WMC News & Features
Seven Days to Preserve the Internet
FCC rules are about to be made that will either keep the Internet a forum for free exchange of ideas or else reward corporate entities that want to make money by controlling the flow. It’s time for the public to weigh in.
WMC News & Features
Yemeni Women Take Control of Their Lives in Brooklyn
Women from a country in the news for its dysfunction and poverty are reaching out to grasp economic opportunities in their new U.S. home, even as they stay true to traditional roots.
WMC News & Features
January 04, 2010 | Frances Kissling |
Reclaiming Legal Abortion as a Fundamental Right
How did we get to the point where denial of abortion funding for poor women has apparently become an acceptable tradeoff in the campaign for health insurance reform? Here, the former president of Catholics for Choice traces the history and tells us why justice demands the immediate repeal of the Hyde Amendment.
WMC News & Features
December 23, 2009 | Sarah Seltzer |
Arts and culture
The Two Sides of Louisa May Alcott
A new documentary, to air next week on PBS’s “American Masters,” paints the creator of Little Women and its feminist heroine Jo as a complex personality, caught up in the needs of a difficult family.
WMC News & Features
Will Fundamental Rights or Fundamentalism Prevail in the Health Care Battle?
Shortly after midnight, Senate Democrats amassed the 60 votes necessary to pass a key test for health care legislation, but only after bowing to demands on abortion coverage that threaten women’s health and well-being.
WMC News & Features
December 18, 2009 | Betsy Wade |
Media
Honoring a Friend, Recalling a Battle for Women in Journalism
As newspapers suffer hard times, the alumnae of a classic battle at the New York Times paid tribute to their chronicler.
WMC News & Features
Depend on Women to Keep the Momentum Rolling on Global Warming
Women are bringing the word to negotiators at the climate change conference in Copenhagen that those closest to the damaging effects of global warming point the way toward lessening the risks to the most vulnerable among us.
WMC News & Features
Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Calls on Progressive Catholics to Resist Pressure from Bishops on Abortion
At a critical moment for health care reform, Townsend says it is essential for religious progressives to speak up.
WMC News & Features
December 14, 2009 | Barbara Glickstein |
Health
Breast Cancer Screening: Why I Support the New Guidelines
Media coverage of the new guidelines regarding mammography screening has emphasized controversy and focused on fears about health rationing. However, many women’s health advocates have, for years, warned that the tests are oversold. Here, the author explains and asks us to take a rational look at the evidence.
WMC News & Features
December 10, 2009 | Janus Adams |
Arts and culture
“Truth Goes Marching”
Historian Janus Adams reflects on two Civil War exhibits in New York, featuring John Brown and Abraham Lincoln. In a footnote she finds her key to women’s truth, hiding in the margins of history and giving us insight into the issues of today.
WMC News & Features
Morituri te Salutant: On a “Surge” in Afghanistan
The author, an expert on parliamentary diplomacy, says we must focus today on a strengthened political process to successfully end international military engagement in Afghanistan—and that process must respect the rights of women.
WMC News & Features
December 03, 2009 | Sharmeen Akbani Gangat |
International,
Politics,
Religion,
Violence against women
Fort Hood Tragedy: What Muslim Women Really Think
With the murders at Fort Hood, New York’s Muslim community, however unjustly, was on the defensive. The author explains how Muslim women are reacting.
WMC News & Features
Usual Suspects: On Completing the Washington Post’s Next Great American Pundit Contest
The writer made it to the final stages as a contender for coveted space in the pages of one of the nation’s premier newspapers—and learned just how far we are from gaining equal access in public discourse.
WMC News & Features
A Few Acres and a Cow (or Two): Up from Poverty in East Africa
Backed by Gates Foundation funding, women dairy farmers in Uganda are working collectively to care for their families, their livestock, their crops and the earth.
WMC News & Features
Health Care Reform: Pro-choice Forces Win the First Round in the Senate
Senate Democrats held firm to allow debate to begin on a health care bill that avoids the abortion restrictions of the House-passed measure—and pro-choice activists are mobilizing to keep the heat on. But there are many hurdles ahead.
WMC News & Features
Global Gender Gap Report: Some Gains in Africa
In its country-by-country index comparing the status of men and women, the World Economic Forum finds that Nordic countries remain highest on the equity scale. Here, the co-founder of the Council of Women World Leaders explains the study and its importance to women and girls.
WMC News & Features
November 16, 2009 | Nichola Gutgold |
Politics
Sarah Palin Is on the Road Again, But to Where?
Sarah Palin is back in the news, with an appearance on Oprah and a tour to promote her autobiography that can’t fail to excite her supporters. But can she move beyond her base to become a viable candidate again for national office?
WMC News & Features
Will Progressive Groups Help Feminists Stop Stupak?
After the shocking setback in the House for abortion rights, women’s rights groups turned their attention to the Senate, which could begin debate on health care reform next week.
WMC News & Features
The Democrats’ Dilemma: Their Own Trojan Horse Kicks Free
Democratic leaders have said that the turn-around on abortion contained in the House health-reform bill will not appear in the final version. The author, a Women’s Media Center board member and former president ofPlanned Parenthood Federation of America, explains here why voters who value women’s health cannot sit back and accept such assurances.
WMC News & Features
November 10, 2009 | Colette N. Tamko |
International
Finally, a UN Women’s Agency with Muscle
Recently the UN announced approval of a new agency for women—an event that followed years of complex organizing by individuals and advocacy groups around the world. Here, one of the principle coordinators of that ongoing effort explains what it means for women, and the work that still remains to ensure its success.
WMC News & Features
Taking the Fall for Health Care Reform?
The price for health care reform in the House is women’s right to choose—and, adding insult to injury, the deal was negotiated by the first woman to serve as House speaker.
WMC News & Features
Precious Star Claims the Spotlight
With the confidence of a seasoned performer, Gabourey Sidibe portrays a particular character with universal appeal. The movie, based on a Sapphire novel, opens in limited release on Friday.
WMC News & Features
At the UN, Criminalizing Rape as a Weapon
In the last week of October, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made headlines and sparked anger in travels to Israel and Pakistan. Her role some weeks earlier was less controversial yet critically important, as she led UN diplomats forward in an action that could ease the suffering of countless women and girls living in conflict zones around the world.
WMC News & Features
Living With Disability -- And Recession
The U.S. Congress designated October as National Disability Employment Awareness Month. From an international perspective, the author explains how economic hard times are particularly harsh for women with disabilities.
WMC News & Features
From Media Blitz to Women’s Conference: Has Maria Shriver Discerned a Watershed Moment?
A Time magazine cover story and a week of programming on NBC immediately followed the release of The Shriver Report. This week, California’s First Lady will use the findings to engage participants in her annual conference on women. If the continuing activity fails to “ignite a national conversation,” it won’t be for lack of planning and effort.