Himachal by-elections: Wives hope to succeed husbands
By IANS,
Shimla : Two women are hoping to make it a family affair by contesting for two Himachal Pradesh assembly seats that were vacated by their husbands who are now Lok Sabha MPs.
Pratibha Singh, wife of former Congress Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh, is eyeing the ticket for the Rohru seat whereas Sudha Sushant, wife of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) Rajan Sushant, is hoping to contest from Jawali.
Byelections to both the seats will take place Nov 7.
Woman who blew lid on Woods’ affairs now regrets
By IANS,
London: Ashley Samson, the woman who revealed fallen golfer Tiger Woods' affair with club hostess Rachel Uchitel, claims she was offered more than 150,000 pounds by the sports star's agents to stay mum. She now regrets the mess she has created, reports The Sun.
Samson says she wished she had taken the "hush money", reports the newspaper's website thesun.co.uk. "It probably would have been better as what ended up happening was a big mess," she said.
New UN-managed fund announces over $9m in grants to empower women
By IRNA,
Tehran : A new fund managed by the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) Monday announced over $9 million in grants to support initiatives in 26 countries to empower women.
The initiatives are ranging from boosting their political participation in Bosnia and Herzegovina to assisting those denied inheritance and property rights in Afghanistan, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said here on Tuesday.
Israeli and Palestinian mothers birth a new generation of peace with healing lullaby music
By Eliana Gilad
What does an Israeli neonatal intensive care unit and the biblical prophetess Miriam, sister of Moses - a figure equally respected by both Jews and Muslims - have in common?
They both employed the conscious use of voice, rhythm and music as a means of natural healing in the face of calamity during times of change.
Are women programmed for failure?
By IANS,
London : Leadership positions in business have proven to be precarious for women. Female business leaders are more likely to be appointed to powerful leadership positions when an organisation is in crisis or high-risk circumstances.
Michelle Ryan, associate professor in psychology at the University of Exeter, who researched the subject, proposes that this scenario of "the glass cliff" extends to the political arena.
‘Women village heads still struggle for acceptance’
By IANS,
New Delh: Even as all eyes are riveted on parliament over the Women's Reservation Bill, female panchayat (village council) members gathered in the capital Wednesday said they still have to struggle for acceptance among their peers.
Roshani Devi, who is a sarpanch (village head) in Haryana, said: "When I decided to take regular rounds of my village for monitoring infrastructure development, the villagers opposed it. Had a male sarpanch done the same, he would have been lauded for his initiative."
BJP a divided house over women’s bill
By IANS,
New Delhi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Thursday denied reports that it was divided over the women's reservation bill but the rift was evident with a section of MPs led by Yogi Adityanath said that quotas for women were "needless" and would be opposed in the Lok Sabha.
Adityanath, who represents Gorakhpur in the lower house, openly rebelled against the bill that seeks to reserve a third of all seats in the country's legislatures for women.
Women’s panel to probe forcible stripping by cops
By IANS,
New Delhi : The National Commission for Women (NCW) Friday said its has formed a committee to enquire into the alleged case of a woman being forced to strip in front of her son at a west Delhi police post last month.
NCW chairperson Girija Vyas said: "I was shocked to hear of such police atrocity. We have formed a three-member enquiry committee which will probe into the circumstances leading to the incident and action taken by the authorities."
The victim, a 30-year-old woman, approached the commission Friday.
Meira Kumar to address women speakers’ annual meet
By IANS,
New Delhi: Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar leaves for Switzerland's capital Bern Wednesday to attend the two-day sixth annual meeting of women speakers of parliament that begins July 16. She will also address a session on empowering women.
The meeting begins with a keynote address on "Achieving Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5 on child survival and maternal health: Where do we stand?"
Two Muslim women MPs promoted to Miliband’s front-bench team
By IRNA,
London : Two Muslim women have been promoted by Labour leader Ed Miliband among a new generation of MPs to prominent positions in his shadow front bench team.
Amita Chattopadhyay joins as first vice chancellor of Presidency University
By IANS,
Kolkata: Renowned professor of philosophy Amita Chattopadhyay Monday became the first vice chancellor of Presidency University, housed in the erstwhile Presidency College here.
Divorced women in dire straits: Survey
By IANS,
New Delhi : Approximately 80 percent of divorced or separated women in India live below the poverty line, with a monthly income of less than Rs.4,000, a survey said.
‘Women of India, South Africa should partner each other’
By IANS,
New Delhi : Women of India and South Africa should enter into partnerships in economic development programmes, South Africa's High Commissioner Harris Majeke said here Wednesday.
Woman kills paramour for eyeing her daughter
By IANS,
New Delhi: A woman and her brother were arrested for allegedly killing her paramour as he wanted to develop a relationship with her daughter, police said Wednesday.
Winds of change are blowing, but mindsets need a changing
(One month after Dec 16 gang-rape)
By Anjali Ojha, IANS,
IBSA signs women’s resolution
By IANS,
New Delhi : The India-Brazil-South Africa (IBSA) Women's Forum resolution was signed here Thursday.
NCW team meets Bengal gang rape victim, Trinamool cries foul
By IANS,
Kolkata : A NCW team, which Tuesday met a gang rape victim in West Bengal's Birbhum district, asked the Mamata Banerjee government to...
Diaspora students in US condemn assaults on women in India
By Jitendra Singh ,
New Delhi: In a show of solidarity with victims of sexual assaults in India, students of Indian origin graduating from Ivy...
Child rights groups oppose Maneka’s statement, activists seek debate
New Delhi : Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi's stand that juveniles who commit rape should be tried as adults has evoked mixed...
Varanasi widows to send rakhis to Narendra Modi
By Mohit Dubey ,
Varanasi: The widows of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh will send 1,000 hand-made, colourful rakhis and sweets to Prime Minister Narendra Modi...
Man arrested for raping deaf woman in Tripura
Agartala: A man was arrested for raping a 32-year-old deaf and dumb woman, police said here Tuesday.
"Ajit Nama, aged 30, raped a deaf and...
Not only woman, children too unsafe in Delhi
New Delhi : Delhi is most unsafe not only for women but also for children, with a whopping 166.9 cases registered for every...
15 percent voting in first phase of Karnataka polls
By IANS,
Bangalore : About 15 percent voting was reported in the first three hours of polling Saturday in 89 constituencies across 11 southern districts of Karnataka in the first phase of assembly elections.
Around 17.3 million voters, including 8.4 million women, are eligible to pick their representatives from over 950 candidates. There are 17 women contestants. The Karnataka assembly has 224 seats.
Women claim top spot for Nepal – on Everest
By Sudeshna Sarkar, IANS,
Kathmandu : After unprecedented participation in the movement that helped bring down King Gyanendra's absolute regime and making their presence felt in last month's historic election, Nepal's women Thursday claimed the top spot for their country on Mt Everest.
An expedition by, for and of Nepali women saw five climbers, including first-timers, summit the world's highest peak with more members readying for a fresh push in the afternoon and Friday.
Bangladeshi female lawyer calls for efforts to realize equal rights
By Huang Yanan, Xinhua,
Dhaka : A prominent female lawyer in Bangladesh holds that in a still male-dominated society, women should be encouraged to work hard to realize real equal rights with men.
Although progress has been achieved in the past years, Bangladesh is still a male-dominated country with less women government officials, journalists and entrepreneurs, Lawyer Tania Amir said in an interview with Xinhua recently.
"In the rural areas, girls are not treated equally with boys," she said.
Orissa woman gives birth to identical triplets
By IANS,
Jajpur (Orissa) : A 24-year old woman in Orissa's Jajpur district has given birth to identical triplets, a rarity that occurs once in three million births, a health official said here Monday.
The woman, Santilata Mahalik, a resident of Kunida village, gave birth to three sons Sunday through a normal delivery in the community health centre at Sukinda, 140 km from here.
British MPs to hear about female foeticide in India
By IANS,
London : Claims about rising incidence of female foeticide in India are to be presented to British MPs.
A report by the international charity ActionAid and the International Development Research Council (IDRC) of Canada claims female foeticide is so common that in Punjab only 300 girls survive for every 1,000 boys among high-caste families.
The report, titled 'Disappearing Daughters', is to be presented to MPs belonging to Britain’s all-party group on population, development and reproductive health Monday.
Women politicians make significant presence in Europe
By Xinhua,
Paris : Spain's first woman Defence Minister Carme Chacon, one of the nine female ministers in Spain's 17-member cabinet, attracted world attention when she showed up in April, pregnant for seven months, to inspect the troops.
The political world was even more surprised when Mara Carfagna, a former Italian showgirl who finished sixth in a Miss Italy contest, was appointed Italy's Minister of Equal Opportunities.
Women scavengers make new beginning, join mainstream
By IANS,
New Delhi : For Usha Chaumar, a former woman scavenger who now lives a life of respect and sells home-made pickles for a living rather than carry human excreta, the change she is happiest about in her life is that people now offer her water in the same glass as they drink from - a sign that she is accepted in the society.
"I couldn't imagine that people would invite me to their homes, and what's more, offer me water in a glass that they use themselves!" said a confident looking Chaumar, dressed in a blue sari, at a press meet in the capital Tuesday.
UAE’s first woman athlete in Olympic Games arrives in Beijing
By NNN-WAM,
Beijing : Determined to win, the first woman athlete of the UAE participating in the Olympic Games, Sheikha Maitha bint Mohammed has arrived in the Chinese capital.
She is the only UAE athlete participating in the 67 kg category of taekwondo in the Beijing Olympiad.
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.
This party picks ordinary yet extraordinary folks
By Mayank Aggarwal, IANS,
New Delhi : One look at its candidates and you know that the Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party is trying hard to be a party "with a difference". For the Delhi polls, it claims to have fielded the city's lone woman auto driver, a house painter, the youngest male and female in the fray, and a man who has married his wife six times!
