Women, Peace and Security: US State Dept takes a lead

from Feministing.com: Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a new plan introduced by the U.S. government to help protect women and girls in conflict zones and ensure that peace processes include women.

UN report says all states should provide access to safe abortion, contraception

Read about it in Feministing.

NYT and Global Women

Follow the Female Factor in the International Herald Tribune here.

Global Gender Gap

By World Economic Forum

For China's Educated Single Ladies, Finding Love Is Often a Struggle By Deborah Jian Lee

Speaking of Families Worldwide, read here in the Atlantic.

NYT: Protecting the Rights of Surrogate Mothers in India

Costs and issues are in NYTs.

"The cost of surrogacy for prospective parents is about $14,000 in India, compared with an estimated $70,000 in the United States."

"But a team of researchers from Sama, a nongovernmental women’s health organization, has raised concerns about the bill in a recent paper. "

"But Sama notes that it does not address the number of assisted reproductive cycles a woman can experience, an important issue for the women’s health. "

"The proposed law does not spell out what a surrogate mother would be paid in the case of a miscarriage or other complications during pregnancy. "

"In 2008, Dr. Sadhna Arya, a gynecologist in Jaipur, was part of the team of doctors involved in the complex case of a baby who was born to an Indian surrogate mother after the contracting couple, from Japan, decided to divorce. At the time, Dr. Arya spoke out against the way in which surrogate mothers were treated in India: “You have treated the surrogate mother like an object, used her as a factory.”

From NYT: Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Three Activist Women

Left, Leymah Gbowee in September; center: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the Liberian president, on Friday; right: Tawakul Karman in Sana, Yemen, on Friday.

Read here.

Quotes from NYT:

“We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society,” said the citation read by Thorbjorn Jagland

In Yemen on Friday, Ms. Karman, 32, sat in a tent where she has been living since February as part of the sit-in organized to press demands for change. “This is the victory of our peaceful revolution,” she said. “I am so happy and I give this award to all of the youth and all of the women across the Arab world, in Egypt, in Tunisia.”

“We cannot build our country or any country in the world without peace,” she said.

Place this in context of our understanding of the way war affects women's health. From your text:

"Economic globalization has facilitated wars worldwide that affect women's health . . . . 80% of refugees are women and children . . . Wars limit access to clean water, food, shelter etc. Armed conflict threatens women's rights, including repro. rights and health, and can exacerbate culturally-rooted gender inequalities."

Conditions caused by war "often result in higher maternal mortality rates."

"Rape, sexual exploitation, and sex for survival during war leads to early pregnancies and puts w at greater risk of HIV/AIDS, STIs, and increase of often unsafe abortions, psychological harm, and immediate and serious physical injuries, such as infertility, obstetric fistula, and vaginal bleeding."

Feministing Community Blog Video Campus Events My Feministing GOP proposes eliminating Title X family planning funding

Read here.

Use of one Contraceptive in Africa May Double Risk of H.I.V.

Read here.

Undocumented Women Forced To Give Birth While Shackled And In Police Custody

Read this. Videos are included. The state of California is trying to pass a bill against shackling pregnant women. More here.

Midwives are the solution to many problems

Website.

'Mother Robin' delivers for poor women in Indonesia

Video and story here.

Soccer match attended by only women.