Weekly News Wrap Up – July 30, 2010

FEATURED STORY: Is being confirmed to the Supreme Court harder if you are a woman?

Senator Patrick Leahy (D – Vermont) has recently made comments comparing the confirmation process of the two recent females nominated to the Supreme Court (Sonia Sotomayor , Elena Kagan) and that of the males nominated during the Bush presidency.  These comparisons are leading many to question if the differences, mostly in the time and intensity invested in the process, are the result of the candidates’ sexes. Read Article Here

Read More about Women’s Rights around the World, the Economy, The Supreme Court & How Women are Challenging Tradition…

http://equalwrites.org/2010/04/17/pro-life-or-pro-choice-why-not-both/

Reproductive Freedom

• As a result of the new health care reform law, Pennsylvania was on the cusp of providing insurance covered elective abortions.  The incredibly quick reaction by so called Pro-Life organizations and their success in the elimination of this reproductive option brings attention to the lack of presence of Pro-Choice organizations.  Often stigmatized as radical and zealous, Women’s Rights organizations are facing an uphill battle, citing the lack of urgency among their supporters for their delayed responses. Read Article Here

http://www.feministezine.com/feminist/international/Taliban-and-Afghan-Women.html

Women’s Rights Around the World

• As of late, there has been a growing amount coverage on the place of womenin the Afghanistan war.  This article details the fact that as much as women long for peace in their country, if it comes in the form of a settlement with the Taliban, it is not worth it.  Women’s rights established at the beginning of the war are already crumbling away. Read Article Here
• Two weeks ago, an article was featured in the Wrap Up about how women seem to be struggling between their new andtraditional roles in Egypt.  This week, a woman from Egypt’s Press and Information Office, objects and responds to the claims made by that article. Read Article Here
  • Read the Original Article Here

The Supreme Court

• As Elena Kagan’s confirmation process continues, the one Democrat, Senator Ben Nelson (D – Nebraska), has announced that he will not be voting with his party to confirm Justice Kagan. His cites his constituency’s disapproval for his dissent.  Read Article Here

The Economy

• In the new Wall Street reform legislation, the new role of government in the economy is coming to light in an unexpected way.  The Federal Government has the power to force companies to have more diversity centered hiring processes. Wall Street has remained a white man’s world, during years in which most other parts of American society have seen significant growth in diversity. Yet Republicans, including those who voted for the bill, see this forced heterogeneity  as a method of forced quota systems which they believe have no place in the financial world. Read Article Here

(http://nabirecyber.blogspot.com/2008/05/julia-perez-kamasutra-2008.html)

Women Challenging Tradition

• This New York Times article profiles Julia Perez, an entertainer, famous in Indonesia for her unabashedly sexy music andimage.  Perez is now running for office and her candidacy has resulted in attempts to change the democratic system in place so that “immoral” people, such as a woman who openly embraces her sexuality, could be blocked from running for office. Read Article Here

• In India, the traditional dress of women is the Sari, and now, perhaps as a result of globalization or as a display of independence, young women are casting the Sari aside.  This Op-Ed piece describes what may lie behind this change in Indian culture. Read Article Here

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Arielle Algarin has written 6 articles on this blog.

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