HERvotes Blog Carnival: #StandUpforWomen! Defeat the Ryan Budget

HERvotes Blog Carnival: #StandUpforWomen! Defeat the Ryan Budget

by Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation and KristinRowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org Tomorrow the House of Representatives will vote on the Ryan Budget.  It is devastating to women’s advancement and to programs that women want and need.  It is the budget that women overwhelming voted against in the 2012 election with a decisive...
Save #VAWA! Pass the Violence Against Women Act: A HERVotes Blog Carnival

Save #VAWA! Pass the Violence Against Women Act: A HERVotes Blog Carnival

by Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org UPDATE (2/28/2013): VICTORY! The House of Representatives decided to stand with students, Native Americans, immigrants, and the LGBT community and passed the Senate inclusive #VAWA in a vote 286-138! ———— At last the House will vote on the Violence Against...
Gender Gap Decisive in Marriage Equality Victories

Gender Gap Decisive in Marriage Equality Victories

Exit poll data revealed a massive and decisive gender gap in voting on the marriage equality ballot measures that just might put to rest once and for all some old gender adages. Women have all too often been cast as the more conservative sex. Nothing could be further from the...
Activists Project "Rape Is Rape" onto US Capitol Sunday

Activists Project “Rape Is Rape” onto US Capitol Sunday

Stories of sexual violence, punctuated by the words “RAPE IS RAPE,” were projected onto the U.S. Capitol building last night in Washington, D.C. Activist groups Luminous Intervention and FORCE: Upsetting Rape Culture organized the action with the intent of drawing attention to the discourse around rape culture, noting that “American...
The Silence of a Laureate: Ethnic & Religious Tensions Rise in Burma

The Silence of a Laureate: Ethnic & Religious Tensions Rise in Burma

When I was growing up in Bangladesh, Burma’s Aung San Suu Kyi never ceased to amaze me. Burma is right next door to us geographically, but as a little girl all I understood about the military junta in Burma was primarily through pictures. I just could not wrap my head...
Marriage at the Supreme Court

Marriage at the Supreme Court

Are you or someone you love in a committed same-sex relationship, hoping to get married? The national debate over marriage equality is about to enter a new phase, as multiple cases make their way to the United States Supreme Court. SCOTUS begins a new session next Monday, and today, in...
It's about time! DC Becomes First City in US to Launch Transgender Equality Campaign

It’s about time! DC Becomes First City in US to Launch Transgender Equality Campaign

The District of Columbia’s Office of Human Rights launched a Transgender and Gender Identity Respect Campaign last week with the aim of  “promoting respect for the District’s transgender and gender non-conforming communities.” This is the first government funded campaign of its kind. The campaign includes a series of print PSAs featuring...
The Invisible 6 Million

The Invisible 6 Million

Nearly 6 million people in the United States will not be allowed to vote in the upcoming presidential election for one reason. As the November election nears, voting rights have become an important topic of conversation. From photo ID requirements to early voting restrictions, the negative effects of barriers to...
NYC Speaker Quinn: Working Women Need Paid Sick Days!

NYC Speaker Quinn: Working Women Need Paid Sick Days!

Christine Quinn is the first female and openly gay New York City Council Speaker.   By speaking out and standing up for the rights of women and queer folks throughout the city, she has received a lot of support from the feminist community as Speaker and as potential NYC mayor.  But...
Supreme Court Health-Care Decision is Historical Advance for Women

Supreme Court Health-Care Decision is Historical Advance for Women

The Feminist Majority Foundation and Ms. magazine are elated that the Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act–the most important advance for women in nearly 40 years. Feminists are determined to protect the gains of the Affordable Care Act, which will protect the lives and health...
Women win BIG in North Dakota!

Women win BIG in North Dakota!

We did it! With your help, feminists made a big difference in North Dakota and pro-choice forces won BIG. Thank you for your support! And thank you North Dakota voters! North Dakotans voted overwhelmingly – 64% to 36% – against Measure 3 the so-called “religious liberties” state Constitutional amendment that...
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El Salvador Supreme Court Hears Arguments to Save Beatriz's Life

El Salvador Supreme Court Hears Arguments to Save Beatriz’s Life

Yesterday the Supreme Court of El Salvador heard open arguments in a case where they will determine if doctors can administer a medically necessary abortion for a woman who could die as a result of her pregnancy. “Beatriz”, who is currently 22 and is already the mother of a young infant, was diagnosed with multiple...
Florida Teenager Arrested Over 'Science Experiment'

Florida Teenager Arrested Over ‘Science Experiment’

A 16 year old student in Bartow, Florida was arrested under felony charges earlier this week after a science experiment caused smoke and a loud noise on school property. Kiera Wilmot* mixed toilet bowl cleaner and aluminum foil in an 8oz plastic bottle for a science experiment after hearing it would produce non-toxic smoke from...
Saudi Arabia Launches First Domestic Violence PSA

Saudi Arabia Launches First Domestic Violence PSA

The King Khalid Foundation (KKF) in Saudi Arabia has launched the first advertising campaign to combat violence against women in Saudi Arabia. The advertisement features a woman in a niqab with a black eye and a caption that reads “Some things can’t be covered – fight women’s abuse together.” Other versions of the poster feature the slogan...
UPDATE: As Death Toll Rises, So Do Protests in Bangladesh

UPDATE: As Death Toll Rises, So Do Protests in Bangladesh

The death toll from a building collapse in Bangladesh on Wednesday has now climbed over 300 as many others are still trapped beneath the wreckage of what used to be garment factories and a shopping center. Shahinur Islam, a Bangladesh Army spokesperson on the collapse, told reporters that the number of people confirmed dead has reached 304. H.T. Imam,...
Woman Could Go To Jail For Life-Saving Abortion In El Salvador

Woman Could Go To Jail For Life-Saving Abortion In El Salvador

A woman who faces a life-threatening, non-viable pregnancy may have to choose between saving her life or going to jail in El Salvador. “Beatriz”, who is currently 22 and already a mother of a young infant, was diagnosed with multiple severe illness and is 18 weeks pregnant. In addition, the fetus will not survive more...
Global Heroes Honored in L.A.

Global Heroes Honored in L.A.

An Afghan rapper. The founder of the first primary school for girls in a Kenyan village. A trailblazing member of Congress who fights to create an AIDS-free generation. An advocate for women’s and children’s rights and empowerment. Tonite in Los Angeles, the Feminist Majority Foundation (publisher of Ms.) will award these four women with its...
Virginia Approves TRAP Laws

Virginia Approves TRAP Laws

The Virginia Board of Health, in a vote of 11 to 2 gave final approval to new regulations on abortion clinics. Opponents of the laws claim that these new regulations will force most of Virginia’s 20 abortion clinics to close. During the hearings, the board listened to arguments from roughly 30 people on either side...
HERvotes Blog Carnival: #StandUpforWomen! Defeat the Ryan Budget

HERvotes Blog Carnival: #StandUpforWomen! Defeat the Ryan Budget

by Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation and KristinRowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org Tomorrow the House of Representatives will vote on the Ryan Budget.  It is devastating to women’s advancement and to programs that women want and need.  It is the budget that women overwhelming voted against in the 2012 election with a decisive gender gap.  HERvotes, with its...
This Season's Paul Ryan? Eric Cantor Takes On VAWA

This Season’s Paul Ryan? Eric Cantor Takes On VAWA

By Terry O’Neil, National Organization for Women House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a powerful player on Capitol Hill who has pretty much flown under the radar with the general public. But I predict that won’t be true much longer. Now that Cantor is taking the lead on blocking reauthorization of an inclusive version of...
Advocating for an Inclusive VAWA

Advocating for an Inclusive VAWA

by Amanda Reed, Communications Intern at the National Organization for Women On Feb. 12, the Senate passed an inclusive version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) that would include provisions for previously-unprotected groups. Last week, the House revealed its own version of VAWA: a watered-down, non-inclusive bill that cuts out these protections. Sound familiar?...
Prioritizing Campus Safety

Prioritizing Campus Safety

There is a crisis at colleges and universities across the nation­. In just the first six weeks of 2013, a Huffington Post survey found 75 instances of sexual assaults reported on college campuses. This is outrageous, but we shouldn’t be surprised. A U.S. Department of Justice study found that around 28 percent of womenare targets...
Save #VAWA! Pass the Violence Against Women Act: A HERVotes Blog Carnival

Save #VAWA! Pass the Violence Against Women Act: A HERVotes Blog Carnival

by Eleanor Smeal, Feminist Majority Foundation and Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, MomsRising.org UPDATE (2/28/2013): VICTORY! The House of Representatives decided to stand with students, Native Americans, immigrants, and the LGBT community and passed the Senate inclusive #VAWA in a vote 286-138! ———— At last the House will vote on the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) today. The...