Newsday Tuesday: August 25 Edition

Well the time has come by friends, this is the last Newsday Tuesday that I will be writing as it is my last week interning at FMF. I have really enjoyed writing this every week. It has helped to keep me informed on the week's events, as I hope it has for you, too. I have gotten all of the news that I use for these weekly blogs from the Feminist News Wire that FMF puts out every day. You can get your news this way too! You can sign up for Weekly News E-mails or subscribe to our News feed.

But even though I am leaving you as your Newsday Tuesday correspondent, that doesn't mean the news stops happening! Let's catch up on what has been a very busy week, here and around the world!

Afghan Elections

The participation of many Afghan women in last week's elections was threatened by strict polling regulations and fraud. A severe shortage of female workers to staff women-only polling places limited the ability of millions of women cast their ballots. Despite large turnout at many polling places, men greatly outnumbered women voters as a result.

During the Afghan elections, the Taliban allegedly cut off the fingers of at least two Afghan women in the Kandahar providence after they had cast their ballots. (You can read my blog post about particularly repressing voter turnout among women.

National

The US Department of Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Bureau has instated an initiative that aims to encourage women to breast-feed for longer after returning to work. States, such as Vermont, have started launched programs that offers free assistance to businesses in the state to help to comply with this new law.

Last week, a Planned Parenthood clinic, for fear of losing its license, filed for a restraining order against the state health department to prevent it from being revoked. The threat of losing their license stems from an informed consent law passed in 2005 and a disclosure form proposed by the health department.

A federal judge scheduled a January 2010 trial date Wednesday in a lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of Proposition 8.

Oklahoma confirmed Wednesday that the state will file an appeal with the state Supreme Court of a judge's decision to overturn a controversial abortion law. On Tuesday, an Oklahoma County District Judge overturned a state law requiring women seeking abortions must first receive an ultrasound and a description of the fetus from a doctor.

New York Governor David Paterson promised a group of protesters Tuesday that he will sign a bill that will prohibit incarcerated pregnant women from being shackled while in labor.

The Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa withdrew special defenses last Monday in a lawsuit involving a woman who was raped at gunpoint in the hotel's parking garage in front of her children. In court documents, the hotel originally argued that the woman was negligent and "failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities."

World

Thousands staged a protest Saturday in Bamako, Mali's capital, against a proposed law that would give women greater marriage rights in the country. The law includes provisions that grant inheritance rights to children born without married parents, change the legal age for marriage to 18, and replaces "paternal power" with "parental authority" in family law.

Currently, there is a bill in the Bahamian legislature that would criminalize marital rape. The bill is aimed at combating attitudes about spousal relationships that leave women vulnerable to abuse. As it stands now, charges of rape can only be brought against a spouse if the couple is legally separated or in the process of getting a divorce.

The Danish Conservative Party is proposing to ban burqa and niqab attire as part of an integration initiative. Conservative party officials have criticized the attire as being oppressive towards women and “un-Danish.”

Human Rights Watch released a report last Monday that indicated hundreds of Iraqi gay men have been kidnapped, tortured and murdered since the beginning of 2009. Iraqi authorities have not acted to stop militias that are actively targeting men suspected of engaging in about it too) Extremist election-day violence erupted primarily in the south and southeast regions of Afghanistan, homosexual conduct and may be complicit in some attacks.

...and a friendly reminder

If you're in the DC area, Madam's Organ in Adams Morgan (try saying that 5 times fast!) is the place to be on Thursday night!

FMF Presents: Hell No! We Won't Go - A Networking Benefit for the National Clinic Access Project

Madam's Organ (2461 18th St. NW - Woodley Park Metro) Thurday, August 27 5:00 - 9:00pm

If you are following Feminist Campus on Twitter, please RT! Spread the word! I'll be there, so you better be too!

Photo courtesy of swanksalot on flikr.com