Two weeks ago, Ghana News Agency reported two arrests in the death of 28-year-old Abigail Agborku, a mother of three who died in January following an unsafe abortion. But neither arrest is of the back-alley doctor who botched her abortion. Instead, her mother and husband have been arrested for allegedly convincing her to seek the termination […]
Author: Jessica Mack
Jessica is a global women's rights advocate and writer. She is a global contributor for RH Reality Check and you can also sometimes find her writing at AlterNet and Feministe. She currently lives in Seattle and enjoys bhangra dancing, Kanye West, and all types of cheese.
The World Turns a Blind Eye to the Women of the Ivory Coast
Muammar el-Qaddafi isn’t the only one violently clinging to power in Africa these days. Former Ivory Coast President Laurent Gbagbo, who lost the presidential election in December to Alasanne Outtarra, has since resorted to cold-blooded and escalating violence because he simply doesn’t want to go. The upshot? A country sliding steeply and surely into what BBC Africa’s […]
Dear USAID: Afghan Women Aren’t “Pet Rocks”
While most of the world is preoccupied with a number of major catastrophes, women’s rights in Afghanistan are slowly slipping through the cracks. Last month, we saw that proposed rules could essentially close women’s shelters countrywide. Now more bleak news for women in Afghanistan, especially those with dreams of someday owning land. USAID recently sought […]
“Davos Wife” Misses the Most Important Point About Gender Equity
With the World Economic Forum (WEF) ongoing in Davos, Switzerland this week, writer Anya Schiffrin is launching an offense on all cylinders. In a piece in the Guardian and a series of blog posts on Reuters, Schiffrin, a self-proclaimed “Davos Wife,” (her husband is famed economist and Davos regular Joseph Stiglitz) is making gender a […]
One Feminist Asks, ‘Is Polygamy Inherently Bad for Women?’
The British Columbia Supreme Court is currently undertaking a fascinating and controversial review of Canada’s polygamy law, which has outlawed the practice since the 1890’s. The law is under review for possible violation of religious rights guaranteed under the Canadian constitution. Polygamy–whereby an individual (man or woman) has more than one spouse–has long been a […]
Pope Clarifies: Condoms a “Lesser Evil”
After a few days of speculation, and perhaps putting some words in the Pope’s mouth, the Vatican’s spokesman has come forward to clarify the Pope’s recent comments on condom use. The Pope is not condoning homosexual relations, prostitution or condom use just for males. Three out of three of those things are still very, very […]
Excited Over Pope’s Condom Comments? Hold the Applause
As Spiderman was once so sagely advised, “With great power comes great responsibility.” I venture out on a limb to suggest that the Pope may have missed this memo, at least when it comes to protecting the reproductive health of his one billion or so followers. The Catholic Church’s staunch view against the use of birth […]