In the last five years, 127 women have been put on trial for abortion in Mexico. When Laura, a 22-year-old woman from Puebla, went to the emergency room because she was hemorrhaging, she ended up under arrest. Puebla is a Mexican state that has created laws to “protect life, starting at conception,” and local hospital […]
Author: Kari Paul
Kari is a sophomore at University of Missouri where she is majoring in Journalism and International Studies and minoring in Spanish. She is excited to take a break from the Midwest for a summer in L.A. as an intern at Ms.
Thought the Global Gag Rule Was History? Think Again
The Republicans have been awfully busy in their domestic war on women lately, but they’ve still found time to relaunch its global front. Yesterday a House committee voted to reinstate the Global Gag Rule. The rule, overturned by Obama during his first week in office, prohibited global NGO’s from receiving U.S. Agency for International Development […]
A Preventive Health Care Game-Changer for Women
In a huge victory for women’s health, an Institute of Medicine (IOM) report today advised that birth control and seven other women’s health services should be considered “preventive care” and be covered by health insurance with no co-pay. The institute’s recommendations for no-cost coverage also include yearly preventative-care visits; lactation counseling and equipment; gestational diabetes […]
Don’t Ms.: Women’s History Scavenger Hunt, A Call for Tweeting Feminists of Color, and More!
Welcome back to another round of Don’t Ms.! We’ve got a good variety of feminist events this week, so there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. Feminist events are calling for writers, activists, explorers–everyone is invited! Nationwide: “Professional Feminist” Morgane Richardson and CUNY Associate Professor Jessie Daniels are calling for submissions of essays about […]
Feminists: Bring Out Your Beards!
As scores of people lined the streets of Paris yesterday in celebration of Bastille Day, they may have noticed something slightly odd about the statues of women around the city: Many of them–even the famous Marianne de Paris–were wearing beards. La Barbe, the Paris-based feminist group responsible for these facial-hair installments, has been enlivening French […]
Tell Your University: Rape Is Rape
It’s like the age-old question about a tree falling in the forest: If you report a sexual assault on your college campus, does anyone hear it? A study released last month by the Chicago Tribune found that only one arrest was made for every 14 reported sexual assaults on six Midwestern campuses that were surveyed. […]
Quiz: Is The Huffington Post the New Maxim?
When I saw that The Huffington Post and AOL had completed a $315 million merger earlier this year, I groaned. I was used to seeing questionable headlines on the old AOL home page, and I could only guess what would the merger would do to the Huffington Post’s integrity. Sure enough, the HuffPost–once my progressive […]
Don’t Ms.: Let’s Talk About Sex, Feminist Art Galore, and more!
Ms.’s weekly events post has been on a hiatus lately, but never fear–it’s back! The week ahead offers lots of opportunities to get your feminist art fix. New Jersey: Original posters dating back to the 1980s and new artwork by the legendary Guerilla Girls will be on display at the Mason Gross School of Art […]
A Reprieve in South Dakota; Bad News Everywhere Else
In a challenging time for reproductive rights in the U.S., it’s a relief to occasionally read a bit of good news. So here it is: Late last week, a federal court blocked South Dakota’s new anti-choice law, which would have required women to wait 72 hours–the longest, most extreme waiting period in the country–before getting […]
Will a Woman Bring Women’s Concerns to the IMF?
On Tuesday, the International Monetary Fund announced that Christine Lagarde, France’s finance minister, will take over as IMF chief this July–the first woman to do so in the Fund’s 66 year history. Lagarde, who once said her abiding rule for making an impact as a woman is “Never imitate the boys,” will be a welcome […]