For some of the party's 11 candidates for the Nov 29 polls to elect a 70-member assembly, this is the first brush with politics. What's more, most of them hail from ordinary backgrounds.
Media award for young woman journalist
By IANS,
New Delhi : Alifiya Khan, 24, has won the third Anupama Jayaraman Memorial journalism award for exposing loopholes in the country's healthcare system with a series of investigative articles.
The award consists of a citation and a cash award of Rs.15,000. Khan, a Mumbai-based correspondent with the Hindustan Times, wrote on 12 state-run healthcare centres.
"Primary Hell Centres" - one of her articles which helped Khan clinch the award - unveiled the condition of health centres where untrained Ayurvedic doctors carried out post mortems and used disposable needles on patients.
Police reaction to attacks on Bangalore women disappointing: group
By IANS,
Bangalore : Bangalore police have brushed aside concerns over attacks on women on the streets of India's IT capital as "sporadic" and mere "eve-teasing", says a group formed to protest such crimes.
Disappointed with Police Commissioner Shankar Bidari's reaction to the attacks here - at least five in the past fortnight - the members of Fearless Karnataka/Nirbhaya Karnataka (FKNK) say they will press ahead with plans March 7 and 8 to protest these attacks and raise awareness among the police and citizens.
Indian girls return with best performance card from AFC festival
By IANS,
New Delhi: Unnoticed and unsung, 22 Indian girls, forming two 11-player teams, returned from Colombo after putting up a creditable show in the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) south central under-14 festival there.
India's girls topped the five-team festival with 21 green cards followed by Jordan, Iran, Sri Lanka and Bhutan in that order. India won all but one of their matches, which was a 30-minute draw with Iran.
Two more join opposition to women’s quota bill
By IANS,
New Delhi: After Sharad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav, another Yadav leader, Lalu Prasad, Tuesday added his opposition to the women's reservation bill, terming it as a conspiracy against regional parties to keep their leaders away from power.
Rebel Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Kalyan Singh too termed the bill, which proposes to reserve 33 percent seats in parliament and the state legislatures for women, as a conspiracy against regional parties.
Akhilesh Yadav bats for 25 percent reservation for women
By IANS,
Lucknow : Adopting a softer stand on the women's reservation bill, Samajwadi Party MP and Uttar Pradesh state unit chief Akhilesh Yadav Sunday said his party could support the move if the reservation is brought down to 25 from 33 percent.
"The percentage should be decreased from 33 to 25. Then only can our party consider supporting the women's reservation bill in parliament," Yadav told reporters in Barabanki district, 40 km from here.
BSP leader, 2 aides booked for raping woman
By IANS,
Lucknow : A Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader and his two aides have been booked for allegedly raping a 25-year-old married woman in Uttar Pradesh's Bareilly district, police said Saturday.
"BSP leader Sumer Singh, who is in charge of the party's affairs in the Nawabganj assembly constituency of Bareilly, along with two of his friends raped the woman after abducting her," police Inspector Veer Singh Nayak told IANS on phone.
A case was registered against them Friday on the complaint of the victim's husband.
Karva Chauth continues to captivate Indian women
By IANS,
New Delhi : A day when married Hindu women fast till sundown to pray for their husbands' long life and prosperity, Karva Chauth is a much awaited festival in North India. This year, too, there is palpable excitement in the air.
BJP determined to ensure passage of women’s bill: Gadkari
By IANS,
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is determined to ensure the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, party president Nitin Gadkari Saturday said and appealed to all political parties to support the legislation as the Congress-led government "is in minority in parliament".
The Rajya Sabha will consider the bill Monday.
Gadkari said the idea of the Women's Reservation Bill was first mooted at the party's National Council Meeting at Vadodara in 1995.
Woman dies after her clothes catch fire
By IANS,
New Delhi: A 22-year-old woman died after her clothes caught fire while she was performing puja in her house in northwest Delhi, police said Tuesday. Her husband sustained critical burn injuries when he rushed to her aid.
"Matti was performing Navratra Puja at her Maurya Enclave residence when her clothes caught fire late Monday. Her husband Sumit Aswal tried to save her but also suffered 30 percent burn injuries," a police official said.
India’s women teams eyeing semi-final berths in Lawn Bowl tournament
By IANS,
New Delhi: Indian women Thursday assured themselves of a berth in the semi-final play-offs of the singles and the triples event of the Eight Nation Invitational Lawn Bowls Event.
In the triples category, Indian women defeated South Africa 12-3, 10-8 while in the singles they won 14-1, 7-8 via the tie-breaker against Northern Ireland at the renovated Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here.
In the pairs category, the women's team is placed sixth after they lost to Malaysia 11-7, 7-6.
Woman uses RTI to get salary details of cheating husband
By IANS,
New Delhi : The pay particulars of a government employee cannot be considered personal information, the Central Information Commission (CIC) has ruled, while upholding the right of a "betrayed" woman to get details of her husband's salary.
