Women’s Rights

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Breast Cancer Survivor Fights To Swim Topless in Public Pool

by Kellie Foxx-Gonzalez | 11:04 am, June 22nd, 2012

When Jodi Jaecks, a breast cancer survivor who underwent a double mastectomy, decided she would try swimming in order to achieve the level of physical fitness she had before she started chemo, she ran into a bit of a problem — there weren’t any swimsuits that fit her comfortably. Not one to be deterred, she ditched the idea of finding a comfortable suit and decided to swim topless instead.

Welcome to Afghanistan’s Women-Only Internet Café!

by Jamie Frevele | 1:59 pm, March 12th, 2012

Not known for having the freedoms that most of us enjoy, Afghan women are often “supervised” by men, whether they are brothers, husbands, fathers, or other relatives. However, the group Young Afghan Women for Change have rallied to create a brock-and-mortar hangout for women who want to freely surf the internet. The Sahar Gul Internet Café opened in Afghanistan’s capitol last week, providing one more place where women can do their web thing without worrying about being watched or harassed by men.

Women Will Soon Be Allowed To Serve On Britain’s Royal Navy Submarines

by Jill Pantozzi | 12:55 pm, December 10th, 2011

Newly anointed British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond has just made history. In his first major speech he said, “”In that spirit I can announce today that I have accepted the recommendation of the first sea lord that women should be allowed to serve in submarines in the future.” I’m not the only one who thought about Aquaman when he said “sea lord,” am I?

Why Won’t Siri Talk About Abortion Clinics?

by Jill Pantozzi | 3:05 pm, November 29th, 2011

Huh. So this is interesting. While most of us are busy worrying about whether Apple’s new Siri program on the iPhone 4S will eventually turn into Skynet, folks have been testing its limits (or just saying ridiculous things to it while intoxicated). It seems that when you ask the intelligent software assistant where to get an abortion you’ll get responses that range from anti-abortion crisis centers to absolutely no results but not actual places to get abortions. The same goes for asking about places you can obtain emergency contraception. So now we pose this question to Siri, “Are we reading too much into this or is that a little odd?”

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Announces Free Birth Control For Women

by Alanna Bennett | 4:15 pm, August 1st, 2011

Today in “Congratulations, Government! You’ve finally done the really obviously right thing to do!”: According to CNN, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requiring that, as of August 1st, 2012, all new health insurance plans are required to cover a number of women’s preventative services, including birth control. Someone finally realized that it’s cheaper to not have babies when you’re not financially prepared to do so. Good job, Government!

Saudi Arabia Opens an All-Women University, But Will Women Find Work?

by Jamie Frevele | 12:55 pm, May 29th, 2011

Just a couple of weeks ago, the biggest women-only university opened its doors in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. When the Princess Nora bint AbdulRahman University was first announced, it vowed to provide the women of Saudi Arabia competitive education in science, technology, and other subjects that have been closed off to women in other universities that segregate them from men. And while this is a major step in the right direction, the downside is that while women make up more than half of the students in Saudi Arabia, they make up less than 15 percent of the workforce. Once these women graduate, will they even be able to have careers?

Arab Women Get Their Voices Heard Using Social Media

by Jamie Frevele | 2:03 pm, May 25th, 2011

The woman above, Manal al-Sharif, is currently in a Saudi Arabia jail because of what she’s doing in this video: driving. Sharif, who is a 32-year old information technology specialist, is normally expected to hire a driver to take her to her job because women are not legally permitted to drive. Right now, there is a growing movement taking place to allow women to drive. A lot of that awareness is being spread over the Internet, which has proven to be a crucial and powerful tool in not only this movement, but the Arab Spring. This is one of those times where social media actually serves an important purpose. Let’s take some time to appreciate that.