Taliban Metes Out Its Own Justice in Afghanistan
8/7/08
AP via Newsday: The recent execution of two women accused of running a prostitution ring for a U.S. base was witnessed an Afghan journalist who contributes to The Associated Press. The execution reflects the Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan and their growing ability to dispense extreme Islamic justice.

Yale Students Name Man Who Allegedly Defamed Them
8/6/08
AP via Boston Globe: Two female students at Yale Law School who say anonymous, defamatory comments were made about them on the Internet identified one of the defendants in their federal lawsuit for the first time Wednesday.

Protesters Rounded Up by Beijing Police
8/7/08
AP via Yahoo: Zhang Wei and Ma Xiulan, who have been vocal about the pain of losing their family compounds near Tiananmen Square to make way for Olympic construction, were taken from their homes late Wednesday and early Thursday morning, according to Ma.

Don’t Call Me an Asian babe, Martin Bashir
8/7/08
Guardian, UK: An excitable Martin Bashir landed himself in trouble last week when he gave voice to the apparently sexist undertow of his inner world at a journalists’ banquet in Chicago. It’s not so much that he addressed the assembled women as “Asian babes” that so appalls. It was saying all this to the Asian American Journalists’ Association.

Clinton Wants Her Delegates Heard At The Convention
8/7/08
LA Times: Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is seeking a way for her delegates to be heard at the Democratic National Convention, telling supporters such a step would help unify a party that split between her and Sen. Barack Obama during their hard-fought nominating contest.

Obama’s View on Abortion May Divide Catholics
8/7/08
NY Times: Senator Barack Obama, the presumptive Democratic nominee, lost the Catholic vote badly to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, both of whom support abortion rights.  Howard Dean, chairman of the DNC, said that a prominent speaking role for Senator Bob Casey of Pennsylvania would assist in the candidate’s efforts to woo Roman Catholic voters.

Race Takes Central Role in a Memphis Primary
8/7/08
NY Times: In the culmination of a racially fraught Congressional campaign in Memphis, a black candidate is linking her liberal-leaning white primary opponent in Thursday’s contest, Representative Steve Cohen, to the Ku Klux Klan in a television advertisement.

Episcopal Bishop Will Ordain Gays
8/7/08
Boston Globe: Last month, Anglican bishops flew to London, hoping to keep the world’s third largest Christian family from falling apart over the ordination of an openly gay bishop. Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, head of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, said in an interview upon his return from London that he will continue to ordain gay clergy.

Niche Farming Offers Way Back to the Land
8/7/08
NY Times: Lana Holmes and her partner, Ann Vowels, are growing truffles on their property in Yorkville, California, as the number of organic farms in the United States has more than doubled from 1992 to 2005.

Maoist Pressure Halts Nepalese Beauty Pageant
8/7/08
MonstersandCritics.com: Maoist pressure and threats from female activists has forced the indefinite postponement of Nepal’s biggest beauty pageant, officials and media reports said Thursday. The Maoist have opposed the beauty pageant, calling it ‘anti-women activities inspired by capitalist elements.’

Tradition and Religion Forge Shackles of Oppression For Women
8/7/08
Guardian, UK: Seventy girls’ schools have been burned down by Islamist extremists in Pakistan over the last two months. I leave to you the task of totting up the other ways in which piety makes war on women in different parts and traditions of Islam, and not even very extreme Islam at that, ranging from honour killings to female circumcision and vaginal infibulation.

South Africa: Public Service Lags on Gender
8/7/08
AllAfrica.com: Although government departments had met their race targets, progress had been slow in appointing women to middle and senior management posts, according to a Public Service Commission (PSC) state of the public service report.

Let’s Have Some Real Equality
8/7/08
Guardian, UK: The Guardian’s opening salvo was pretty depressing: “Support for gender equality appears to be declining”. But on closer reading, I realised that Scott was not telling all women to stay at home and bake, nor was she pouring scorn on those that did. Rather she was highlighting the dilemma that many women face today. Which path to go down?

Scientists Trial Oestrogen in Treating Women With Schizophrenia
8/7/08
ABC News, Australia: Australian scientists are taking a novel approach in treating women with schizophrenia. They have just published the findings of a clinical trial using the female hormone oestrogen.

The Challenge Of Having Western Readers See Past Culture And Gender
8/7/08
DailyStar.com: On one hand, the media has been flooded with news from the Middle East. On the other hand, academic programs focusing on Middle East studies and women’s studies have been a staple of left-liberal universities in North America and the UK for some time now. But some women writers, particularly in Lebanon, have expressed reservations.

Muslim Sportswomen Gain Standing in Beijing
8/7/08
Women’s eNews: The Beijing Olympics starting Friday will showcase the varying degrees to which Muslim countries are warming up to women’s sports. The United Arab Emirates and Oman are sending women for the first time.