Woman in live-in relationship killed by brother
By IANS,
Ghaziabad : A woman who was in a live-in relationship was shot dead by her brother in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad district, a police official said Thursday.
Priyanka, 27, was shot thrice by her brother Sonu in Hapur town of Ghaziabad district late Wednesday.
"We are making efforts to arrest Sonu who is involved in several criminal cases of heinous nature at various places in Western Uttar Pradesh and Delhi," said Jagdish Sharma, superintendent of police (rural), Ghaziabad.
Males are good at sniffing out infidelities
By IANS,
Washington : Straying women beware. The male is particularly good at sniffing out your infidelities, even though you may have fine-tuned the art of concealing your liasons.
"Eighty percent of women's inferences about fidelity or infidelity were correct, but men were even better, accurate 94 per cent of the time," said Paul Andrews at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, who conducted the study with colleagues.
HIV positive woman’s last wish remains unfulfilled
By IANS,
Kolkata : The "last wish" of Mawii, a 22-year-old HIV positive patient from Mizoram, to die in the arms of her parents at home, remained unfulfilled as she died here while changing flights on way from Bangalore to Aizawl, sparking an argument between her friends and Air India.
Mawii, a terminal patient, was under treatment at the Bowring hospital, Bangalore, and was flown to Kolkata Monday morning after she expressed her wish to die at her home.
Saudi Arabia to set up world’s largest women-only varsity
By IANS,
Dubai : The world's largest university exclusively for women is to come up in Saudi Arabia, with Saudi King Abdullah scheduled to lay the foundation stone.
The Riyadh Women's University will be the world's largest institute for higher studies when the project is completed in 2010.
The university will have 13 colleges and will cover an area of eight million square metres north of the Saudi capital.
Fewer women making it to the top in corporate world
By IANS,
Sydney : Fewer women are making it to the top in the corporate world, a trend that has been particularly noticeable over the last two years, according to a newly released report here.
Macquarie University's Peter McGraw, director of the Labour-Management Studies Foundation which compiled and analysed the newly released 2008 data for Equal Opportunities for Women in the Workplace Agency (EOWA), said the numbers did not surprise him.
Khushboo Mirza, member of Chandrayaan-1 team, talks to TCN
By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: When the whole India was basking in the glory of launching of Chandrayaan-1 it was also the turn of Chaugori Mohalla, a tiny, traditional Muslim neighborhood in UP's Amroha district to take pride in the successful launching of the satellite. A daughter of the village was part of the mission Chandrayaan.
The villagers are very proud of her so much so that they have started calling it Khushboo Mirza’s village.
Blood ties stronger, Pakistani woman in Chandigarh shows how
By IANS,
Chandigarh : This was an India-Pakistan bloodletting of a different sort. A housewife from Pakistan has donated blood for dengue patients here, showing that blood ties are stronger than anything else.
In a gesture filled with warmth and affection for her Indian friends, Rashida Raza of Lahore donated blood at the Rotary and Blood Bank Society Resource Centre here to help dengue patients who were suffering due to shortage of life-saving blood platelets.
German rape victim’s mother asked to give income details
By IANS,
Panaji : The Goa police have been harassing the mother of a raped minor German girl, asking her to provide details not relevant to the case, her lawyer said here Monday.
"She has been asked to give details of her daily activities, her business details, source of income and vehicles purchased in Goa. These things are not relevant to the case," lawyer Aires Rodrigues told reporters.
The Calangute police, probing the offence, have given the mother a two-day notice to come forward with details, he said.
Rheumatoid arthritis rising among women
Washington, Oct 27 (IANS) After lying dormant for four decades, rheumatoid arthritis has resurfaced among women in the US.
"More research needs to be done to better understand the causes and treatment of this devastating disease," said Sherine Gabriel, Mayo Clinic rheumatologist and lead investigator of the study.
From 1955 to 1994, its incidence had continually been on the decline, but changed in mid-nineties. When Mayo researchers analysed patient data from early 1995 to early 2005, they found that both the incidence and prevalence (percentage) of the condition were rising.
Women to play key role in Mizoram polls
By Sujit Chakraborty, IANS,
Aizawl : Women are set to play a major role in the Nov 29 assembly elections in Mizoram - the only state in India where women voters outnumber men.
Of the total of 611,124 voters eligible to exercise their franchise in next month's elections to the 40-seat Mizoram assembly, 308,884 are women and 302,240 men.
Women outnumbered men voters by 3,816 during the last assembly polls in 2003.
Woman prisoner tries to escape by scaling 22-feet jail wall
By IANS,
Raipur : A woman prisoner scaled a 22-feet jail wall and jumped off it to escape but broke her leg during the fall and was caught by the prison guards, the police said.
Amrika Bai, 28, is facing a 10-year jail term since 2007 and late Saturday dodged the jail security to try and escape by scaling the complex wall.
But she was caught when the guards deployed outside the jail complex spotted her. She tried to run away with a fractured leg and bruises but the guards caught her.
Pregnant women helpless at Orissa relief camps
By Prashant K. Nanda, IANS,
Kandhamal (Orissa) : Pregnant women are the worst sufferers in the relief camps for victims of anti-Christian violence. Their houses burnt down, over two dozen women have given birth during their stay in the makeshift tents in the last two months and many more are expecting.
Besides sleeping on the ground, with just a plastic mat to lie upon even though it gets cold at night, and eating just dal and rice, they have to cope with inadequate medical attention at several relief camps - far from the comfort of their homes.
Indian women’s team inspired by men’s thrashing of Oz
By IANS,
Melbourne : The Indian women's cricket team is drawing inspiration from their male counterparts as they begin their tour to Australia.
After Ricky Ponting's men were annihilated in Mohali, the Indian women's team have vowed to continue the onslaught on the Aussies Down Under.
Indian coach Sudha Shah said she was looking forward to the three-week tour which will feature one Twenty20 clash and five one-day internationals.
"When we see how our men performed we would love to do the same thing out here," Shah was quoted as saying in Daily Telegraph.
Canadian HIV man’s 20 sexual partners untraced
By IANS,
Toronto : Medical authorities in Canada have failed to trace 20 women who had unprotected sex with an HIV-infected man facing murder trial for causing death of two women by infection.
Ugandan-born Johnson Aziga, 52, who was diagnosed with HIV in 1996, was warned to inform his sexual partners about his HIV condition.
But he went on to have unprotected sex with numerous women, including the 13 who have been identified.
Seven of these women have tested positive for HIV. Two of them have since died. Four women, who had sex with him, have not tested positive.
One woman shot dead by police in New Zealand hostage incident
By Xinhua,
Wellington : One woman was shot dead by police during a hostage incident in the New Zealand northern city of Whangarei on Thursday.
Police said the woman, aged in her mid 30s, entered a shop on Reyburn Street on Thursday morning, carrying what they believe was a firearm, Radio New Zealand reported.
The shop owner alerted the police and the armed offenders squad was called.
It was believed the woman knew a person working in the shop.
Sangh Parivar women demand arrest of nun who was raped
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Further vitiating the already surcharged atmosphere in Orissa's Kandhamal district, hundreds of women of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti - an outfit affiliated to the Sangh Parivar - Tuesday demonstrated here demanding the arrest of a nun who was raped during the violence that erupted in the area in August.
"The allegations made by the nun appear to be baseless because she is not coming forward to identify the people already arrested," the organisation's zonal organising secretaty Suchitra Mohapatra told IANS.
Western woman aid worker shot dead in Afghanistan
By DPA,
Kabul : Unknown gunmen killed a foreign woman when she was going to her office in the western part of the capital city Monday,
police said.
The attackers, who were riding on motorbike, fled the area following the shooting, said Zemarai Bashary, interior ministry spokesman.
Bashary declined to provide more information or identify the victim.
But a police official, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to talk to news media, said the victim was from South
Africa and worked with an aid organization.
Indian-origin hair doc jailed for lewd acts on clients
By IANS,
London : An Indian-origin hair specialist accused of groping women while giving them head massages has been jailed for three years in Britain.
The Reading crown court also banned Praminder Mankoo for life from giving treatment without a witness present. He will also have to sign on to the Sex Offenders' List indefinitely.
Mankoo had been charged with lewd acts with his clients on Sep 14.
Mankoo ran a successful clinic in Thame, Oxfordshire. The instances of his lewd acts occurred between 2003 and 2007, but three of his victims came forward only recently to nail him.
Muslim woman police officer files racism charge in UK
By IANS,
London : After three senior Asian officers recently filed racism charges against the London Metropolitan Police, a Muslim woman officer has taken her department (Met) to the employment tribunal saying she was bullied because of her colour and sex.
The complainant, Yasmin Rehman, 42, is the Met's director of partnerships and diversity. She is responsible for upholding racial and religious diversity within the Met.
In twilight of their lives, they look for life partner
By Rafat Quadri, IANS,
Ahmedabad : They were in their 50s, 60s and even in their 70s. With love and longing in their hearts and dressed in their best clothes, hundreds of elderly men and women from various parts of Gujarat gathered here to look for a suitable match.
The 75 women and 700 men, many of them lonely in the twilight of their lives, offered their bio-data as prospective marriage candidates at the unique function in Town Hall here.
U.S. military: Gunmen kill 5 Iraqis, wound pregnant woman
By Xinhua,
Baghdad : A group of unidentified gunmen killed five Iraqis on Saturday in a shooting attack, the U.S. military said.
The incident took place near the U.S. Balad base north of Baghdad.
The U.S. military said masked gunmen attacked the house belonging to the leader of the local Sunni Awakening Council group, an organization which stood up against al-Qaida terrorists with the back of the American and Iraqi troops.
A pregnant woman escaped with an injury in the shooting, the military added.
Indian in Oman writes a family saga
By IANS,
Dubai : An expatriate Indian woman in Oman has written a new novel, a family saga set in India and Oman.
Sunaina Serna Ahluwalia's "A Safe Harbour" is the story of two women, Afreen Luthra and her daughter Trishala.
It is a modern-day suspense-cum family saga set in India and Oman, which is home to a large expatriate Indian community.
India's Ambassador to Oman Anil Wadhwa launched the book at a function in Muscat where officials of the National Association for Cancer Awareness (NACA) and the ambassadors of Britain and Malaysia were present.
Five arrested for assault on German woman’s counsel in Goa
By IANS,
Panaji : Five people have been arrested from the hill station of Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra for Monday's assault on Aires Rodrigues, the counsel of German researcher Fadela Fuchs who has accused Education Minister Atanasio Monserrate's son Rohit of raping her 14-year-old daughter, police said Saturday.
The combined team of Goa and Maharashtra police arrested Jenito Godinho, Santosh Shinde, Sandeep Pujari, Michael Jhonson Chakkal and Anison Nunes from a resort in Mahabaleshwar Friday.
Nigerian, woman associate held for duping Mumbai man
By IANS,
New Delhi : A Nigerian who posed as a senior diplomat and his Indian woman accomplice who masqueraded as a customs official have been arrested for cheating a Mumbai resident of nearly Rs.230,000, the police said Friday.
Sleuths of Delhi Police's Crime Branch arrested Chima John Kenneth alias Johnson Smith, 28, and his accomplice Nirupma Tiwari, 32, from Gandhi Vihar in Timarpur area of north Delhi.
The police said they began investigating the matter on the complaint of Mumbai resident Shailesh Singh.
60-year-old woman becomes mother in Bihar relief camp
By IANS,
Patna : A 60-year-old Dalit woman has given birth to a baby girl at a relief camp in flood hit Bihar.
Chandan Devi gave birth Tuesday at a relief camp for flood victims in Udaikishanganj in Madhepura district, about 300 km from here.
Both mother and child are healthy and doing well, the doctor looking after Chandan Devi said.
"Everything is normal after the delivery," Anand Kumar Milan of a government hospital in Udaikishanganj told IANS.
He said that it was a blessing that despite her age, she has become a mother for the first time.
On World Food Day, rural women demand land rights to fight hunger
By IANS,
New Delhi : Seventy percent of the female workforce is engaged in agriculture, yet only 10 percent women farmers own any land. On World Food Day Thursday, women from various parts of rural India demanded agricultural land rights - to battle hunger and poverty.
Supported by members of local NGOs and international NGO ActionAid's HungerFree campaign, these women, most of whom work as agricultural farmers yet don't have the right on their piece of land, stressed that this was the way out of the vicious cycle of poverty.
Punjab’s first female bouncers lose their jobs
By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : Two women from Punjab who had become bouncers at a nightclub here a few months ago, a rarity in the country, have been sacked all of a sudden. They have been charged with indiscipline and dancing in a rival nightclub, but one of them says the real reason is envy of their popularity.
Amandeep Kaur, 22, who hails from a village in Punjab's Barnala district, 250 km from here, was standing tall among her male counterparts in Score nightclub a month ago. She became the first female bouncer here in June.
Mice show women can handle stress better
By IANS,
Sydney : Female mice engineered without a neurotransmitter in the lab, known to lower anxiety levels, were less stressed than their similarly configured male counterparts.
Tim Karl, behavioural neuroscientist at the Garvan Institute of Medical Research, explained that "pharmacological tests show that when you introduce NPY (neurotransmitter) to an animal in a stressful situation, its stress levels decrease."
"Studies have shown that male mice created without NPY are more anxious than
Bishop stirs trouble after he adopts 26-year-old
By IANS,
Kochi : A bishop in Kerala has stirred controversy by adopting a 26-year-old woman, prompting the archbishop of the area to hold an inquiry after priests in his diocese made a complaint.
The issue of 58-year-old Kochi bishop John Thattumkal adopting a 26-year-old woman has been probed by the Archbishop Daniel Acharuparambil of the Verapoly Archdiocese near Kochi and the report has been sent to the Vatican.
Woman files case against parents, husband for forced marriage
By IANS,
Patna : A newly married Dalit woman in Bihar has filed a case against her parents and husband for forcing her into marriage, an official said here Wednesday.
Shabnam Kumari, in her 20s, filed the case early this week in the court of chief judicial magistrate in Begusarai district, about 125 km from here.
Shabnam, a resident of Bashi village in Begusarai, said in her complaint that she was married to Sagar Ram of Suro village this July against her wish. She alleged that her parents married her off after taking money from her husband.
Yatra organised in Gujarat to save girl child
By IANS,
Surat : At a time when girl child sex ratio in the country is getting skewed, non-government organisation Akhil Bhartiya Jeenmata Seva Sangh here recently organised a novel yatra "Save the Girl Child".
Also, a 5,000 metre long garland, prepared by 5,000 women from 73 kg cardamoms, was used in the yatra. Each woman contributed 51 cardamoms to the mala.
"At each metre, a small card opposing the killing of girl child has been placed. This is done to make people aware about the danger of female foeticide," president of Akhil Bhartiya Jeenmata Seva Sangh Sharad Khandelwal said.
Villagers planning another ‘sati’ temple in Raipur
By IANS,
Raipur : Villagers in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district are reportedly planning to construct a temple at the site where an elderly woman committed 'sati' by jumping onto her husband's funeral pyre, even as seven people have been held for the crime, police said Tuesday.
Police deployment has been increased to foil their plans, an official said. Dozens of people had Monday offered prayers at the site in Chechar village, 125 km from here, despite a a ban imposed by the police on the worship of the woman.
Probe into trafficking of Indian women into SE Asia
By Mahendra Ved, IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : Authorities in India, Malaysia and Singapore are intensifying a probe into a widespread trafficking racket that pushes women from India's northeastern states into flesh trade in Malaysia and Singapore.
Investigations have intensified after the rescue of five Indian girls here, leading to the arrest of several kingpins in three countries, The New Straits Times said.
Fear of flying keeps Indian in Bahrain grounded for 13 years
By IANS,
Dubai : An Indian woman in Bahrain has not been home for 13 years because of her fear of flying.
The aerophobic 43-year-old woman, who has not been named, told the Gulf Daily News that the last time she flew was 13 years ago when she and her husband took a flight from Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
"I flew for the very first time just after I got married 24 years ago," the woman, who teaches dance at a school in Bahrain, was quoted as saying.
People defy ban to offer prayers at sati site
By IANS,
Raipur : Dozens of people in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district Monday offered prayers at the site where a woman committed 'sati' by jumping onto her husband's funeral pyre despite a ban imposed by the police on the worship of the woman.
On Saturday, Lalmati Verma, 71, jumped onto her husband's funeral pyre after all the villagers had left the site on the bank at the confluence of two rivers - Mahanadi and Shivnath - in Chechar village, about 125 km from here.
Handymen husbands for rent in Argentina
By Maricel Seeger, IANS,
Buenos Aires : Any woman can get a husband at an hourly rate in Buenos Aires, thanks to a company offering to do the repairs and installations that every home needs, and all "without problems in the bedroom".
Husband for Rent is a successful Argentine company that for 50 pesos ($15.50) an hour will undertake domestic chores for women who don't have a "handyman" around the house, the Spanish news agency EFE reported.
