Sakena Yacoobi is on a mission. Her goal is to bring education to Afghanistan, a country that has a 70 percent illiteracy rate. Her main focus is girls and women. She believes education can ameliorate the ravages of 35 years—and counting—of war. She speaks with an urgency that emanates from that core conviction. To “build a better future for Afghanistan,” she founded the
Afghan Institute of Learning in 1995. “Empowerment” is…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on October 11, 2009 at 9:19pm —
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Human trafficking...the statistics are overwhelming. Approximately 800,000 people are illegally trafficked through international borders annually. 1.39 million people are trafficked into sexual exploitation. There are 16,600 people trafficked into the United States yearly, with America being one of the top ten destinations. New York City serves as a major portal for this activity.
A new film documentary,
Fatal Promises directed…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on September 17, 2009 at 11:09pm —
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With First Lady Michelle Obama leading the charge to put the struggle for work/life balance front and center, the issue is finally getting top-level attention. Although both men and women in American society are overstretched (working two weeks longer per year than their Japanese counterparts and several weeks more than Europeans), it is women who bear the greatest burden of trying to be all things to all people. Stress is prevalent as women strive to parcel out portions of time to the spouse, c…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on September 4, 2009 at 2:36am —
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Women who have taken part in demonstrations are now being executed. However, according to the prevailing conservative version of Islamic law being enacted in Iran, a virgin can not be killed. Currently, the women who took part in the opposition protest who have been arrested are being "married" to prison guards...who then consummate the marriage through rape.
The women are then killed.
…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on July 28, 2009 at 11:16pm —
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On January 11th, executive coach Peggy Klaus wrote an article for the
New York Times called
“
A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting.” In it, she examined how women treat one another at work, and stressed the importance of “learning to value one another so we can all get ahead.” She referred to this issue as the “pink elephant lurking in the room.”
The room she was specifying was the office, but I couldn’t hel…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on January 28, 2009 at 11:46pm —
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Along with the rest of the country eagerly anticipating the inauguration of Barack Obama, the majority of American women will be reveling in the fact that those who wanted to curb a woman’s right to choose didn’t make it to the Oval Office.
However, after the warm glow subsides, the reality of working to regain traction on ground that was lost during the Bush administration will set in. With a president in the White House who understands and accepts a woman’s right to reproductive justice, the…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on January 24, 2009 at 2:09pm —
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In their sixth poll since November 2007, Lifetime's
Everywoman Counts campaign assessed what women were thinking, post-election. Their latest survey had partners WomanTrend and Lake Research conducting a nationwide telephone poll of 600 women. The live interviews took place from November 21-24, with sampling controls to ensure proportional demographics reflecting race, age, and region. The focus was on "women's reaction to the presidential election and it's impact on the future of female…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on December 12, 2008 at 12:07am —
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In the global crisis of violence against women, there is a heated debate about the best way to approach the issues at the intersection of HIV/AIDS and human trafficking. The language used to describe the two differing schools of thought says it all. They are the terms "harm elimination" and "harm reduction." The former entails the abolishment of sexual slavery, trafficking, and prostitution. The latter involves working to ameliorate the HIV/AIDS crisis in a pre-existing negative situation. Distr…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on December 2, 2008 at 10:21pm —
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One topic that spawned plenty of conversation during the race for the presidency, was the role of gender. Last week, New York Women In Communications presented
The Spin Room: Gender, Politics & Media in the 2008 Election. The panel of four, Geraldine Ferraro, Arianna Huffington, Lesley Jane Seymour, and Marie Wilson -- with moderator Carol Jenkins at the helm -- dug into a range of issues navigating territory that has been well-trod, albeit without resolution.
Jenkins, President of t…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on November 22, 2008 at 4:57pm —
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With the election of Barack Obama, women voters who put him in the Oval Office will be waiting to see if gender issues are a priority. One leader in women's advocacy who will be watching is Faye Wattleton, President and co-founder of the Center for the Advancement of Women.
In late October, Wattleton's organization held its fifth annual benefit, "Changing the Landscape for Women." It paid tribute to Abigail E. Disney, Pat Mitchell, and Dr. Nancy Snyderman - three shape shifters in their respect…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on November 11, 2008 at 5:24pm —
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It's over. The long primary season and the fight for the presidency are finished. Everything crystallized on the night of November 4th when Barack Obama took the stage with his wife and two young daughters. The scene felt like a contemporary version of 1960, when John F. Kennedy captured the imagination of the country. The nation was swept with a tide of idealism, and the belief that every individual could make a difference.