The untold story of Egyptian women’s rights
By Rasha Dewedar
In a report published last month on violent crimes committed against women in 2009, Karam Saber Ibrahim, Executive Director of The Land Center for Human Rights, a Cairo-based non-governmental organisation, spoke of a belief that some Egyptians continue to hold, that "women are fundamentally lacking.... They are not complete, because they are not men."
Over 1,800 women beggars held in Mumbai in three years
By IANS,
New Delhi : A total of 1,818 women beggars were rounded up in Mumbai and only 319 and 19 in Delhi and Kolkata respectively in the past three years, Women and Child Development Minister Krishna Tirath Monday said.
"The number of women beggars hauled up in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata in the last three years is 319, 1,818 and 19 respectively," the minister told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply.
Smriti Irani takes over as BJP women’s cell chief
By IANS,
New Delhi : Television actor-turned-politician Smriti Irani Thursday officially assumed charge as the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) women's cell chief at an event presided over by party president Nitin Gadkari.
"We will aim for the passage of the women's reservation bill in the Lok Sabha under the guidance of our senior leader Sushma-ji," Irani said. The bill has been passed by the Rajya Sabha.
Saina in final of Indonesian Open Super series
By IANS,
Jakarta: India's Saina Nehwal stormed into the final of the Indonesian Open Super Series with a 21-9, 21-10 victory over Eriko Hirose of Japan Saturday.
Defending champion Saina, who is the top seed in the tournament, will take on Japan's Sayaka Sato, who beat Indonesian qualifier Ana Rovita 22-20, 21-17, in the title clash Sunday.
The Indian is in line for three titles in three weeks, having won the Indian Open Grand Prix and Singapore Open Super Series in the last two weeks which saw her climb three places to world no.3.
Army to give permanent commission to women in two months
By IANS,
New Delhi : The government Monday told the Supreme Court that it would consider giving permanent commission within two months to women serving as short service commission officers in the legal and education branches of the Indian Army.
However, the absorption of women as permanent commission officers would be subject to "requirement" and after necessary training, Solicitor General Gopal Subramanium said in an undertaking on behalf of the defence ministry, recorded by the court.
Announcements by finance minister for lawmakers, women…
By IANS,
New Delhi : The following announcements were made by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee in the Lok Sabha Friday during a discussion on the budget for the fiscal 2011-12:
Even two pegs can endanger life of women with breast cancer
By IANS,
London: Women taking a couple of alcoholic pegs a day may be reducing their chances of survival in case they develop breast cancer, a new study has found.
Maharashtra moots murder charge for female foeticide
By IANS,
Mumbai: The Maharashtra government Tuesday mooted slapping murder charges on those involved in female foeticide.
Government committed for women’s safety: PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Wednesday said that his government was committed to ensure the safety and security of every woman of the country.
Muslim women threaten to leave Central African Republic
Bangui : More than 100 Muslim women in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR), are threatening to leave amid tension between...
Himachal woman accident victim’s compensation raised four times
Shimla: The housewife is the backbone of a home and her disability makes her a burden on others, observed the Himachal Pradesh High Court...
Whither women’s security in Akhilesh’s Uttar Pradesh?
Being a woman and moving around in Akhilesh Yadav's Uttar Pradesh seems to be a mortally scaring thought.
While union home ministry records show that rape cases in India's most populous state of over 200 million people, which sends the largest number of 80 lawmakers to the national parliament, have seen a quantum jump of 55 percent over the previous year, the state government and the police force, possiblyl the largest in the country and pathetic by all standards, continues to drag its feet in one-line statements and knee-jerk reactions of setting up teams and taking the PR route of "CM blasted officials, probe is in the right direction".
Activists oppose ban on ‘India’s Daughter’
New Delhi : Women activists on Thursday strongly opposed the blanket ban on a BBC documentary titled "India's Daughter" on the December 16, 2012...
Memon to be buried in Nagpur jail
Nagpur : Yakub Memon, the March 1993 Mumbai blasts convict, who was executed here early Thursday, will be buried inside the Nagpur Central Jail...
More women MPs in panel to fight for quota bill
By IANS,
New Delhi : Leading political parties Saturday added more members to a parliamentary panel that is discussing the controversial Women's Reservation Bill, which is facing opposition from some parties including a few ruling allies.
While the Congress party has nominated its whip Krishna Tirath and Tejaswini Gowda, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has proposed Kiran Maheswari and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) has suggested P. Satheedevi for the panel.
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.
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.
Asia’s richest woman was feng shui master’s lover, court told
By DPA,
Hong Kong : Asia's richest woman, according to court testimony, was the lover of a feng shui master for 14 years before leaving him her entire multibillion-US-dollar fortune, a news report said Saturday.
Lawyers for feng shui master Tony Chan said he and Nina Wang shared a "long-lasting, close and affectionate love" from 1993 to her death last year, the South China Morning Post reported.