German mother, Goa police trade charges
By IANS,
Panaji : A German woman who has complained that her daughter was being sexually harassed by the Goa education minister's son, says police would "prefer" her to withdraw the complaint, though police said she was evading them.
Speaking to the media Sunday, Fadella Fuchs alleged the police were sitting on her complaint filed on Oct 2.
Muslim woman politician donates 5 acre land for Urdu University
By Mohammed Siddique, TwoCircles.net,
Hyderabad: A Muslim woman politician from Maharashtra has donated five acres of land in the historic city of Aurangabad to the Hyderabad based Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU) for setting up a university campus there.
Fauzia Tehseen, Member of Legislative Council of Maharashtra announced donating the land during a visit to MANUU in Hyderabad on the invitation of the university management.
Dhaka can take lessons from Beijing, says Rasheda
By NNN-BSS,
Dhaka, Bangladesh : Adviser for Women and Children Affairs Rasheda K Chowdhury described Dhaka-Beijing friendship as an excellent one since time immemorial in terms of trade and commerce, culture and history and said, Bangladesh could take lessons from China.
Bangladesh should follow the strategies of China to move towards economic prosperity as Beijng had shown amazing economic achievement in agriculture, industry and human resources development, she said at a discussion at a city hotel on Saturday afternoon.
Chhattisgarh woman jumps on husband’s pyre, people throng site
By IANS,
Raipur : A 71-year-old woman in a Chhattisgarh village jumped on her husband's funeral pyre and committed suicide, creating a sensation as hundreds thronged to view the place of the alleged 'sati', a banned Hindu custom, police said Sunday.
The incident took place late Saturday evening in Chechar village, in the interiors of Raipur district, some 125 km from here.
Police were informed about the alleged 'sati' late Saturday night and filed a First Information Report early Sunday after visiting the spot.
Woman, mother-in-law commit suicide for new clothes
By IANS,
Kolkata : A motor mechanic's wife and mother committed suicide in a West Bengal town after he failed to buy them new clothes for the Durga Puja festival, the police said Sunday.
The incident took place in South Dinajpur district's Balughat town.
Shampa Sarkar, 31, set herself on fire and her mother-in-law Maya Sarkar, 65, drank pesticide at their residence Saturday night. Both died on the same night at the hospital, Swapan Bandopadhyay Purnapatra, district police superintendent, told reporters Sunday morning.
Taiwan`s super matchmaker helped 573 couples tie the knot
By ANTARA News,
Taipei : A Taiwan woman is so good at matchmaking that in the past 30 years, she had helped 573 couples tie the knot, a newspaper said on Sunday.
Lee Hsiu-yen, 57, in Pingtung City, south Taiwan, is a full-time fruit seller and part-time matchmaker. In the past 30 years, she has helped 573 couples tie the knot, averaging 19 couples each year, the United Daily News said.
Out of these 573 couples, only five pairs have divorced.
While most of marriage seekers come from Taiwan, she has offered service overseas-based Taiwanese.
Indian woman phones home after being declared dead
By ANTARA News,
New Delhi : An Indian woman has phoned home four months after she was declared dead, police said on Saturday.
Software engineer Meghna Subedar called her parents Friday to say that she had been living with a relative since June, the Press Trust of India said.
Police said the 28-year-old had informed her parents on April 10 that she was boarding a train for her home town in the central Indian town of Korba.
Head women guide Haryana villages to cleanliness awards
By IANS,
Chandigarh : It will be a big moment for two women sarpanches or village heads from Haryana when they receive awards from President Pratibha Patil next week for turning their villages into role models of cleanliness and making them free from the practice of open defecation.
The two villages in Gurgaon district will get Nirmal Gram Puruskar from Patil on Oct 17 at a function to be organised at the Mahabir stadium of Hisar town, 300 km from here.
Asian woman charged with killing her children
By IANS,
London : A Sri Lankan-origin woman has been charged with murdering two of her children and wounding the third.
Sasikala Navaneethan, 36, stabbed Shanjayan, five, and his four-year-old sister Sharani to death in their quiet south London suburban house May 30.
She was also charged with the attempted murder of her six-month-old daughter, who survived the attack.
Magistrates remanded Navaneethan in custody Friday, and she is due to appear in court January 13 next year.
One killed, 20 injured after being hit by car
By IANS,
Bhopal : A woman was killed and 20 others were injured when they were hit by a car during the Dussehra procession in Madhya Pradesh, the police said.
The incident occurred in the Kotwali area in Raisen town, some 50 km from Bhopal.
“The incident occurred late Thursday evening when a Dussehra procession was passing through Kotwali area of the town,” a police official said.
Injured in the incident, Komal Bai, 45, died while being taken to the hospital. The other injured have been admitted to the hospital.
Virgin, 105, says celibacy is the key to long life
By IANS,
London : A British woman who will celebrate her 105th birthday Saturday said that her celibate life has been the key to her longevity.
Clara Meadmore, who was born in Glasgow, and lived in Canada and New Zealand, before settling in the southwest British county of Cornwall some 40 years ago, said she never had time for a family and lived alone until going into care, the Daily Telegraph has reported.
"I've always had lots of platonic friendships with men but never felt the need to go further than that or marry," she said, adding that she had never had any interest in sex.
Iran to produce special car for women
By NNN-FNA,
Tehran : Iran Khodro, the Middle-East's No. 1 car manufacturer, has unveiled a car specifically designed for women, with electronic parking sensors and a special jack making it easier to change a flat tire.
The car's internal design will be especially geared towards women and its exterior will be painted in softer, "feminine" colors, Iran Khodro announced.
An alarm system will warn drivers of flat tires and automatic transmission, navigation and entertainment systems will be installed in order to make the driving experience all the more pleasant.
Maharashtra move to legalise ‘live-in’ prone to misuse, say experts
By IANS,
Mumbai : The Maharashtra government’s initiative to bestow legal status to a woman in a ‘live-in relationship' with a man, although revolutionary, could be grossly misused, aver experts.
The government has decided to amend the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.PC) Sec. 125, with a view to protect the interests and rights of the so-called ‘mistress’ or ‘other woman', subject to the central government approval.
Turned away by health centre, woman gives birth at tea-stall
By IANS,
Lucknow : After a pregnant woman was turned away from a community health centre (CHC) in the Uttar Pradesh capital, she was forced to give birth at a tea stall, officials said.
Tej Kumari was brought to the CHC in the Mall village on the outskirts of Lucknow in an advanced stage of pregnancy midnight Wednesday, the officials said.
However, Kumari was declined admission in the CHC as her family refused to pay a bribe to the medical staff at the CHC, the officials added.
Blueline bus crushes woman in Delhi’s BRT corridor
By IANS,
New Delhi : A speeding Blueline bus crushed a 42-year-old woman to death when she was crossing the road at the controversial Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor in south Delhi, the police said Wednesday.
Poonam Sharma came under the wheels of a privately operated Blueline bus plying on route number 534 between Anand Vihar and Mehrauli near the Chirag Delhi flyover late Tuesday, police said.
Women officials will play major role in future, says Air Force Chief
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : With the government allowing permanent commission to women in select branches of the armed forces, Air chief Fali Homi Major today indicated the Services were open to the idea of career women officers in several other departments too.
Woman power rises as Siachen trek enters second phase
By Ritu Sharma, IANS,
Leh (Jammu and Kashmir) : In a first, five women trekkers are among the 37 civilians who will be scaling icy peaks and braving extreme weather to reach the Siachen Glacier, once known as the world's highest and coldest battleground and where the guns have been silent for the past five years.
There was just one woman on the trek last year.
Female suicide bomber kills six in northeast of Baghdad
By Xinhua,
Baghdad : A woman suicide bomber blew herself up on Wednesday outside a court in Baquba, the capital city of the volatile province of Diyala, killing six people and wounding 18 others, a provincial police source said.
The attack occurred around midday when a woman wearing an explosive-belt blew herself up among a crowd of people at the entrance of the city court, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
The powerful blast also destroyed several nearby civilian cars and buildings in the city, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source said.
Delhi High Court dismisses custody death charge against police
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi High court has dismissed a petition filed against the Delhi Police by a woman who alleged that her brother died in police custody.
On Aug 26, 2007, Tek Chand was apprehended by the police on suspicion of theft but was released the same day.
On Feb 18, 2008, police found an unidentified body, which was identified by the relatives of Tek Chand. His sister Phoolwati filed a petition in the Delhi High Court, claiming that he had died after being tortured in the police post in Madipur in west Delhi.