Now that excitement and euphoria have given way to quiet thoughts abou…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on November 6, 2008 at 11:41pm —
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With the nomination of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket, women who had scattered after Hillary Clinton's defeat in the Democratic primary were reenergized as they coalesced in their opposition to
Palin's abortion viewpoint. Augmenting McCain's commitment to overturn Roe v. Wade, Palin ratcheted
up the discourse with her position of no abortion exceptions in the case of rape or incest. "She can't keep the women's vote if they actually know what she is suggesting," was the popular wisdom. Yet,…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on October 28, 2008 at 11:03pm —
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As the nation prepared to watch the final installment in the McCain-Obama debate series, Wednesday (10/15), a group of Ms. Foundation supporters gathered at Carolines on Broadway. The occasion was the 19th Annual Comedy Hour hosted by the club's owner Caroline Hirsch.
Feminists have often been accused of not having a sense of humor (How could they survive without one?), but this relaxed event had laughs to spare. Before the eight female stand-up comics strutted their stuff, I asked several peop…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on October 25, 2008 at 2:08am —
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"The Time Warner Summit: Politics 2008," held at the Time Warner headquarters in New York City and co-sponsored with CNN, was a corporate branded event with big name heavy-hitters taking on questions about media, news, and the election. After attending both days of the conference, it reinforced my belief that digital media was the future for pushing out women's stories, concerns, and dialogues.
There were many prominent women featured. Campbell Brown, CNN Anchor, moderated the opening keynote r…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on October 23, 2008 at 12:03am —
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Like everyone else in America, I was waiting to see how the match up between Palin and Biden would transpire. Beyond the giddy atmosphere that was building (somewhat between a sporting event and a game show), was a deeper, darker space. It was a low, wide valley occupied by symbols and ambiguities of murky distinctions -- the roles of gender and race in the 2008 election.
Those specific issues were discussed and debated at a two-day symposium at St. John's University. As
I sat down to watch the…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on October 17, 2008 at 12:48am —
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Donna Brazile was the keynote speaker at the St. John's University School of Law's presentation
Making History: Race, Gender, and the Media in the 2008 Elections.
Brazile, the first African American to lead a major presidential campaign (Gore-Lieberman 2000), wowed the assembled crowd with a combination of thoughtful insights, dry humor, insider anecdotes, and culinary metaphors. Currently th…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on October 6, 2008 at 1:00am —
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Washington, D.C. – September 24. Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director of
MomsRising, and fifteen local Mothers were prevented from delivering a letter signed by 22,000 voters to the office of Governor Sarah Palin.
The letter, which I wrote about previously, was to ascertain where Palin stands on issues directly
impacting mothers and families.
In a scene that sounded like an outtake from a Michael Moore movie, what started out as a simple visit to…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on September 25, 2008 at 11:40pm —
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New York City – On Sunday, September 21, Women for Obama held a press conference on the steps of City Hall. Arriving early, after navigating the security point guarding the government edifice (referred to by one official as “the house of the people”), I had a chance to interview some of those who had been invited to attend.
In contrast to the narrative that has been promulgated about disgruntled Hillary supporters, the women
I conversed with had moved on without trauma. Martha Baker, a consulta…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on September 25, 2008 at 7:07pm —
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A "grassroots" letter that will be presented to Sarah Palin by MomsRising is currently on their site, available for signature. To date, 20,000 women's names have been collected. The question is asked of Palin, "Where do you stand on issues that matter to me?" After extending heartfelt congratulations to the Governor on her path from "PTA to Vice Presidential candidate," the organization gets down to brass tacks by specifically asking what she and the Republican Party would do for mothers and fam…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on September 23, 2008 at 1:50pm —
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Washington - Top leaders from women’s rights groups gathered to announce their support of the Barack Obama - Joe Biden ticket at an emotionally charged press conference on Tuesday, September 16th. Qualifying that it was an unusual move for her organization to make an endorsement, Kim Gandy, chair of the
NOW PAC (National Organization for Women Political Action Committee) stated, “This is an unprecedented candidate and an unprecedented time for our country.”
Gan…
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Added by Marcia G. Yerman on September 17, 2008 at 11:01pm —
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