Women's Rights

Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama greeted recipients hand in hand at an award ceremony yesterday for this year's Secretary of State's Awards For International Women. Seven women who have shown leadership despite struggles with discrimination and inequality received awards. And, no, not feeling the purple bow tie either!

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If you're a Nepalese woman in search of a tiara, the outlook is bleak. The ruling Maoist party has postponed the Miss Nepal contest, set to be held this weekend, for the sixth time this year. In the battle between beauty queens and bureaucrats, oddly their takes on the issue are at once at odds and the same.

The women who were supposed to have been in the canceled pageant say they've been "victimized" by the government's decision. The government says they were trying to stop a practice that they say discriminates against some ethnic groups and demeans women. Specifically, according to the Maoist's most senior woman, it's not fair to shorter, darker women and further objectifies the winners by making them appear in toothpaste and shampoo ads.

To see the women's rights ramifications, read more

In the fight for girl power, three women have jumped into the ring in the past 24 hours with very different viewpoints. Katie Couric, in Israel covering Obama's world tour made this striking proclamation:

I find myself in the last bastion of male dominance, and realizing what Hillary Clinton might have realized not long ago: that sexism in the American society is more common than racism, and certainly more acceptable or forgivable.

Sexism trumps racism? So what's a girl to do? Oh! I know! We'll ask Brooke Hogan (of the dubiously-named Brooke Knows Best) what the role for women should be! Here's her take:

I think it's kind of crazy that a woman is running because I think that women deal with a lot of emotions and menopause and PMS and stuff. Like, I'm so moody all the time, I know I couldn't be able to run a country, because I would be crying one day and yelling at people the next day, you know?

Surely a gal has to be Wonder Woman to exist in both realms, fighting for a world where woman can and should be allowed to do it all, amid the utterings of a generation of Brooke Hogans who glimpsed the dream of equality and said, "nah." That superhero fighting could be the very element that's undoing feminism. To see how, read more

The Roman Catholic Church has signaled the start of Schism 2.0 (at least), thanks to the Church of England's decision to allow women bishops in its Church. As for its own clergy, the Vatican has promised automatic excommunication for any Catholic bishop who attempts to ordain a woman as a priest.

The Catholic cardinal in charge of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity said:

"Such a decision is a break with apostolic tradition maintained in all of the Churches in the first millennium, and is therefore a further obstacle for reconciliation between the Catholic Church and the Church of England."

The cardinal warned that the Church of England's decision would have a long-term impact on the previously fruitful interfaith dialogue.

Does the Catholic Church's belief that since Christ chose only men as his apostles, only men can be priests represent an irreconcilable difference between Catholics and Anglicans? What would be gained by a healthy dialogue between the two Christian churches that separated during the 16th century?

• G-8 on Energy, Climate, and Africa:
  Amid protests, the leaders of the G-8 economic powers acknowledged today that rising food and oil prices will affect world growth, but they're optimistic that the global economy will snap back. Calling on petroleum suppliers to boost production, they expressed their "strong concern" over commodity prices. Then the G-8 confirmed a goal to cut global greenhouse gases by 50 percent by 2050, with additional goals for developing countries. Divisions came during a meeting with African leaders over the situation in Zimbabwe, with the US and Britain proposing an arms embargo and the African leaders promoting a power-sharing agreement.




• Women Bishops Allowed:
  The governing body of the Anglican Church in Britain voted yesterday to approve the appointment of women as bishops in the church. It's a step that could risk a schism in the church while still battling the most serious threat to its unity over allowing gay clergy members. The vote in favor of women came 16 years after similar debate to approve the ordination of women as ministers within the British church.
• Free Gas For Life:
  The Florida Lottery has instituted an attractive second place prize in response to climbing oil prices — free gas for life. Players consider the prize more attractive than the cash grand prize. With the average price over $4 a gallon, one Floridian said we've hit a tipping point where, "gas has become more precious than cash now."