UAE gets its first woman judge
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has got its first woman judge with Khulood Ahmed Jawan Al Dhaheri being sworn in to the coveted post here.
Al Dhaheri was sworn in at a ceremony here Tuesday by Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE's minister for presidential affairs and chairman of the Abu Dhabi Judiciary Department, the official Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
"The appointment of a woman judge is certainly a unique experience in the UAE," Sheikh Mansour said.
An all-women car unveiled in gender-sensitive Iran
By IANS,
London : Iran's state-backed motor manufacturer, Iran Khodro, has unveiled a new car specially designed for women that might take the country's gender sensitivity to new levels, the Daily Telegraph has reported.
The car, with electronic parking aids and a jack making it easier to change a wheel, will be painted in soft "feminine" colours and include interior design features aimed specifically at women.
Tiger kills woman in Kanha reserve
By IANS,
Bhopal : A tiger is believed to have killed a middle-aged woman in Kanha Tiger Reserve, an official said Tuesday.
"The partially eaten body of a middle-aged woman, Sukhna Bai, was recovered by forest department staff and villagers in the Supkhar range of tiger Reserve Sunday," additional principal chief conservator of forests (wildlife) H.S. Pabla told IANS by phone.
Where women take charge of Durga Puja celebrations
By IANS,
Ranchi : An all-women Durga Puja celebration has entered the 15th year in Jharkhand's Dhanbad city.
The Sarvajanik Durga Puja Committee, formed by 37 women in 1993, has been celebrating the festival without the support of men for the last 15 years. The women belong to Srinagar colony in Dhanbad, 240 km from Ranchi.
The women raise funds and also perform prayers and other rituals.
"We had decided that there will be no male member in the committee and each and everything will be organised by women," said Seema, president of the committee.
Woman spends 10,000 pounds to hear her cat miaow again
By IANS,
London : A pet owner in southeast Britain has spent a whopping 10,000 pounds to hear her moggy miaow again after the cat suffered a rare throat condition, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Jean Kelly, 40, first noticed her 13-year-old pet Cadbury suddenly lost his voice. She did not take any time to visit a vet who diagnosed that Cadbury was suffering from a paralysed larynx, a rare condition that needed immediate surgery.
Eve teasing or crime against women?
By M. Hanif Lakdawala,
Raisa Baig, 18, a student of Mass Media had to spend three hours at the police station in South Mumbai to lodge a complaint against a man who physically touched her intentionally when she was commuting to college by bus.
When she was struggling with the molester, not a single fellow traveler came to her rescue and she had to fight it out single-handedly. This happened in a Muslim dominated area and the victim and culprit both were Muslims.
Women Panchayat leaders fight for rights, set example
New Delhi, Amita Devi of Bihar is determined to secure compensation for those whose lands were acquired for the construction of a four-lane highway. During the women Panchayat leaders' meet in the capital Wednesday, she carried with her a letter on the issue and plans to give it to United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi.
Youth can be in vanguard of change: Kashmiri woman leader
By Azera Rahman
New Delhi, Oct 1 (IANS) Zahra Banoo looked demure in her white salwar kurta, her head covered and a soft smile never leaving her face. However, behind this facade is the first woman in the history of Ladakh and Kargil region of Jammu and Kashmir to contest elections for a local administrative body.
Concerned about the plight of her community, Banoo wants the younger lot, both boys and girls, to come forward and change things for good in the troubled state.
Hunt on for men who allegedly raped German woman
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Efforts were on Monday to nab the men who allegedly abducted a German woman from the upscale Taj hotel here and took her to a room where they raped her before dropping her nearly 12 hours later.
The incident took place early Sunday when five to six men in a black Scorpio SUV kidnapped the 20-year-old tourist from the parking lot of the Taj in Chandigarh's commercial hub Sector 17.
Taking justice to women’s doorstep in Kerala
By Jeevan Mathew Kurian, IANS,
Kozhikode (Kerala) : Justice at the doorstep is a much espoused cause but remains a dream. For women in Kerala justice may not be at their doorstep, but they can at least seek it in their neighbourhood.
The Jagrata Samithis (Vigilance Committees) in local administrative bodies is slowly turning into sanctuaries of justice for them. The committees have come up in 832 local administrative bodies out of around 1,200 in the state.
World Heart Day brings bad news for Indian women on fast lane
By Madhusree Chatterjee, IANS,
New Delhi : World Heart Day Sunday brings bad news for Indian women who have been found to be more vulnerable to coronary diseases because their arteries are narrower than those of men.
"Since arteries in women are narrower in India, risk factors have a bigger impact. Coronary and heart diseases need to be more aggressively managed in women than men," Madhukar Shahi, senior interventional cardiologist of Gurgaon-based Artemis Health Institute, told IANS on World Heart Day.
German woman molested by a group in Chandigarh
By IANS,
Chandigarh : A young German woman was allegedly abducted and molested by a group of youth in the city in the wee hours of Sunday, police said.
The police have registered a case against unidentified youth, who abducted the German woman from the city's upscale Taj Hotel in the main commercial hub of Sector 17.
What has baffled the police is the fact that the woman was abducted in a Scorpio sports utility vehicle (SUV) from a high-security area of the city. The hotel complex has private and police security.
Workshop on role of Media during disasters with particular reference to women and...
By, Md.Ali, TwoCircles.net
A media workshop "Media Consultation for Strategies to strengthen Role of Media during Disasters with Particular Reference to the Issues Related to Children and Women" was organized on September 22, 2008, at Gandhi Sangrahalay by NGOs Save the Children and Charkha, which is a development communication Network.
Smoking brings young woman’s marriage to the brink
By IANS,
Nagpur : Addiction to smoking almost cost a young woman her two-year-old marriage. She has salvaged it for now by signing an affidavit that binds her to divorce without alimony if she takes a puff again.
The woman's husband, a non-smoker, has brought his errant wife back from her parental home on the condition that she must not smoke again.
Four held for illegally selling Rs.700 mn property of actress
By IANS,
Chennai : Four people, including two women, have been jailed for allegedly selling a property worth over Rs.700 million and partly owned by actress-turned-politician Vijayashanti. They used forged papers to sell the property in the northwest suburbs of this city, the police said.
The four were arrested Friday following a complaint from one of the owners of the property.
All of them were sent to Puzhal prison after a court remanded them to judicial custody for 14 days, a police official said.
Women’s groups give thumbs up to female bartenders
By IANS,
Bangalore : Cheers! That's what many women's groups here are saying to a Karnataka High Court verdict allowing women to work in pubs, pointing out that it is a job like any other as long as safety and security are ensured.
"If women are showcasing their skills in various fields, what is wrong in allowing them to work in bars with adequate safety and security?" asked Donna Fernandes, a member of Vimochana, an organisation working for the right of women to work with dignity.
Women lag behind men in muscle strength recovery
By IANS,
Washington : Women are four times more likely than men to experience a broken forearm and require a cast or immobilisation.
To examine whether the effects of such casting were similar between the sexes, researchers examined immobilised volunteers for a period of three weeks.
They determined that while men were able to regain 99 percent of their strength within a week of removing the cast, women's strength was still 30 percent lower than their pre-cast optimum strength.
Kiran Bedi advocates tougher laws to fight terrorism
By IANS,
Ahmedabad : Kiran Bedi, the first woman IPS officer, Wednesday said strong anti-terror laws were needed to tackle the growing menace of terrorism in India.
Bedi, who was here to interact with students and parents of Ahmedabad Managament Association (AMA), said the prevailing laws were too weak to fight terrorism.
"Strong laws are needed to keep pace with the new challenges posed by terrorists," Bedi said, adding that toning of the legal system too was needed.
She said policing and the quality of policemen needed to be spruced up with better service conditions.
Karnataka High Court allows women to work in bars
By IANS,
Bangalore : The Karnataka High Court Wednesday allowed women to work in bars and pubs but with adequate security, thus quashing the state government ban on their working at such places where liquor is served.
Justice D.V. Shylendra Kumar said the rule 9 of the Karnataka Excise Act 1965 that prohibits women from serving liquor at public places was "unconstitutional" and therefore "unenforceable".
Urdu newspapers give more coverage to children and women issues
By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Patna: For long Urdu newspapers have been criticized for their backward outlook and emotional style of writing, most often by people who do not read these newspapers. A careful analysis of English, Hindi, and Urdu newspaper of Patna edition by a journalist in Patna revealed a different picture.
