Last Thursday, in commemoration of International Women's Day, over two thousand women and men from across Nicaragua gathered to protest the total ban on abortion—including in cases where pregnant women's lives are at risk—that has been in place since late 2006.
Many people in the U.S. work to protect the rights of pregnant women and to ensure that they are treated with dignity and respect. But as a result of the divisive abortion debate, many of those advocates typically do not work together—or even speak to one another.
The anti-abortion movement has successfully used the abortion issue to divide the electorate, and a key part of their strategy has been creating the illusion that there are two kinds of women: those who have abortions and those who have babies. The truth is that 61 percent of women who have abortions are already mothers, and another 24 percent will go on to become mothers. Over the course of their lives, 85 percent of all women bring life into this world and provide the vast majority of care for the lives of those around them—without compensation.
There is a battle happening in Iraq and it's not between the U.S. and Iraqi soldiers. It's a "private war" between female and male United States soldiers and you won't find reference to it in any of the mainstream media's headlines offering up the latest car bombing or hijacking.
Helen Benedict, in her recent Salon.com article, "The Private War of Women Soldiers", relays true stories of female soldiers who have fought for their lives on the ground in Iraq as they simultaneously battled rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment—all from their fellow U.S. male soldiers.
According to the Salon.com article, more than 160,500 American female soldiers have served in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East since the war begin in 2003; more women than in any war in U.S. history. And although the Pentagon officially prohibits women from fighting in "ground combat", the line between front-line combat and "support" is utterly blurred in this war. Women are fighting this war on the ground but are increasingly finding themselves in harm's way in their own camps as well.
Marcy Bloom does U.S. advocacy and capacity building for GIRE—El Grupo de Informacion en Reproduccion Elegida/The Information Group on Reproductive Choice.
Female genital mutilation (FGM), also called female genital cutting (FGC), refers to the cutting, removal, and sometimes sewing of part or all of the external female genital tissue (the labia, clitoris, or both) for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. This traditional practice affects an estimated 130 million girls and women worldwide, mainly in 28 African countries, but also in Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and the United States. It is estimated that every year 2 million more girls (that is 6,000 girls every day) are at risk from the practice. One outof three girls or women die as a result of the most extreme type of FGM/C that is classified by the World Health Organization as Type III. This is where the external genitalia are partially or completely removed and the vaginal orifice is stitched together, leaving only a small opening for urination and menstruation.
It's no secret that ABC hosts one of the most popular shows on television, Desperate Housewives. It's also no secret that the show's popularity is driven in large part by sex—lots and lots of sex. All kinds of sex! [img_assist|nid=2640|title=Desperate Housewives|desc=|link=none|align=right|width=219|height=165]Connected and unconnected; protected and unprotected; healthy and unhealthy; bonded and unbonded. Well, you get the point.
What few people realize, however, is that ABC's "anything goes" approach to the show's content stands in stark contrast to the network's policy of censorship when it comes to the show's advertising. While the network relies on sexual content to propel ratings, it bans the advertising of condoms around the show!
In the past week there have been two sets of startling stories about India and reproductive rights in the news.
The first story is based on a government survey finding that 40% of Indian women have not heard of AIDS. India has 5.7 million people living with HIV/AIDS per UN figures. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS), the most extensive study on health and nutrition in India, said in its latest report only 57 percent of women have heard of AIDS. In rural areas, where most Indians live, a mere 46% of women were aware of the disease.
The second story reports that GE ultrasound machines in India are being used for sex selection. Under Indian law, doctors who operate ultrasound machines can only use them in the case of an abnormal pregnancy and must fill out forms showing the reason for each procedure. However the only machines that the government can monitor are the 25,770 machines that are registered. The London Daily Main places estimates of the actual number of machines in use at anywhere from 70,000 to 100,000, according to the British Medical Journal. The portable ones that make it to rural areas, if unregistered and unregulated can allow any woman to determine the sex of her child. The fetus can then be terminated at a government hospital, where abortions, like other procedures, are free for those who cannot pay.
The biggest debate in Texas right now is over Governor Rick Perry's executive order mandating all girls entering the sixth grade to be immunized with the recently approved human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine starting in September 2008. The order, signed on February 2, has sparked all sorts of controversy: the conservatives are furious, the liberals are speechless, and the independents are suspicious. Personally, I have mixed feelings about Perry's decision as well. At first, I was elated that Perry, a conservative Republican, was able to see past the absurd argument that the vaccine would increase sexual promiscuity. But, almost as soon as Perry's order was signed, it turned out to be too good to be true.
March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. The abortion provider community is made up of medical professionals who are both highly skilled and uniquely dedicated to protecting the lives and health of women by providing them with quality reproductive health care.
But abortion providers are much more than highly trained medical professionals: they are also heroes.
March 8th is International Women's Day and in honor of this occasion, I'd like to draw your attention to a great lineup of blog posts and videos at the U.N. Foundation's The People Speak (TPS). TPS asked prominent women from around the world to talk about a woman whom they admire. Featured below are two women's answers: a blog post from Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan and a video of Eveline Herfkens of the U.N. Millennium Campaign.
What Woman Has Inspired You?
Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah: "Maha Abdel Waham"
Last year in Jordan, many remarkable women and girls from all corners of the world gathered together to launch the Global Action Women's Network for Children - a new initiative to tackle some of humanity's oldest tragedies. Chief among them are the needless deaths of millions of mothers and babies every year...and the wasted potential of tens of millions of girls who are kept out of school.
International Women's Day is always such a bittersweet occasion—an opportunity to draw attention to the challenges facing women worldwide, but also an opportunity to celebrate women—all that we are, all that we do, and all that we have achieved. The Irish charity and development agency Trócaire has recently launched a gender equality campaign to raise awareness of the inequalities that come simply with being born female: you can watch the campaign's powerful TV ad below.