In Albania, gender equality has a literal meaning — and a less modern, more traditional translation that your 9 to 5 or Working Girl tropes. For centuries, sworn virginity has allowed woman to live as men, with all the responsibilities and rights that accompany the role in a conservative society.

In closed-off rural northern Albania, the practice of swapping genders was a practical solution motivated by social necessity, for a family with a shortage of men. One woman decided to make the change after her father was killed leaving no male heir. The custom she chose requires a vow of lifetime virginity — in exchange for living as a man with all the authority the gender commands — including the obligation to avenge her father’s death. Though she says she wouldn't necessarily do it now, then it was an easy decision:

Back then, it was better to be a man because before a woman and an animal were considered the same thing. Now, Albanian women have equal rights with men, and are even more powerful. I think today it would be fun to be a woman.

With sexual equality and modern trappings seeping into Albania (including MTV which popped in after the fall of the Berlin Wall) the tradition is fading. Not needing to make the vow to own property, move freely, or avoid an arranged marriage, now there are only about 40 sworn virgins remaining. The decision not only created equality in life, it created equality in worth. A woman is worth is half that of a man, but a virgin is worth the same as a man — 12 oxen.

The changes of modern times don't sit well with all the sworn virgins. To see why, read more

Al Qaeda and the United States military do share one thing in common: the debate to allow women in combat.

Ayman al-Zawahiri, Al Qaeda’s second in command, stated in April that the terrorist group does not have women in its ranks and that the women’s role should be restricted to domestic work and nurturing children. This raised an outcry from women eager to fight and who believe their right to fight are being denied.

The director of the SITE Intelligence Group which monitors Internet sites that cater to more militant factions said:

Women were very disappointed because what al-Zawahiri said is not what’s happening today in the Middle East, especially in Iraq or Palestinian groups. Suicide operations are being carried out by women, who play an important role in jihad.

Experts indicate that there are no women in Osama bin Laden’s inner decision-making core group, but outside that group there are many offshoots where women may play important roles. In a bleak variation of starting on the bottom rung, women are increasingly serving as suicide bombers. In Iraq since the 2003 invasion, women have been responsible for at least 20 attempted suicide bombings and the US military has said in the past year they have captured al Qaeda members suspected of being trained to use suicide belts. Though al Qaeda is an all-boys club, women are signing up other places. To find out where, read more

I knew the hijab (the scarf Muslim women cover their head with) is symbolic, but I hadn't given much thought to just how meaningful the decision whether or not to don it is until I read this piece in Slate. Especially for Muslim women living in America, covering up or not varies just as often as someone might switch jobs or leave a relationship, and it's just as life changing.

The author of the piece tells of her own decision to cover and shares other's stories, too. One woman originally covered up as an act of rebellion, a way to stand out — but decided to unveil later after being set up with potential dates who thought her hijab broadcast a submissive attitude toward marriage whereas her education had prompted her to examine roles for men and women laid out in classical Islamic law. To see it applied in modern times, read more

One politician wants to add a woman's right to sexual happiness to Ecuador's new constitution. While her opponents claim she is trying to legislate orgasms, Maria Soledad Vela says that she simply wants to recognize the right to enjoy sex in a more open society. Since the new constitution will recognize the rights of indigenous communities and the poor, she says women should also be represented.

It seems like governments all over the world are always trying to legislate issues that can't exactly be solved with a law. Remember the Kentucky lawmaker who wanted to make anonymous Internet posting illegal? Or the fact that in Italy, it is illegal for men to grab their genitals in public. Why do you think governments have such an expansive view regarding what is appropriate for legislation?

Perhaps these politicians have worthy intentions — by calling to legislate sexual happiness for women, Soledad Vela has ignited a debate in conservative Ecuador about the female position in society. She hopes that an official endorsement of female pleasure will end the treatment of women as sexual objects.

Do you think Soledad Vela should be commended for trying to stop female sexual subordination? Or, is she treading on something intimate that has nothing to do with politics or law? Would you like to see a constitutional right like this in your country?

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