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 […]
Month: April 2011
Forget the Tea Cups, Think About the Women
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 […]
Easter Sunday Paradox: Father Roy Must Recant, But Pedophile Priests Go Free
Joining the now-excommunicated women who have stepped forward to be ordained as Roman Catholic priests, the latest victim of the Church’s strong-armed resistance towards women’s equality is internationally beloved Father Roy Bourgeois. The Church hierarchy, in its treatment of Bourgeois, is showing that it considers any advocacy of women’s ordination to be much, much worse […]
Breaking the Glass Ceiling in Iowa
As the 2012 presidential race begins in earnest over the next few months, expect Iowa to dominate the news. The state’s caucuses on Feb. 6, 2012 are one of the first primaries in the nation, and lend candidates momentum (and donations). As of yesterday, however, there’s another election story coming out of Iowa that deserves […]
Artist Challenges How Women Are Shamed About Eating
Growing up in America, we learn that sweets and junk food are “guilty pleasures.” Women, especially, are supposed to refrain from such indulgences. And, if they cannot—if they, for example, desire more than that modest slice of cake served to each birthday guest—then they should feel not only guilt, but shame. For overindulging is grotesque […]
The Wisdom of Recovery From Eating Disorders
Full recovery turns ED into a slice of history and, perhaps, a window into your past, but it’s no longer a malevolent force with the immediate power to destroy you.
My Big Fat Feminist Pregnancy
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 […]
Trans Inmate Asks Calif. Prisons to Pay for Sex-Reassignment Surgery
Lyralisa Stevens, a transgender inmate in Vacaville, Calif., faces the daily threat of sexual violence behind bars. As a transwoman prisoner, she’s 13 times more likely to be assaulted than a non-trans inmate–and she’s asking the state of California to protect her. In a landmark lawsuit, Stevens wants the state to provide sex-reassignment surgeries for […]
Religious Women and Contraceptive Use: It’s the Norm
Are condoms compatible with churchgoing? The answer, according to recent research, is a resounding “yes.” The overwhelming majority of religious women use contraception, according to an April study by the Guttmacher Institute [PDF], a reproductive health policy organization in New York City. Guttmacher’s findings debunk the rejection of modern-day contraception by the Catholic Church—a problem […]
In the Maghreb, Women Need Reproductive Rights AND Revolution
Post co-written with Francine Coeytaux. As demonstrators demand political change across North Africa and the Middle East, nothing short of a parallel revolution must also take place: Women’s rights must be recognized and promoted as human rights. Women were and continue to be leaders of the revolutions, but far too often post-revolutionary powers exclude women’s […]