Why women’s right to vote is important not only for gender equality but for the planet It been a political roller-coaster of a year for the Middle East and it doesn’t look set to stop just yet. Yesterday, an event many thought would never happen in their lifetime finally happened- Saudi women were granted the […]
Amnesty International is calling for an investigation into a report that a female activist was tortured in custody following protests over Lake Orumieh’s destruction in Iran The Iranian government’s reaction to protests over the ever-shrinking Lake Orumieh (Salt Lake) has taken another sinister turn as reports emerge that female activist and journalist Faranak Farid, aged […]
Breast feeding moms have lower blood pressure and behave more aggressively compared to women who are bottle-feeding their children, suggesting that breast-feeding dampens the body’s typical stress response to fear, new research suggests. Women who breast-feed are far more likely to demonstrate a “mama bear” effect — aggressively protecting their infants and themselves — than […]
On June 17th, she started to drive the car, not pose in front of it. In a defiant move against the repressive treatment of females in Saudi Arabia, women across the Kingdom will do something commonplace around the world but forbidden in their country: they’ll start driving. Consider it the shot across the hood (much […]
Certain plants, especially those rich in phyto-estrogens, are being looked at more closely for their role in growing a healthier bosom. Using herbs and foods to enhance a woman’s form date back to ancient times, and some suggest that the use of tinctures, massage oils and brews were popular among Egyptian harems. Some of the […]
Hayat Sindi holds up the postage stamp-sized invention that could save the lives of millions of people Born in Saudi Arabia, Hayat Sindi’s path into science may be rather untraditional for a Muslim women but it is there she has excelled and developed technologies which could improve the health of people living in the developing […]
Women undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization are understandably stressed, but now they may find something to smile about; new research out of Israeli hints at the value of ‘Medical Clowns’ towards improving IFV success rates. In a recent study of 219 women undergoing In-Vitro Fertilization (IVF), Israeli researchers found the odds of success were greater among women […]
UNICEF in this news piece has announced that although a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region have made considerable progress towards improving the health of mothers and children, disparities within these countries persist, making this progress inequitable. “The health and well-being of mothers and children is often determined not […]
Tanning beds are NOT the way to get your Vitamin D fix. Last year, the Israeli Ministry of Health issued a statement that tanning beds are as hazardous to your health as sunbathing. “In light of the accumulating knowledge on the rise of skin cancer – including malignant melanoma – the ministry is warning the […]
Conservative Muslim bloggers and women’s rights activists bring harassers and inadequate legal and cultural protection to task, with women leading the charge. Women’s rights are a key environmental issue, a topic we’ve covered in recent articles about the need for a language revolution and the Arab Spring of women. Women in the MENA region are […]
SlutWalk Toronto took just six weeks to organize, and now a dozen protests are planned worldwide. Is the Middle East next on the slut map? Without exception, every major human rights organization, from Amnesty International, the World Health Organization, and World Pulse to the Association for Women’s Rights in Development point to the clear connection […]
Senator Snowe and her 16 female Senate Colleagues Introduce a Resolution Calling for Women’s Rights in North Africa and the Middle East. Following weeks of tumult and protests in North Africa and the Middle East, Senator Olympia J. Snowe, a Republican from Maine, is leading her 16 female Senate colleagues in emphasizing the vital importance […]
Amnesty International has called on the Egyptian authorities to investigate serious allegations of torture, including forced ‘virginity tests’, inflicted by the army on women protesters (we've written about in Egypt) arrested in Tahrir Square earlier this month.
If she’s a GINK, her uterus is officially closed for reproduction. There’s a ‘dirty little’ secret that’s now coming to a green light in discussions around the sustainability cooler these days. Children, it turns out, do not guarantee happiness. In fact, the benefits of going childless are actually well documented, and in lieu of the […]
A new condom company, Love Begins with L., epitomizes the heart and soul of ecosexuality. Founded by independent photojournalist, Talia Frenkel – whose work with the Red Cross exposed her to the plight of women in Africa, South East Asia and the Middle East – the message behind the product is simple: