Clinton, Colbert and Ticking Time Bombs: Editor’s Picks

Recent news about the Obama administration’s actions in Libya has generated some of the most absurd commentary on gender and politics we’ve seen. This National Review Online post is disgraceful, naturally (but has one of the best comment threads I’ve ever read). But neo-cons aren’t the only wrong-headed commentators. Over at The Nation blogs, Robert [...]

For Sex Workers, Recommendation #86 Will Go Down in History

Recently I blogged about how the United Nations’ Human Rights Council flagged sex worker rights in its periodic review of the United States’ human-rights record. Member state Uruguay recommended that the U.S. “ensure access to public services paying attention to the special vulnerability of sexual workers [sex workers] to violence and human rights abuses.” Within [...]

Victim of Terrorism Fights Back With Oscar-Nominated Documentary

The Oscars–the red carpet, the stars, the gowns, the hair, the speeches, the tears … and the women who have made amazing films that are up for honors. The Best Documentary Short category was particularly fertile ground for women this year, with four of the five nominees directed by women. The fifth, Killing in the [...]

The War on Women Knows No Borders: Why Funding the UNFPA Matters

As new blows keep coming in the Republican domestic war on women, it’s easy to forget that they’ve also launched a global assault on women’s reproductive health and rights–but we ignore it at millions of women’s peril. House Republicans not only proposed to cut U.S. assistance to international family planning funding, they also want to [...]

Don’t Ms. These Feminist Events: December 1 – 6

 December 1 is World AIDS Day, a time to bring awareness about HIV/AIDS, pay respect to those who have passed and show that comprehensive HIV/AIDS care is a human-rights issue. This year’s theme is “Universal Access and Human Rights” to garner global attention to the rights of persons living with HIV/AIDS and expanding universal access [...]

Can a U.N. Resolution on Women and Peace Transform Our World?

Ten years ago the United Nations Security Council passed UNSCR 1325, the first-ever resolution on women, peace and security. 1325 sets a new standard for how conflicts are resolved: Women must participate fully in peace negotiations and post-conflict reconstruction. If this really works, it will transform our militarized world. The hard part is implementation. Patriarchal [...]

UN Considers Rights of U.S. Sex Workers

Today, November 5, for the first time, the United Nations will, under its Universal Periodic Review (UPR) system, review the human rights record of the United States. That’s a pretty big deal period, especially since the process is comprised not only of self-assessments by the nation being reviewed, but also reports by civil society organizations. [...]

Bachelet Launches UN Agency to Empower Women

A new U.N. agency strives to put women front and center, and it’s headed by a lady with plenty of experience being at the helm. Former Chilean president Michelle Bachelet will preside over the new super-agency, UN Women, which will incorporate the Division for the Advancement of Women, the Office of the Special Adviser on [...]

Global Roundup: MDG, Women Cabbies, the Roma and More

In the last two weeks, the United Nations hosted the Millennium Development Goals summit, women cab drivers navigated Cairo’s streets, the dispute between France and the European Union over Roma expulsions heated up and women’s rights activists stepped up the legal pressure to decriminalize abortion in Argentina. Global: Last week, the United Nations hosted a [...]

Why Aren’t Girls in School?

In most countries, barriers of all kinds still stand between girls and school, blocking young women from the most basic form of social advancement.

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