When it comes to giving space to news related to children and women Urdu newspapers are more generous in the coverage given to these issues than the newspapers in Hindi and English.
Decision soon on permanent commission for women in armed forces
By Ritu Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : The defence ministry will shortly take a decision on granting the much-awaited permanent commission for women in the armed forces, a senior defence official said Wednesday.
The top brass of the armed forces have already agreed on opening up more avenues for women officers and granting them permanent commission in non-combatant branches.
Woman sentenced to 15 years in jail in dog attack case
By DPA,
San Francisco : A woman whose two dogs attacked and killed her neighbour in the hallway of their San Francisco apartment building seven years ago was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
Superior Court Judge Charlotte Woolard said Monday that Majorie Knoller, 53, had not bothered to put a muzzle on her aggressive Presa Canario-mastiff-mixed dogs before taking them out of her apartment and did not call for help or retrieve a weapon while the animals were mauling 33-year-old Diane Whipple for at least 10 minutes, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
Woman Maoist arrested in Madhya Pradesh
By IANS,
Bhopal : A Naxalite woman, wanted in several cases and carrying a reward of Rs.30,000, has been arrested from Madhya Pradesh, police said Monday.
Kamla, an active member of Tanda Dalam, has been involved in various murders and gun battles with the police.
"A tip-off was received about Kamla's presence in Kodhapar forest area in Balaghat district on Saturday after which the police laid a trap and arrested her late Sunday," Balaghat Superintendent of Police Harinarayanchari Mishra said.
He said the arrest would help police bust the network of Maoists in the region.
Men who want women to stay home earn more
By IANS,
Washington : Men holding the view that women should stay at home earn more than men who don't. But women with more egalitarian views don't take home much more than their traditional counterparts.
Timothy Judge and Beth Livingston of University of Florida analysed data from a nationally representative study of men and women who were interviewed four times between 1979 and 2005.
Some 12,686 people, aged between 14 and 22 at the beginning of the study, participated, even as 60 percent remained with the study.
A woman, for a change, repairs flat tyres
By Nityanand Shukla, IANS,
Ranchi : In her own little way, Jharkhand resident Magdali has broken into a male bastion. She repairs flat bicycle tyres for a living - a skill she was forced to pick up after 20 years of being a housewife.
In her 40s, Magdali lives in the state capital. She used to be a housewife like any other until five years ago when her husband - who ran a puncture repair shop - died. Faced with poverty and with three children to take care of, she decided to take up the work.
European women’s lobby launches gender balance campaign
By Nicholas Rigillo, DPA,
Brussels : Despite some progress, women remain grossly under-represented in European politics. Slightly fewer than one third of the European Parliament's (EP) 785 seats are occupied by women, while only nine of the EU's 27 commissioners are female.
A group of leading women politicians has recently launched a campaign in Brussels aimed at bridging this gender gap when the composition of the EP and the European Commission come up for renewal next year.
Malaysian Indian woman to sue for false detention
By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : A Malaysian Indian woman is seeking compensation and an unqualified apology from the Malaysian immigration department for her wrongful detention for 11 months after she was mistaken for an illegal alien from Sri Lanka.
Perak state's Health, Environment and Human Resources Committee chairman A. Sivanesan relayed Rajeshvari's demand during a media conference in Ipoh Tuesday.
Urging the department to check all detention depots in the country, Sivanesan said he feared that Rajeshvari's case could be "just the tip of the iceberg".
Women in contract jobs more likely to face sexual advances
By IANS,
Sydney : Women holding casual and contract jobs are 10 times more likely to face sexual advances than those in permanent positions, according to a study.
The research by Anthony LaMontagne, VicHealth Centre for the Promotion of Mental Health and Community Wellbeing, examined the likelihood of sexual harassment in different types of employment.
"Our study shows that 79 percent of those who experience unwanted sexual advances at work are women," he said.
Girls see way out of ghetto through cricket
By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : Sports has been a way out of ghetto all over the world. Now a group of girls in a Chandigarh slum are using the same route.
In proper cricket whites and the rest of the kit, 45 girls who live in Bapu Dham Colony are practising very seriously at the cricket ground of the Government Model High School in Sector 26.
Their dream of making it to the Indian team - like their heroes from this city, Kapil Dev and Yuvraj Singh - is being backed by the NGO Yuvsatta and the local administration.
New UAE fund to help refugee women, children
By IANS,
Abu Dhabi : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has launched a new fund to help refugee and displaced women and children across the world.
Launched under the patronage of Sheikha Fatima, wife of the UAE's founder and first president Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and chairperson of the UAE General Women's Union, to mark the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the new initiative is a fund raising effort benefiting refugee women and children in displacement.
‘In Afghanistan, little things could spell death for journalists’
By Murali Krishnan, IANS,
Lillehammer (Norway) : Men and women journalists in Afghanistan are increasingly being intimidated for exercising their right to freedom of speech, with at least 58 cases of violence against scribes being reported from the country last year.
At the just concluded Global Investigative Journalism Conference here, fears were raised that such factors could lead to self-censorship, forcing journalists in Afghanistan not to cover Islamic and religious issues.
Fake widows found drawing pension, woman arrested
By IANS,
Lucknow : A woman has been arrested in an Uttar Pradesh village after a local official found over two dozen women who were drawing widows' pensions from the state government though they had husbands.
Sub Divisional Magistrate Gola G. Chandra scanned the applications of all beneficiaries of widows' pensions in Padariya Tula village of Lakhimpur Kheri district last week after receiving a complaint.
"Over two dozen applications were found to be fake by Saturday and the process is still on," Chandra told IANS.
Media detentions ‘our internal affair’, Malaysia tells US
By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : While criticism against the government mounted at home, Malaysia Monday asked the US to desist from commenting or protesting at last week's detentions of a woman lawmaker, a woman reporter and a blogger.
"Stop meddling in our affairs," said Foreign Minister Rais Yatim in response to Washington's protest over last Friday's detentions under the stringent Internal Security Act (ISA).
Now, a fashion show for veiled women in Saudi Arabia
By IANS,
Dubai : In what must be perhaps the first of its kind in the fashion world, three young Saudi girls are organising a fashion show solely focused on veiled women.
Luma Al-Ghalib, Hida Al-Harthi and Lujain Al-Mu’allami are organising the show in Jeddah Sep 18 to demonstrate the greatness of Islam and “to erase the stereotyped image about Saudi women and young girls in particular”, the Saudi Gazette newspaper reported.
The idea for the show came after the three participated in a summer camp in Switzerland last year.
Grief, despair at Delhi’s hospitals, a day after
By Richa Sharma, IANS,
New Delhi : Wailing men and women as well as dazed family members of the seriously injured or missing after a string of bomb attacks besieged hospitals here Sunday, straining the already stretched medical services.
Doctors, nurses and attendants worked furiously to provide relief to the seriously and not-so-seriously wounded in Saturday evening's bombings, but there was no stopping the grief gripping families of the victims.
Woman kills her 2 children after argument with husband
By IANS,
Lucknow : A woman slit the throats of her two children and then stabbed them to death after an argument with her husband in Uttar Pradesh's Sitapur district, police said Saturday.
The incident occurred in Maholi locality of Sitapur district where Savita, in a fit of rage, killed her three-month-old son and four-year-old daughter.
"Savita slit the throats of her two children and then stabbed them to death," Javed Khan, a police officer, told IANS on the phone.
She had an argument Saturday morning with her husband over money matters, he added.
Women Maoist commanders charged with sedition in Chhattisgarh
By IANS,
Raipur : Two women Maoist commanders and three of their associates have been charged with sedition for dropping a huge cache of arms at a busy square here in January, police said Friday.
"We have framed a chargesheet in a local court here against these five accused and witnesses will depose in October when the trial begins," a police official told IANS.
Two top women insurgents - Meena Chaudhary alias Geeta and K.S. Priya alias Malti - dropped eight bags loaded with 91 pistols and 26 wireless sets at Dangania area in Raipur while travelling in a car.
Suicides by pregnant women, new mothers under-reported
By IANS,
Sydney : Nearly twice as many women commit suicide during pregnancy or the time around childbirth than previously thought, according to University of New South Wales researchers.
The results highlighted the significance of perinatal (period shortly before and after birth) mental health, with suicide being the leading cause of indirect death, followed by cardiac disorders. Deaths from accidents and violence are also significant.
Woman techie cheats NRI of Rs.1.3 mn, booked for cyber crime
By IANS,
Kendrapada (Orissa) : At least eight persons, including a female software engineer, have been booked in Orissa for cheating a non resident Indian (NRI) of Rs.1.3 million by making false promises, the police said Thursday.
"The police have registered criminal cases against software engineer Kaveri Patra, a resident of Mulabasanta village in Kendrapada district, and seven others including her father, husband and father-in-law on the charge of cheating and committing a cyber crime," officer in charge of the local Pattamundai police station K. C. Mallick told IANS.
Over three dozen feared dead as boat capsizes in Bihar
By IANS,
Patna : Over three dozen people, mostly women and children, are feared drowned after an overloaded boat capsized in flood-hit Bihar Thursday, an official said.
The boat with a capacity of 25 persons was carrying over 40 people in Sheikhpura district about 125 km from here when it overturned. "Only two boatmen managed to swim and survived," an official of the district administration, requesting anonymity, said.
Sonia Gandhi praises Andhra for women’s empowerment
By IANS,
Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh) : Congress president Sonia Gandhi Thursday praised the Andhra Pradesh government for taking the lead in women's empowerment in the country.
She said the performance of the state government - run by her party - to empower women was not only admired by the rest of the country but had also aroused curiosity abroad.
No woman to vie for Panjab University students union president
By Alkesh Sharma, IANS,
Chandigarh : Seventy percent of the students in Panjab University (PU) are women, but in the last three decades its students union has never had a woman president. Nor will it this year, as all candidates for the president's post in the Friday poll are men.
Women have contested and have been elected for the posts of vice-president and secretary, but not for the top post.
Tamil woman identified as Malaysian after 11 months’ detention
By IANS,
Kuala Lumpur : A Tamil woman has been identified as a Malaysian national by the country's human rights body after 11 months in detention, when she fell seriously ill.
Rajeswary Murugiah, 22, was detained in October last year after she was found without an identity card and said she did not remember her ID number. She was lying unwell in detention till human rights watchdog Sukham took up her case and resolved it in a single day, The Star newspaper said Thursday.
Call centre employee found murdered in Delhi hostel
By IANS,
New Delhi : A 25-year-old woman employee of a call centre was Wednesday evening found strangled to death in her hostel room in south Delhi, the police said.
The victim, identified as Shalini Saxena, was found dead in her first-floor room of a private hostel in Gautam Nagar area of Hauz Khas, the police said.
Saxena worked for a cell centre in Gurgaon. She hailed from Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh, and was living in the hostel for the past one year.
Women defiant, demonstrate in Orissa’s riot-hit district
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Thousands of women Wednesday defied a ban on the gathering of five or more people and demonstrated at a police station and a government office in Orissa’s riot-hit Kandhamal district to demand release of those arrested on the charge of rioting, an official said.
“At least 3,500 women gathered in front of the police station and block office at G. Udayagiri. They were demanding the release of some people arrested on the charge of rioting,” District Collector Krishan Kumar told IANS.
Sheema Mohsin first Muslim woman on Karnataka wakf board
By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
Bangalore: By her appointment as the member of the Karnataka State Wakf Board, a new chapter has been added to the history of the state where perhaps has never been a Muslim woman appointed on a statutory body like wakf board.
By profession a journalist and social activist Sheema Mohsin (36) is based in Bangalore.
Afghan women come out of shadows with contemporary art show
By IANS,
New Delhi : After the horrors of war, Yalda Noorie, a 25-year-old woman from Afghanistan, is painting her angst in colours. She is among 18 young women artists who have for the first time ventured out of their country to India with a cache of 90 powerful canvases titled "A New Beginning".
Yalda is a language and literature graduate from Kabul University, but she always wanted to capture human sadness and the fight for identity and liberty on canvas.
Pregnant women, newborns struggle to survive in flooded Bihar
By IANS,
Patna : The floods in Bihar have been a nightmare for pregnant women, with many dying during childbirth due to lack of medical care, and those who gave birth have little to rejoice as they have to share a tent with dozens of people. The state government has now announced a cash grant to each newborn.
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has announced that each girl child born in relief camps would be given Rs.11,000 and a baby boy would get Rs.10,000.
First Japan Woman as PM Hopeful
By Prensa Latina,
Tokyo : Japan's former Defense Minister Yuriko Koike officially presented her candidature for the prime minister's post on Monday, thus becoming the first woman disputing that position in the country's history.
Koike, 56, will run for the leadership of the governmental Democrat Liberal Party, with the elections set for September 22.
The former TV anchorwoman told press she has received the enthusiastic support of her colleagues, and added the country could perfectly have a woman as head of the government to overcome the standstill in the Japanese society.
Humpy in semi-finals of women’s world chess championship
By IANS,
Nalchik (Russia) : Koneru Humpy established herself as the hot favourite with a sweeping 2-0 win over China's Shen Yang in the quarter finals to cruise into the semi-finals of the Women's World Championship.
In the semi-finals, Humpy will clash with another Chinese youngster, Hou Yifan, who at 14 is considered very talented.
The second semi-final will feature Alexandra Kosteniuk of Russia and Sweden's veteran Pia Cramling.
Relative arrested for murder of MGR kin
By IANS,
Chennai : A woman was remanded to judicial custody Monday for allegedly masterminding the murder of her relative, Vijay Kumar, a kin of former Tamil Nadu chief minister M.G. Ramachandran, the police said.
"Sustained investigation revealed that Bhanumati, Vijay Kumar's sister-in-law, enlisted the services of a police constable, Karuna, 39, who in turn hired other mercenaries who killed the deceased on June 4. The motive was a dispute over control on property left behind by the late chief minister," Archana Ramasundaram, additional director general of police, told reporters.
Fight female foeticide through literacy: Himachal governor
By IANS,
Shimla : Himachal Pradesh Governor Prabha Rau Monday underlined the need to promote female literacy to combat the social evil of female foeticide.
Rau said: "There is a need to encourage female literacy to eradicate social evils like female foeticide."
Addressing a function here organised by Himachal Gyan Vigyan Samiti to mark International Literacy Day, Rau said "higher literacy levels would also bring about economic freedom for women and empower them."
The Governor commended the state government for its efforts to increase literacy in the state.
Relative arrested for murder of MGR kin
By IANS,
Chennai : A woman was arrested Monday for allegedly masterminding the murder of her relative, Vijay Kumar, kin of former chief minister M.G. Ramachandran, police said.
The six men that Bhanumati, Vijay Kumar's sister-in-law, reportedly hired to kill him have also been arrested.
Vijay Kumar, 53, was killed in a posh southern suburb here over a property dispute June 4.
A week later, the case was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department under the control of the Director General of Police K.P. Jain.
More and more working women shun the ‘married girl’ look
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : 'Solah singhar', the traditional decked up appearance for the new bride is now out of fashion with more and more working women shunning their gold and glitter for a more westernised look.
Today's hard pressed working women find it a headachet o wear to traditional symbols of wedded bliss preferring to flaunt the single and smart look.
The job scenario also seems to encourage such trend with Kiran, who has been married for six months, and is on a job hunt preferring to dress in formal shirt-pant, sans any bangles or bindi.
Scheme to raise awareness among minority women
By Rajeev Ranjan Roy, IANS,
New Delhi : India's Planning Commission is starting a scheme to create awareness among minority women about issues and rights that can empower them socially, educationally and economically, and also teach them the importance of hygiene and sanitation.
To be implemented over the next five years with the help of the ministry women and child development, the scheme will cost Rs.200 million (Rs. 20 crores).
Ingrid Betancourt named Woman of the Year
By IANS,
Vienna : Colombia's former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt who was rescued in July from the captivity of the country's leftist rebels has been named the Woman of the Year by the World Awards Association (WAA), the EFE news agency reported Saturday.
The Vienna-based World Awards Association Friday named Betancourt as the recipient of the 2008 Woman of the Year award, the report said.
She will receive the honour at a ceremony Oct 26, details of which would be announced later. Betancourt, 46, has dual Colombian and France citizenship.
Indian-Canadians outraged by overturning of Reena Virk murder verdict
By IANS,
Vancouver : The Indian-Canadian community here has been outraged by a court's decision to overturn the life sentence of a woman convicted for brutally beating and drowning Indian origin teenager Reena Virk in 1997.
The beating and drowning of the 14-year-old girl in Victoria near here by Kelly Ellard and her friends made international headlines and shook Canadians.
The Indian-Canadian community was jolted again Friday when the British Columbia Court of Appeal here overturned Ellard's conviction and ordered a retrial.
Vietnamese woman jailed for possessing drugs
By IANS,
Chennai : A 35-year-old Vietnamese woman was remanded to judicial custody Friday evening for possessing 3 kg of refined heroin worth over Rs.35 million, customs officials said.
