New Appointment Raises Doubts About U.S. Commitment to Congo’s Women and Girls

Just as violence flares again in the Democratic Republic of Congo–where women and girls have borne the brunt of decades of conflict–the U.S. State Department has announced the appointment of a new representative to the region. But what sounds like a renewed U.S. commitment to Congo is getting mixed reviews from activists and advocates. The [...]

Top Three Lessons from the Prop 8 Trial

California’s gay marriage ban, Prop 8, was back in court this week for what is likely to be the last of the many appeals hearings. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals weighed two matters: First, whether the video tapes of the trial’s proceedings could be made public (Prop 8 supporters want them deep-sixed) and second, [...]

NEWSFLASH: After 9 Years of Hemming and Hawing, FDA Likely To Approve Over-the-Counter Plan B!

At long last, the emergency contraception (EC) drug Plan B is poised to become available over the counter with no age restriction. EC has been available via prescription since 1998, and in 2003, the FDA began considering making it available over the counter. But the process was bogged down in internal debate. FDA medical official [...]

The Women of “Women, War and Peace”

The remarkable five-part PBS series Women, War and Peace concludes on Tuesday, November 8 with War Redefined, the capstone piece that brings together the issues brought up in the previous films about conflicts in Afghanistan, Colombia, Liberia and Bosnia. Narrated by Geena Davis, the film touches on, among other things, how the proliferation of small [...]

Peace Unveiled–An Interview with Afghan Women’s Rights Activist Hasina Safi

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 [...]

Rosa Parks Revelations and Fearless Feminist Governors: Editors’ Picks, July 24-30

A new revelation about the life of Rosa Parks surfaced this week: Among thousands of her personal items collected by Guernsey’s Auctioneers was a six-page, handwritten account of an attempted rape by a white neighbor in 1931. Civil-rights historian Danielle McGuire called the discovery astounding, saying she had never before come across a mention of [...]

Newsflash: 14 U.S. Senators Call for End of Saudi Women Driving Ban

Yesterday, 14 U.S. Senators–all of them women–sent a joint letter to King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia asking him to end the ban on women driving in the kingdom. Arguing that the ban “stands in stark contrast with the commitments your government has made to promote the rights of Saudi women,” the letter reads: In June [...]

Michelle Obama’s Milkshake and Other Non-Stories About Women

Want to know how women politicians accessorize? How many calories they consume? Us neither. And yet that’s exactly the kind of hard-hitting journalism we’ve been seeing from major news outlets this month. A few weeks ago, Washington Post reporter Natalie Jennings hit us with the investigative scoop, “Michelle Obama Orders 1,700-calorie meal at Shake Shack“: [...]

Women Drivers, Editors and Burlesque Performers: Editors’ Picks, 5/29-6/4

Jezebel reports that French sexual harassment complaints are up 600 percent in the wake of Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s alleged assault of a hotel room attendant. According to French women’s groups, the staggering increase may be due to women feeling more comfortable speaking out, or it may be a response to men’s dismissive attitude toward the story. [...]

2011 International Day Against Transphobia and Homophobia

Today marks the 4th annual International Day Against Transphobia and Homophobia, spearheaded by Quebec-based organization Fondation Émergence. The holiday commemorates the date–May 17, 1990–that the World Health Organization (WHO) removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. The years since have been an up-and-down battle for LGBTQ folks on the international level, with the criminalization [...]

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