When I was growing up in Bangladesh, Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi never ceased to amaze me. Burma is right next door to us geographically, but as a little girl all I understood about the military junta in Burma was primarily what I learned through pictures. I just could not wrap my head around what kind of [...]
As the XIX International AIDS Conference draws to a close tomorrow, the United State’s President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) has announced a $5 million grant for the Together for Girls (TFG) partnership–designed to address violence against girls and boys. U.S. Global AIDS coordinator Eric Goosby says funds will go to “support countries’ responses [...]
As the XIX International AIDS Conference proceeds in Washington, D.C., this week, its pertinent to note that a new report by the Global Commission on HIV and the Law, an independent body of former world leaders and top legal, human rights and HIV experts, has labeled the global response to the AIDS epidemic as “stifled” by various [...]
This week, the world saw just how brutal the Egyptian military can be towards women who dissent. A video, which has gone viral, shows military police dragging a hijab-clad woman protester through the street, beating her senseless, then stomping on her exposed stomach as she lies motionless in her blue bra. That image has become [...]
The next installment of the groundbreaking five-part PBS series Women, War & Peace, airing October 25, takes us to Afghanistan, where women continue their fight to carve out a role for themselves in the country’s future. Peace Unveiled follows the lives of three different Afghan women as they share their hopes, fears and struggles. The Ms. Blog [...]
It was shocking when Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped by half a dozen men nearly a decade ago, but what surprised the world even more was the courageous decision by this Pakistani woman from the remote village of Meerwala to go public with her rape, breaking a stigma of silence in Pakistan. Mai’s fight for justice [...]
Just when you thought there could be no more bad PR for the war in Afghanistan, a crippling 60 Minutes investigation about celebrated author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson’s best-selling works, Three Cups of Tea and Stones Into Schools, has cast doubts not only on the books themselves but on aid organizations in the region. Author [...]
What has been feminist about my pregnancy? For starters, being in control of my fertility and being able to decide the timing of it. Because such a large part of my job focuses on U.S. foreign policy on global reproductive health and rights, the importance of women being able to access birth control and be [...]
The Feminist Majority Foundation’s (FMF) annual Women Money Power Summit started off yesterday with a bang and showed no signs of slowing down today. In addition to honoring Nancy Pelosi and Elizabeth Shuler, the first day set forth challenges facing women both here and abroad, from child care to violence against women to global women’s [...]
Amidst the frenzy surrounding the upcoming Royal Wedding and what Kate will wear, Salon.com addresses a more important point: What will Middleton say? When Kate Middleton walks down the aisle to wed Prince William on April 29, spectators around the world will be hanging on her every word. And the one they’ll be listening for in [...]