Identified as D. Thanthipay, the woman had arrived by a scheduled flight from Colombo and was on her way to Bangkok.
Acting on a tip-off, officials inspected her luggage and found the contraband drugs in the false bottom of her luggage.
Women clash with police at relief camp in Orissa, several hurt
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Several people sustained serious injuries as a mob of women clashed with the police at a relief camp in Orissa's Kandhamal district Thursday, officials said.
The women forcefully entered the relief camp, alleging that despite being riot victims, the administration was unconcerned about them because they were Hindus, the police said.
The women, belonging mostly to tribal areas, were demanding food and lifting of prohibitory orders banning assembly of more than five people in a place.
British woman sues NHS, says her IVF child doesn’t have her genes
By Venkata Vemuri, IANS,
London : In a case without equal in Britain, a woman who bore a child, conceived through artificial insemination, is suing the NHS for not being able to use her own eggs to prepare the embryo.
Greta Mason of East Sussex gave birth to a male child, Jaden, conceived via IVF using an anonymous donor's egg from Spain and the sperm of her husband, Chris.
The IVF wait-list of the NHS is quite long. The couple waited for six years for their turn, and by the time it finally came, Greta had turned 40. Her eggs were too old for conception, the NHS doctors told her.
Maoist woman leader arrested in Uttar Pradesh
By IANS,
Lucknow : A woman wing commander of a Maoist group was arrested in Sonebhadra district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Wednesday.
"We received information about the movement of a Maoist group and laid a trap. About a dozen Maoists fled but the woman wing commander was arrested Tuesday night," Sonebhadra Superintendent of Police Ramkumar told IANS.
Identified as Bitni alias Nirmala, she was the last woman Maoist leader at large in the district, which is about 300 km from here. Other four women commanders had been arrested earlier.
Mother Kosi, pardon us, they say to a river
By Imran Khan, IANS,
Patna : Left helpless and desperate by the wrath of the Kosi, hundreds of women in Bihar have turned to worshipping the river in the hope that it will relent and make the floods mitigate.
"Mother Kosi is angry, we are offering prayers to appease her," said Parbhawati Devi, the resident of a village near a road linking Saharsa to Madhepura, two of the worst affected districts.
Pakistani woman indicted for attempted murder in US
By DPA,
Washington : The US government Tuesday indicted a Pakistani woman for attempting to murder American interrogators while she was being held in Afghanistan.
Aafia Siddiqui, 36, faces attempted murder charges after she allegedly seized a rifle from a US Army officer and tried to fire it at the interrogators who arrived in Ghazni, Afghanistan in July to question her about possible terrorist related activities, the US Justice Department said.
Mahjabeen sailing SAFEENAH to take poor to happiness
By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net
Patna (Bihar): The place I have entered now is in the heart of a densely populated Muslim area which houses believers of other faiths also. You won't be impressed by the hygienic quotient or the lack of it in the area. But what impresses one and all is the devotion of a middle-aged local Muslim lady to social work.
I was there to meet Mahjabeen Sarwar who runs an NGO called SAFEENAH, an acronym for the “Society for Awareness, Family Welfare, Education, Economic Upliftment, Nationality & Health.”
Stone cold after Kosi kills her newborn
By Priyanka Khanna, IANS,
Araria/Supaul (Bihar) : For a woman whose eight-hour-old baby died a little while ago, Zafeda Khatum looks surprisingly unflustered. The 18-year-old maintains a stoic silence even as her family members clamour around to explain how she lost her first born to the ice cold waters of the Kosi river that unexpectedly entered her shanty in Araria district of Bihar.
Lucknow Biotech park to train women farmers
By IANS,
Lucknow : Free training programmes will be provided to women farmers by the Biotech Park here to enable them to apply new technologies to increase agricultural yield, an official said Monday.
"We will be launching training programmes to hone the skills of women farmers from Sep 7," said P.K. Seth, CEO of the Biotech Park.
"Though the programmes will be open to women farmers from across the state, initially we will enrol farmers from Lucknow and its adjoining districts," an official at the Biotech Park said.
Manipur Muslim girls form union for empowerment
By TwoCircles.net staff reporter,
Imphal (Manipur): The Manipur Muslim girl students have formed, perhaps first time in the history of the state, a union to wage a war on two fronts: to change Muslim socieity’s approach on higher education for Muslim girls and to demand state government reservation for Muslim women.
At age 70, woman wants divorce to avenge husband’s cruelty
By Kanu Sarda, IANS,
New Delhi : A 70-year-old woman who has been married for 53 years has approached a court here seeking divorce on grounds of cruelty and adultery by her husband. She calls it her overdue "revenge".
Bimla Devi wants to end her 53-year-old relationship with Rakesh Kumar, who she says has dumped her for another woman and now allegedly wants to grab her (Bimla's) property.
The distraught woman has moved an application in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Manmohan Sharma against Kumar.
Bimla Devi and Kumar were married March 10, 1955.
South African women open guest house for 2010 World Cup
By IANS,
Phalaborwa (South Africa) : A group of 11 women in this town has opened a 4.5-million rand ($587,696) guest house, targeting visitors during the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup the country is hosting.
The Sasavona Guesthouse in Lulekani, a few kilometres from the Kruger National Park in Phalaborwa in the northern province of Limpopo has been opened to tourists and visitors this week, but the real target is the World Cup tourists, BuaNews reported Saturday.
Indonesian Women’s Participation In Politics Limited, Says First Lady
By Bernama,
Jakarta : Indonesian women's participation in politics is still very limited, despite the existence of a law requiring 30 percent of seats in political representation bodies to be given to women, First Lady Ani Yudhoyono said.
"We must admit that the role of women in the political field must still be intensified," she said in a statement at the Monas (National Monument here on Saturday after officiating an exhibition.
The two-day exhibition is to mark the one decade of the Indonesian women's awakening in conjunction with the centennial of National Awakening.
Women-only police intelligence unit raised in Bangladesh
By IANS,
Dhaka : In a first, the police in Bangladesh have introduced a women-only special intelligence branch to fight the sex trade, drug peddling and trafficking in women and children.
The Special Women Police Contingent (SWPC) would gain access to "the world of women criminals" which is not easy for men to do, said Naim Ahmed, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) commissioner.
Having lost all to floods, woman waits for missing family
By Imran Khan, IANS,
Saharsa (Bihar) : Meena Devi lost everything she had - her thatched house, clothes, two buffaloes, four goats and two sacks of wheat - in the floods caused by the turbulent Kosi river in Bihar and she has been surviving on water. But all this seems immaterial to her as she prays day and night for the safety of her missing husband and sons.
Germans Shoot at Afghan Civilians
By Prensa Latina,
Kabul : Three Afghan civilians, including one woman and two children died in a new violent incident by foreign occupation troops deployed in the country.
The victims lost their lives when German soldiers and Afghani forces shot at them in Kunduz, in the northern region of the Islamic nation.
In a communiqué, the International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) under NATO command informed that the soldiers ordered a group of cars to stop at a control point.
The soldiers opened fire on the car claiming they did not obey the order to stop.
McCain takes Woman as Formula Partner
By Prensa Latina,
Washington : US Republican presidential candidate John McCain appointed Sarah Palin, Governor of the state of Alaska, as his electoral formula partner for the November 4 general elections.
In an electoral meeting at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, McCain presented Sarah Palin as his candidate for Vice President of the US.
Palin is exactly what I need, she is exactly what the US needs, he stated.
Palin was grateful for McCain’s decision and called US women to vote for the Republican Party in the November 4 general elections.
Smoking during pregnancy heightens sudden infant death chances
By IANS,
Washington : Women who smoke during pregnancy have greater chances of losing their newborns to the sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), according to new research carried out by Calgary University.
In the first-ever experimental study to compare the breathing reflexes of premature babies of smokers versus non-smokers, researchers found that babies whose mothers had smoked showed a number of signs of impaired respiratory function.
Student brings lack of women’s toilets to court’s notice
By IANS,
New Delhi : Delhi may be aiming to become a world class city for the 2010 Commonwealth Games, but it lacks basic amenities like public toilets for women, reveals a report by a college student that has compelled the Delhi High Court to direct civic bodies to provide better public conveniences.
Shahana Sheikh, a final year student of economics at Lady Sri Ram (LSR) College, undertook a tour of slums and the outskirts of Delhi from May to July 2008.
Sonia Gandhi, Mayawati on Forbes powerful women list
By IANS,
New York : Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati, PepsiCo chief executive Indra K. Nooyi and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw have been featured in the latest annual list of "100 Most Powerful Women" compiled by Forbes magazine.
