are some creepy examples of stuff he did. Gross, right? Well, you’ll be … surprised … to hear he’s gotten off without jail time. Keep reading »

Three Morehouse Basketball Players Accused Of Sexual Assault

Today's Lady News photo
  • An 18-year-old Spelman student has accused three basketball players from Morehouse College of sexual assault. One faces a charge of aggravated sodomy, while two others face both rape and aggravated sodomy charges. [Clutch Online, Madame Noire]
  • Indiana restricted abortion rights even more yesterday. [Think Progress]
  • Hawaii has passed a domestic workers bill of rights, making it only the second state in the country to do so. [Think Progress] Keep reading »

“No More Abuse” Campaign Launched In Saudi Arabia

Color Of Domestic Violence
On Kasandra Perkins and the color of domestic violence. Read More »
Saudi Olympian called "Prostitute"
saudi arabia judo
16-year-old Saudi Arabian female Olympian called a "prostitute." Read More »
Saudi Women Can Vote
The King of Saudi Arabia declares women can vote. Read More »
No More Abuse 5.1.2013

Th anti-domestic violence campaign, “No More Abuse,” has been launched in the desert of women’s rights: Saudi Arabia.  Saudi Arabia is not known for it draught of gender parity.  Just last month it was considered a “victory” of sorts that women were allowed to ride bicycles.  (Granted the privilege comes with a lengthy post script: in a full abaya, with a male relative present, in designated spaces.) Keep reading »