women's rights

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Female Soldiers Sue Over Combat Ban

With 130 women killed in Afghanistan, Iraq, combat roles evolving

(Newser) - Two female army reservists filed suit against the US military yesterday, claiming the policy preventing women from serving in combat is unconstitutional, reports Reuters . Being banned from combat "solely on the basis of sex" violates their Fifth Amendment rights and "restricts their current and future earnings, their potential...

Afghan School Girls Sprayed With Poison

More than 120 students, three teachers hospitalized

(Newser) - One hundred and twenty-two Afghan school girls and three teachers were sprayed with poison and hospitalized today, the latest in a long string of poisonings designed to deter girls from going to school. The poison induced dizziness, vomiting, and headaches, and made some girls pass out, but "generally they...

Saudi King Fires Adviser After Remarks on Women

They're getting too much freedom, he said

(Newser) - Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has dismissed an ultraconservative adviser after he publicly criticized reforms aimed at easing restrictions on women. Sheik Abdul-Mohsen al-Obeikan had told a local radio station that officials were working to Westernize and secularize the country's laws by "legalizing taboos." The "situation...

Egypt Bill: Husbands Can Have Sex With Dead Wives

Necrophilia is 'halal,' says cleric

(Newser) - Husbands who aren't into lively sex would have the option of making love to their dead wives under a bill before the Egyptian parliament. The "Farewell Intercourse" bill would permit a husband to have sex with his wife up to six hours after her death. Theoretically, women could...

150 Schoolgirls Poisoned in Afghan Attack

Militants suspected of striking again

(Newser) - About 150 Afghan girls were poisoned today after drinking the water at their Takhar province school, in what officials believe was a deliberate attack by Islamist militants opposed to educating girls. "We are 100% sure that the water they drunk … was poisoned," an education department spokesperson tells...

Sex Service: We Help Gals Get Better Grades

Bib:Love offers free sex to female students

(Newser) - Free sex—a valuable service for women? Three business students in Germany say the answer is yes. The trio at the University of Mannheim have started a service called Bib:Love that offers free one-night stands to stressed-out female students, Der Spiegel reports. Their posters, which promise "Good Grades...

Hundreds of Afghan Women Jailed for 'Moral Crimes'

Karzai government not making progress, rights groups says

(Newser) - More than a decade after the Taliban regime was ousted, Afghanistan is still imprisoning hundreds of women for "moral crimes" like running away from their husbands, according to Human Rights Watch. The group interviewed scores of women in Afghan prisons, and found that many were there because they had...

GOP Lawmaker to Women: Back the Democrats

Rep. Richard Hanna co-sponsored the Equal Rights Amendment

(Newser) - Republican Rep. Richard Hanna has a little advice for women voters: Give your money to the Democrats. "I'll tell you this: Contribute your money to people who speak out on your behalf, because the other side—my side—has a lot of it," said Hanna at an...

3 Nations to Send First Female Athletes to Olympics

Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Qatar expected to have women compete in London

(Newser) - This summer's Olympics in London may be the first in which every nation will send at least one female athlete, reports the New York Times . That's because three Muslim holdouts—Saudi Arabia, Brunei, and Qatar—are expected to grudgingly make the concession. Don't expect full teams: Saudi...

Teen Forced to Marry Rapist Commits Suicide

Moroccan activists push for change in law

(Newser) - Women's rights activists in Morocco say Amina Filali was raped three times: first by a man, then by tradition, then by the law. The 16-year-old killed herself by drinking rat poison after being forced to marry the man who raped her when she was 15, AP reports. A section...

GOP Handing 2016 to Hillary
 GOP Handing 2016 to Hillary 
Maureen Dowd

GOP Handing 2016 to Hillary

Maureen Dowd thinks Republicans have a bout of 'mass misogyny'

(Newser) - On Saturday, Hillary Clinton took a resounding shot at Republicans. "Why extremists always focus on women remains a mystery to me," she said. "It doesn't matter what country they're in or what religion they claim. They want to control women." Clinton isn't supposed...

In Afghanistan, Feuds Settled by Enslaving Girls

'Baad' is illegal, but prevalent in lawless regions

(Newser) - When she was 8 years old, Shakila was abducted by men with AK-47s, who beat her, starved her, put her to work, and intended to force her to bear children. Why? Because her uncle had run off with the wife of a local strongman, and that strongman had demanded payment....

Israeli Mag Sexes Up Orthodox-Women Clash

BelleMode makes conflict hot

(Newser) - Get ready for the fireworks. An Israeli fashion magazine is adding steamy scenes to the ongoing clashes between women in Israel and ultra-Orthodox Jews who have been harassing them to dress more modestly and move to the back of buses in Israel. In the BelleMode spread, ultra-hot young male models...

Afghan Man Strangles Wife for Having Girl

He's at large, mom who aided him busted: cops

(Newser) - An Afghan militiaman strangled his wife for giving birth to a third daughter instead of a son, according to law enforcement authorities. The 28-year-old victim was killed in her home in the northern province of Kunduz by her husband and his mother just three months after the woman had the...

Rise Up, Arab Sisters

 Rise Up, Arab Sisters 
OPINION

Rise Up, Arab Sisters

Women in Cairo might set the example: Lisa Beyer

(Newser) - The disturbing images of Egypt security officers stripping and beating a female protester is actually a fairly accurate portrait of how women are treated in Egypt and throughout the Arab world, writes Lisa Beyer at Bloomberg View . Violence and harassment are common, as is domestic abuse at the hands of...

Egyptian Women Rally in Cairo
 Egyptian Women Rally in Cairo 

Egyptian Women Rally in Cairo

Following Hillary Clinton speech in US denouncing their treatment

(Newser) - Hundreds of women took to the streets of Cairo today in a protest of violence against female protesters, and military rule in general, following a speech from Hillary Clinton denouncing much the same things, the Guardian reports. “Egyptian women are a red line,” they chanted. A few dozen...

Gender Segregation Grows in Israel

Separation is felt most in Jerusalem

(Newser) - Israel boasts a female opposition leader, high-profile women soldiers, and a female former prime minister. But walk the streets of Jerusalem these days and, in some areas, you’ll see gender-segregated sidewalks, buses, health clinics, and supermarkets—and few billboards or ads depicting women. The capital city has become increasingly...

Saudi Female Driver Won't Be Lashed

Saudi King Abdullah overturns court ruling

(Newser) - Saudi King Abdullah has overturned a court ruling sentencing a Saudi woman to be lashed 10 times for defying the kingdom's ban on female drivers, a government official said today. The official declined to elaborate on the monarch's decision. A Saudi court yesterday found Shaima Jastaina guilty of...

Saudi Woman Faces Lashes for Driving

She appeals ruling amid protests against law

(Newser) - Women are getting the vote in Saudi Arabia —but they still can’t get behind the wheel. A Saudi woman will get 10 lashes for the crime of driving while female, a court has ruled. The woman, called only Shema, has appealed the decision, says a group fighting for...

Saudi Women Get Right to Vote

But let's not rush into things: Wait til 2015, says King Abdullah

(Newser) - Good news for the ladies of Saudi Arabia: You can vote and even run for office, Saudi King Abdullah said today in an announcement that many are hailing as major progress for women's rights. Of course, there's a caveat: Abdullah's announcement won't take effect until after...

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