Nooyi and Gandhi rank high up at third and twenty-first positions in the list, while Mayawati and Mazumdar-Shaw have been ranked fifty-ninth and ninety-ninth, respectively.
Jag Mundhra’s 7/7 film cynical: victims’ parents
By IANS,
London : The parents of a young woman who was killed in the 7/7 suicide bombings in London have described an Indian-made film on the subject as “cynical.”
"Shoot on Sight", directed by Indian-born Jag Mundhra, is controversial for its story line, which is based on the shooting of an innocent Brazilian man by police in London following the July 7, 2005 suicide bombings that killed 52 people.
Brazilian Jean Charles de Menezes was killed by armed anti-terror police in a London underground train station, but Mundhra's film makes the victim an innocent Muslim.
Bahrain launches new women empowerment programme
By IANS,
Dubai : Bahrain has launched a new women empowerment project designed to raise the status of women in that Gulf nation.
Launched by Bahrain’s Supreme Council for Women (SCW), the project is part of its economic empowerment programme in cooperation with the country’s Labour Fund and the Bahrain Training Institute (BTI), the official Bahrain News Agency (BNA) reported.
Acting director of programmes and projects at the SCW, Ezz Al Deen Al Moayyed said the SCW has already begun a tailoring and design project under the new programme.
Woman among five hanged to death in Iran
By DPA,
Tehran : Five prisoners, including a woman, convicted in a case of murder, were hanged here, the official newspaper Iran reported Thursday.
The five were hanged Wednesday in the Evin prison in northern Tehran after their death sentence had been confirmed by the Supreme Court.
The woman had reportedly killed her husband who wanted to marry a younger woman.
Murder, rape, sabotage and drug-trafficking of quantities in excess of five kilograms are crimes punishable by death in Iran.
Five killed in Jammu gunbattle, four hostages rescued
By IANS,
Jammu : Security forces rescued three children and a woman, who were held hostage during a gunbattle in which three civilians, an army officer and a guerrilla were killed Wednesday in this winter capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
The militants, holed up in a house in Chinore on the outskirts of this city, took six civilians hostage Wednesday morning. The police said they were trying to rescue the two remaining hostages before launching an assault on the guerrillas.
RTI activist in trouble for asking too many questions
By IANS,
Agra : You could be asking for trouble by asking too many questions under the Right to Information Act. This was learnt the hard way by an activist here, who was told by the police that he was interfering in government work as he persisted with queries in the case of a woman kept in a protection home for seven years without being charged.
Woman burnt to death in Orissa violence over VHP leader’s killing
By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : A young woman was burnt to death and a church official seriously injured when a mob torched an orphanage in an Orissa village, sparking tension across the state Monday even as thousands observed a statewide shutdown called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest the killing of one of its leaders.
A 22-year-old woman was killed and a church official badly injured when angry mobs burnt down an orphanage in Khuntpali village in Barhgarh district, 300 km from here, Monday.
While Christians claimed the woman was a nun, the state police have denied it.
Self-employment project for women by scientist body
By IANS,
Lucknow : In order to make rural women of Uttar Pradesh self-employed , a scientist body here has initiated a training project, officials said Monday.
Scientists at the Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow have launched a pilot project to train rural women for self employment.
"CIMAP has undertaken a programme to train rural women in making herbal products like incense sticks, rose water and other products," said A.K. Singh, a CIMAP scientist.
Initially, the programme was launched for villages in Lucknow and Barabanki districts.
Campaign to save girl child, environment in Punjab
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Based on the thinking that both a woman and trees nurture families and planet earth, respectively, without any reciprocity, a novel campaign to save both is being launched in Punjab Wednesday.
The campaign, 'Nanhi Chhaaon' (Little shadow) is being undertaken jointly by the Punjab government, the Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) and a corporate house to highlight why the girl child and environment need to be protected for the future.
US admits holding teenage son of Pakistani scientist
By DPA,
Karachi : US authorities have admitted that the teenage son of a Pakistani woman scientist held in the United States on charges of trying to kill American soldiers in Afghanistan is in their custody, her family said Sunday.
"We received a letter from the office of US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Michael J Gracia late Friday in which he acknowledged of having in custody Aafia Siddiqui's eldest son, Ahmed, who will turn 12 years old in November," her sister Fauzia told DPA.
Islam not against women solemnising marriage: Syeda Hameed
By Rajeev Ranjan Roy, IANS,
New Delhi : Islam does not prohibit a woman from solemnising a marriage and it was reflective of the "slow and steady" changes happening in Muslim society, says Syeda Hameed, an official who courted controversy by performing the marriage rituals of a couple.
"As a religion, Islam does not prohibit a woman from solemnising marriage. We have to move forward. It is the need of the hour," Hameed, a member of the country's Planning Commission, told IANS in an interview.
More women are becoming primary migrants: book
By NNN-PTI,
New Delhi : Asian women are joining men in migrating to other countries, in many cases as principal bread winners, says a new book.
In recent years there has been a significant rise in the number of female migrants, who sometimes come as primary breadwinners.
The male-female ratio of international level on the whole is 52.5 per cent to 47.5 per cent, though its proportion in the developed countries is almost 50:50, says the book 'Striped Zebra, The Immigrant Psyche' by US-based Uday C. Naval and Soofia K.Hussain, published by Rupa.
Indian women’s show to kick off Edinburgh festival
By IANS,
London : An Indian cultural show, "Sakhian Ladies Night", will kick-start the Edinburgh Mela Festival in Leith Sunday.
Sakhian, which means "girls and their friends", is an evening dedicated to entertainment and food for women of all ages and cultural backgrounds - all for only five pounds ($10).
The evening's headline act will be the celebrated bhangra singer and songwriter Des-C. New to "Sakhian" this year is a musical drama, "Sapno ki Shaadi (Dream Wedding)" that depicts the saga of an Asian wedding.
Argentina’s women hockey captain celebrates Olympic bronze in her bra
By DPA,
Beijing : Argentine women's field hockey captain Magdalena Aicega was thrilled as she celebrated the team's bronze medal in her bra, wrapped only in an Argentine flag.
Where was her shirt?
"I gave my shirt to Diego, because he asked me for it. I could not say no to him, it hardly took me a second to take it off," Aicega said Friday.
Argentine football legend Diego Maradona - who encouraged his compatriots in the changing rooms after their painful semifinal loss to the Netherlands - was in the stands Friday.
Gender no bar: Himachal varsity gets first woman president
By IANS,
Shimla : Gender consideration played no part in her historic victory, asserted Shikha Chauhan, the first woman to be elected president of the students' union in Himachal Pradesh University (HPU).
Shikha Chauhan of the Left-backed Student Federation of India (SFI) won the president's post of the Students' Central Association Thursday to become the first woman to be elected to the post in the 30-year history of the state university.
Chauhan defeated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) candidate Amit Kumar by a margin of 47 votes.
HRT therapy found to help menopausal women
By IANS,
Sydney : One of the longest and largest trials of hormone replacement therapy has found it helps post-menopausal women significantly improve quality of life.
The study involved 2,130 post-menopausal women in the UK, Australia and New Zealand. It evaluated the impact of combined oestrogen and progestogen hormone therapy (HRT) on their quality of life.
The average age of women in this study was 13 years after menopause and most participants did not have menopausal symptoms.
Indian women’s relay team to compete Friday
By IANS,
Beijing : It will be India's last chance to salvage prestige on the track event of athletics as the women's 4x400m relay team get into action at the Beijing Olympics Friday.
The showpiece track and field have seen pathetic performances from the Indians so far, with none of the competitors progressing beyond the first stage and none managing to replicate the performance they had come up with to make the cut for the big event.
Woman gives birth outside health centre, inquiry initiated
By IANS,
Lucknow : A 25-year-old woman gave birth to a still-born child outside a community health centre (CHC) in Uttar Pradesh after she was denied admission there. An inquiry has been initiated into the case.
Vidyawati was Tuesday night brought to the Gosaiganj CHC in Lucknow district in an advanced stage of pregnancy by her relatives.
However, the medical staff at the CHC allegedly refused to admit her.
Vidyawati subsequently gave birth to a still-born child in the gallery of CHC, officials added.
AIDWA’s first National Convention of Muslim Women in Delhi
By Kashif-ul-Huda, TwoCircles.net,
About 800 Muslim women are expected to attend the first National Convention of Muslim Women to be organized by the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA). AIDWA is the women's wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist).