Young American Women Guarding Iraqi Detainees, Senate Dems Finally Pursue Abortion Strategy

"The outcome won't depress us. We're full of hope, ambition and determination for women to have a role...this is the first political experience for women and it's a harbinger of good things to come."
-Laila al-Othman, women's rights activist and writer, told Reuters after Kuwaiti women lost in yesterday's election


Reproductive Rights

Senate Dems to pursue new strategy on abortion - The Hill
The Senate Democratic leadership says it has found a wedge issue to strengthen the party's position on abortion rights, which top strategists think has become a liability in recent years. The wedge is legislation expanding access to contraceptives and sex education, which polls show a majority of Americans support but which Democrats are betting will be difficult for social conservatives in the Republican base to accept. Democratic strategists say the time is right for action because women who support abortion rights but are not politically engaged are alarmed by the confirmation of Samuel Alito as Sandra Day O'Connor's replacement on the Supreme Court and by the passage of legislation strictly curbing the availability of abortion there.

Abortion Bill Headed To Governor's Desk - KPHO
The Arizona Senate Tuesday approved a bill to require doctors to tell women seeking abortions that their fetuses could experience pain even if the women receive pain medication. The Senate approved the bill on a 17-13 vote, with Democrat Linda Aguirre siding with 16 Republicans in voting for it and Republicans Toni Hellon of Tucson and Carolyn Allen of Scottsdale joining 11 Democrats in voting against it. The bill has already been passed by the House so it now goes to Governor Napolitano, an abortion-rights supporter who since taking office in 2003 has vetoed several measures supported by abortion opponents.

Northern Uganda Leading Abortion Rates, Says Report - The Monitor
As the war continues to take its toll on the people of northern Uganda, another damning report has revealed that the north has the highest rate of abortions. The report titled, "the incidence of induced abortion in Uganda" was compiled by the Makerere University Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. According to the report, one in every five pregnant women carries out abortion while the proportion of unwanted pregnancies has hit a staggering 50 per cent mark.


Iraq

Young, Female and Guarding Detainees in Iraq - Yo! Youth Outlook
When Alanna Jones, 19, was a high school student she attended almost every anti-war protest held in San Francisco. Then, two years ago, she joined the Air Force to get money for school, to see the world and because it was a steady job. She had no idea that within a year of joining she would be serving guard duty at Camp Bucca, an internment facility for enemy prisoners of war in southern Iraq. "We're out there and we're doing a job," Alanna tells me in an interview during her most recent trip home. "Some people don't have choices. They need a way out of their home life and some people do it to support their country."


In the Workplace

Former Employees Fight to Sue Native American Casino - ABCNews
Native American casinos are a $20 billion a year industry. But because many of the casinos are on sovereign Indian land, many state and federal laws do not apply to them. At the Thunder Valley Casino outside Sacramento, Calif., seven female former employees are having difficulty suing the company for alleged harassment and discrimination. "It's a very hostile work environment, especially toward women," said Cheryl Dalton, former assistant to the director of marketing. Beverage supervisor Elizabeth Ward added, "I saw so many girls in my office either crying, ashamed, humiliated."

Breaking through the glass ceiling is as hard as ever - Knight Ridder
Where are the women? Despite a generation of Take Our Daughters to Work days. Despite college and graduate school enrollments among women that exceed that of men. Despite a work-force participation rate since the mid-1960s that soared like a plane on takeoff, so that three-fourths of all working-age women now are in the labor force. The upper echelon of U.S. business is still a decidedly male bastion. For nearly half a century, American women have been networked into the business world, yet they remain vastly underrepresented in corporate boardrooms and corner offices. A Census report in 2003 said fewer than one in five top-level managers are women, and women hold only a third of management jobs in general. Various surveys indicate only about one in seven directors of the nation's largest publicly traded companies are women.


International

Kuwaiti women lose out in their first election - Reuters
A former police officer won Tuesday's local by-election in Kuwait, dashing the hopes of women who voted and ran for office for the first time in the Gulf Arab state. Official results released on Wednesday showed ex-lieutenant colonel Yousef al-Suwaileh got the final seat in the Municipal Council, beating seven other candidates including two women. The other 15 council members were elected or appointed last year. Last May, parliament passed a government-sponsored bill granting suffrage to women who have fought for political rights for more than four decades.