The pair allegedly had "midnight meetings" disguised as feng shui consultations during their secret affair, which began three years after Wang's husband was kidnapped, never to reappear.
Suicide bomber kills seven in Iraq
By Xinhua,
Baghdad : A woman suicide bomber blew herself Monday at the entrance to the heavily-guarded Green Zone area of central Baghdad, killing at least seven people, an interior ministry source said.
More than a dozen people were also injured in the attack at one of the main entrances to the zone, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
"Our first reports said that five killed and 12 injured, including security members," the source said
Indian woman jailed in Britain for carrying fake documents
By IANS,
London : An Indian national, Fatima Gani, has been jailed for possessing fake identity documents at her home in Tooting, London.
The 42-year-old woman had illegally stayed back in the country after arriving on a holiday, the police said. Her house was raided on a tip-off.
She pleaded guilty to 17 offences of identity fraud at Kingston Crown Court and was sentenced to two years in prison.
A large number of documents, including fake and original passports, driving licences and bank documents were seized from her house.
Women stopped from using road in Bangladesh town
By IANS,
Dhaka : For the last month, women in a Bangladesh town have been unable to use a road that has a mosque on it, but also the post office and several homes, thanks to a self-styled Muslim cleric who says their presence is illegal under Islamic law.
Retired soldier Abdus Sattar, who calls himself 'Pir', has been guarding the road in Chittagong's Pirojpur town with the help of a stick for the last month.
And the administration is yet to act against Sattar, The Daily Star said Tuesday.
A graffiti on Bara Masjid Road in Mathbaria says "women are forbidden on this road".
Self-help groups help women overcome childhood sexual trauma
By IANS,
London : Women who have lived through the nightmare of sexual trauma in childhood can help one another overcome these memories by sharing their experiences.
One reason why such women don't talk about their trauma is the fear of being disbelieved. Some of them said that they tried to tell their story but nobody would listen to them.
Others recalled that although their counsellor or doctor gave them a patient hearing, there was still a vital something missing, namely the opportunity to talk to someone in a similar predicament.
Delegation represents Iran in UN conference on women
By IRNA,
United Nations : An Iranian delegation has participated in the 53rd session of the United nations’ Commission on the Status of Women which opened Tuesday in New York.
The five-member delegation is led by Elham Aminzadeh who is the aide to the Iranian foreign minister for women’s affairs.
The world event this year is focusing on the theme of AIDS and the way it affects women.
Talking in the opening ceremony of the event, Aminzadeh said Iran was ready to share its scientific achievements in the area with the international community.
Daughter wants death for rapist dad
By IANS
Amritsar: "My father should not be spared for his acts. He should be shot dead," was the impassioned plea of the college-going daughter of a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader. The father has allegedly been raping his daughter for the past eight years.
Speaking to reporters here Thursday, the 20-year-old said she wanted no mercy for her father. "Don't spare him. The police should shoot him dead," she said, speaking in Punjabi.
Court asks doctors to decide on abortion for rape victim
By IANS,
Chandigarh: The Punjab and Haryana High Court Tuesday ordered the setting up of a special committee of doctors to decide on terminating the pregnancy of a 19-year-old mentally challenged rape victim as she does not have a guardian.
Justice Surya Kant directed the Chandigarh administration to form a committee comprising senior doctors of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) and an additional sessions judge, who will act as a member-cum-coordinator.
The committee will submit its report within 10 days of its constitution, the court said.
Budget gives boost to women, child development schemes
By IANS,
New Delhi : Schemes to improve female literacy, credit support and microfinance to rural women as well as children's heath and education have been given prime importance in the union budget announced Monday.
The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme - for providing health, nutrition and education services to children up to six years of age, pregnant women and nursing mothers - has been granted Rs.6,705 crore (Rs.67.05 billion) in the budget.
Appoint full-time women’s commission head, Brinda tells PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : Accusing the government of "indifference and neglect" of the National Commission for Women (NCW), Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Brinda Karat Tuesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to appoint a full-time chairperson of the organisation.
The CPI-M politburo member's demand came in the wake of its present chairperson Girija Vyas being elected as a Lok Sabha MP.
Women’s panel for slapping serious charges against Rathore
By IANS,
New Delhi : The National Commission for Women (NCW) Tuesday appealed to the central and Haryana governments to slap serious charges against former Haryana police chief S.P.S. Rathore, convicted in the Ruchika Girhotra molestation case. It also assured that civil damages will be filed after legal consultation.
"We have asked the union home ministry and the Haryana government to slap serious charges - abetment to suicide, attempt to murder, conspiracy and destroying evidence - against Rathore," NCW chairperson Girija Vyas told reporters here.
Cabinet clears Women’s Reservation Bill
By IANS,
New Delhi: The cabinet Thursday cleared the long-pending Women's Reservation Bill that provides for setting aside 33 percent of seats in parliament and the state legislatures for women and it is likely to be tabled in the current session of parliament, informed sources said.
"The cabinet today cleared the Women's Reservation Bill and it is likely to be introduced in the current session of parliament," the sources said.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presided over the cabinet meeting.
Ansari wins praise for handling Rajya Sabha ruckus
By IANS,
New Delhi: Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari, a relative newcomer to politics, won praise from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and others for the manner in which he controlled the ruckus in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday over physical eviction of seven suspended opposition members from the house.
"I must compliment the chairman and the deputy chairman for the manner in which they handled the situation," Manmohan Singh said while intervening in the over three-hour debate in the Rajya Sabha Tuesday on the Women's Reservation Bill that the house later passed 186-1.
Women village leaders want quota within quota
By IANS,
New Delhi : Around 60 women village leaders Friday hailed the passing of the women's reservation bill in the Rajya Sabha but demanded a quota for Dalits and other backward classes (OBCs) for their proper representation.
At a conclave organised here by international NGO ActionAid, the women, representing village councils in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, urged political parties to take note of the discrimination against women within the backward classes.
Will join politics after women’s bill passed: Kiran Bedi
By IANS,
Chandigarh : Kiran Bedi, a celebrated former police officer, Monday said she would join active politics after the women's quota becomes law but expressed apprehensions about the bill's passage.
"I still adhere to my previous statement that I will start taking part in active politics once the women's reservation bill is passed. But I believe there are very minimal chances that this bill will pass," said Bedi, who was India's first woman Indian Police Service (IPS) officer and has won the Magsaysay Award.
Seminar on ‘Women’s rights and the legal systems’ at AMU
By TCN News,
Aligarh: A three-day seminar on ‘Women’s rights and the legal systems’ has been inaugurated today in Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
Girl burnt by alleged rapist dies after 13 days
By IANS,
Ranchi : A girl set afire by her alleged rapist succumbed to her injuries in a hospital in the steel city of Jamshedpur after 13 days Friday, a doctor said.
JIH’s stand on co-education makes its Kerala unit uncomfortable
By Abdul Basith, TwoCircles.net
Powell calls for more Indian women students in US
By IANS,
Kolkata: Asserting that the US was stepping up efforts to increase the number of young women studying in her country, Ambassador to India...
Farm widows to fast on International Women’s Day
Nagpur (Maharashtra) : Thousands of widows across the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra will go on fast on International Women's Day Saturday to protest government...
Dec 16 gang rape verdict: Key points
The Delhi High Court Thursday upheld the death sentences to four convicts in the Delhi Dec 16, 2012 gang rape. Here are key points...
Violence against women denounced in Argentina
Buenos Aires : With a call to end all forms of violence against women, nearly 40,000 participants brought Argentina's 29th National Women's Conference to...
Saving girl child high priority: Maneka
New Delhi : Saving the girl child is high priority for the Indian government, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said Monday.
At a...
Woman kills two children, self in Tripura
By IANS,
Agartala : A woman poisoned her two teenaged children and then killed herself in Tripura, which is witnessing an increase in the number of suicides, police said Tuesday.
Laxmi Sarkar, 27, killed her two children and then committed suicide late Monday in Kalyanpur in west Tripura, a police spokesman said. She reportedly took the extreme step due to abject poverty.
In separate incidents, two middle-aged women also committed suicide in west Tripura allegedly due to poverty, police said.
Missing Pakistani woman arrested in Afghanistan
By NNN-PTI,
New York : A Pakistani woman, who mysteriously disappeared from Karachi five years back, having alleged links with the Al Qaeda, has been arrested on charges of attempted murder and assault of US soldiers and FBI agents working in Afghanistan.
Thirty-six year old Aafia Saddiqui, a neuroscientist trained in US, who was arrested here after being brought from Afghanistan last evening, will be produced before a court tomorrow, South District of New York Attorney Michael J Garcia said. If convicted, she could get prison sentence of 20 years on each of the two charges.
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).
Assam Congress women demand tickets for general elections
By IANS,
Guwahati : Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress, the women's wing of the ruling Congress party in the state, Monday demanded 33 percent reservation for women candidates in the upcoming general elections.
"We want at least four seats for women candidates to contest in the Lok Sabha elections. I think we are justified in our demand and we have already intimated the same to Congress president Sonia Gandhi," president of the Assam Pradesh Mahila Congress Moloya Barman told IANS.
Haryana Police to probe woman’s molestation complaint
By IANS,
Panchkula (Haryana) : After staging a sit-in for nearly 24 hours, a woman who complained of being molested by a senior police officer was Tuesday assured by the Haryana Police chief that her allegation would be looked into and the necessary corrective steps would be taken.
Haryana Police chief Ranjeev Dalal finally met the woman Tuesday evening and listened to her grievance for over half-an-hour, an official said.
One held for Nepal woman journalist’s murder
By IANS,
Kathmandu : A week after the brutal murder of a woman broadcaster in Nepal's violence-hit Terai plains, the Maoist government Sunday said the mastermind behind the killing has been arrested.
Mebilal Paswan, said to be associated with a little-known Terai organisation calling itself the Terai Ekta Parishad, has been arrested for the murder of radio journalist Uma Singh, government spokesman and Minister for Communications and Information Krishna Bahadur Mahara told the interim parliament Sunday.
Mahara said Paswan, arrested Saturday, had admitted involvement in the killing.
President calls for ‘women-inclusive’ development
By IANS,
Mumbai : Women should be included at all levels to make the development process sustainable and help build the nation, President Pratibha Patil said here Saturday. Patil was speaking as the chief guest at the 58th annual convocation of the Shrimati Nathibai Damodar Thackersey (SNDT) Women's University here.
Pointing out that women do not have same opportunities as men, she said that in order to achieve the objective of growth with equity, the mainstreaming of women into the national development process was essential.
Jharkhand woman kills a man, then hangs herself
By IANS,
Ranchi: A woman allegedly slit the throat of a man in a temple and then committed suicide following a financial dispute in a Jharkhand village, police said Wednesday.
According to police, Pramila Devi, in her late thirties, murdered Kamlesh Ram who was praying in a temple in Sijua village of Dhanbad district. She then went home and hanged herself from a ceiling fan.
Harassed by in-laws, woman jumps with kids before train
By IANS,
New Delhi: A 26-year-old woman died and her two children sustained serious injuries when she jumped with them in front of a train in capital Monday, allegedly following continuous harassment from husband and in-laws, police said.
Beenu took her two children Muskan, 3, and two-month-old Abhiyan to the rail tracks near Sawan Park area of north Delhi late Monday.
"She jumped in front of a train. She was cut into two pieces and her children suffered serious injuries and are undergoing treatment at the Sir Gangaram Hospital," a police officer said.
Over 50 percent of Delhi women feel they are obese
By IANS,
New Delhi : A whopping 51 percent of women in Delhi, the highest in the country, feel that they are obese. The majority of them blame it on their irregular eating habits and lack of exercise, said a survey released Tuesday.
The women aged between 18 to 50 years said weight management, especially in these size-zero times, is an important issue for them. Kolkata women at 40 percent were second to perceive themselves as obese followed by Mumbai at 39 percent and Chennai at 26 percent.
Multi-party democracy has worked, give voice to women: PM
By IANS,
New Delhi : India's journey to a multi-party democracy has been marked with "stresses and strains" but it has worked, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday while making a strong case for a meaningful voice for women in political and developmental processes.
Women cops on trains for security of female passengers
By IANS,
New Delhi : In a bid to improve security of women passengers travelling by train, twelve companies of women security personnel called Mahila Vahini will be raised for the purpose, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee said Wednesday.
Presenting the 2010 railway budget, Banerjee said 17,000 trains ferry 18 million passengers daily across 64,015 km of the Indian rail network and, according to rough estimates, nearly half of them are women.
Two boys held for raping 16-year-old
By IANS,
Lucknow: Two Class 11 boys have been arrested for allegedly raping their 16-year-old classmate at gunpoint in Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh, police said Monday.
The two were nabbed late Sunday from Rajuaha forest area, about 400 km from Lucknow, police Inspector R.K. Singh told reporters.
The girl was abducted and raped Friday by three boys at a secluded place. The boys and the victim studied in the same class in Baraut town. The third accused is on the run.
Belgium set to become first EU country to ban burqas
By DPA,
Brussels: Belgium Wednesday moved a step closer to becoming the first European Union (EU) country to punish Muslim women who hide their faces in public, as the interior affairs committee of its parliament passed a resolution against burqas.
Burqas are full-length, head-to-toe garments which obscure a woman's face completely, usually with a semi-transparent section that allows the wearer to see out.
You won’t find a husband, world’s tallest girl told
By IANS,
London: Marvadene Anderson, a US resident who is said to be the world's tallest teenage girl at 6 feet 11 inches, says the rudest thing that she has ever been told is that she won't "be able to find a husband".
"People are friendly with me because of my height and my personality. If I was tall and mean, I think I'd have a problem," The Telegraph quoted Anderson as saying Tuesday.
"The rudest thing anybody ever said about my height is that I'm not going to be able to find a husband."
Hasina seventh top world woman leader
By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been named the seventh among 12 top world women leaders by Time magazine.
No plans for new women’s battalions in paramilitary forces
By IANS,
New Delhi : There are no plans for raising new women's battalions or reserve battalions in the central armed police forces (CAPFs), parlaiment was informed Tuesday.
Indian rape laws must be of global standards: Amnesty
By IANS,
New Delhi: Amnesty International wants Indian rape laws to meet the highest international standards. And it does not favour death penalty or chemical castration.
Bahraini women demand abducted Nigerian girls’ release
Manama: Bahrain's women union Wednesday condemned the abduction of 300 Nigerian school girls by a terrorist group and called for an immediate release of...
68 percent Delhi women at risk of cardiovascular diseases
New Delhi : Over 68 percent of women above the age of 35 years in Delhi are at the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD),...
Saina seeded No.2 at Australian Open
Sydney: Star Indian shuttler and defending champion Saina Nehwal has been seeded No.2 in the women's singles event for the $750,000 Australian Open Superseries...
Where is Rs.2,000 crore Nirbhaya Fund, AAP asks Centre
New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday targeted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratice Alliance government at the Centre over women's safety,...
Five sleeping labourers crushed to death in Noida
By IANS,
Noida : Five sleeping labourers, including two women, were killed and two children injured when they were crushed under the wheels of a bus here at midnight Saturday.
The victims were asleep near a crossing under the Sector-24 police station of Noida.
According to Superintendent of Police City Mahesh Mishra, the driver of an Uttar Pradesh Roadways bus was trying to park his bus at 11.45 p.m. on the ground when he failed to spot the sleeping labourers.
Bhopal survivors chain themselves near PM’s residence
By IANS,
New Delhi : Thirty-seven Bhopal gas disaster survivors, including 22 women, were arrested Wednesday when they chained themselves near Prime Minister Manmohar Singh's residence here to demand that the government address their grievances.
The police said the people chained themselves to the railings opposite the heavily-guarded prime minister's residence.
“They were not allowed to go near the PM's house, so they chained themselves. We cut their chains and took them into custody,” Joint Commissioner of Police (New Delhi Range) Ajay Kashyap told IANS.
‘Indian farm women work more but earn less’
By Brij Khandelwal, IANS,
Agra : Indian women work more but earn less than men, says an eminent agricultural economist. In his latest book he shows how women continue to get a raw deal despite putting in longer hours and work that is critically more important for the farm sector and the family.
Woman kills lover in head-on crash, court told
By DPA,
Wellington : A 37-year-old New Zealand woman drove her car 13 km with her lover hanging onto the bonnet, before deliberately staging a head-on crash to kill him, a court was told Monday.
Cindy Marcia Fairburn denied during trial in the New Plymouth district court having murdered Darren Paul Maxwell, 42, in August by crashing into an oncoming sports utility vehicle the driver of which was seriously injured in the incident.
Slow exercise beneficial for menopausal women
By IANS,
Washington : Scientists seeking to delay or reduce age-related muscle deterioration in menopausal women are examining the effects of different exercise regimes.
Alexander Sänger's research group from University of Salzburg has investigated two such methods. Hypertrophy resistance training is a traditional approach designed to induce muscle growth and 'SuperSlow(r)' which involves much slower movement and fewer repetitions of exercises.
Men, women divided on sharing housework
By IANS,
Sydney : Young men and women are divided over sharing housework and a woman's right to have an abortion, according to a survey.
"It should come as no surprise that young women are more in favour of domestic democracy than the young men, while also being more supportive of a woman's right to have an abortion," said Chilla Bulbeck of University of Adelaide.
The survey, conducted in 10 countries by Bulbeck and her team, looked at the attitudes of young men and women to a number of gender equality issues.
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.
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.
‘Fight Back’ to represent India at US youth summit
By IANS,
New Delhi/Mumbai : Fight-Back, an online gender justice campaign launched this year in Mumbai after a woman there was molested outside the JJ Marriott Hotel on New Year's eve, will represent India at the prestigious International Youth Movements Summit in New York Dec 3-5.
The celebrity campaign helps young women across the country with wallet cards listing police helpline numbers, online discussion forums, support groups and media to enable them fight against gender abuse and injustice.
Confident women lack social skills
By IANS,
Washington : Women who project themselves as confident and ambitious in job interviews are perceived as highly competent but lacking in social skills.
Women who present themselves as modest and cooperative, while well liked, are perceived as low on competence.
However, confident and ambitious male candidates are viewed as both competent and likable and therefore are more likely to be hired as a manager than either confident or modest women.
Gang-raped German woman to return to Chandigarh and depose
By Jaideep Sarin, IANS,
Chandigarh : A young German woman who was gang-raped by five youths after being taken on a drive from an upscale hotel here in September 2008 is arriving in the city Thursday to depose in the case before a local court, police said Monday.
"The German woman will reach Chandigarh on Jan 15 and probably her father will accompany her," Ramesh Chander, Sector-17 station house officer, told IANS.
The court hearing is scheduled for Friday. The woman will be accompanied by German embassy officials from New Delhi.
No woman should die giving life: UNICEF
Tehran, Jan 18, IRNA -- Every minute somewhere in the world a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth, and the women in the world’s least developed countries are 300 times more likely to die in childbirth than those in developed countries.
These facts are highlighted in UNICEF’s State of the World’s Children report on maternal and newborn health, a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) said on Sunday.
Bangladesh parliament to double reservation for women
By IANS,
Dhaka : Bangladesh's parliament will more than double the number of seats reserved for women and repeal laws that discriminate against women, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has said.
Addressing the inaugural ceremony of the International Women's Day at Osmani Memorial Hall here, she said: "We will reintroduce the National Women Development Policy adopted during the last Awami League government's tenure. We gave nomination to maximum number of women for contesting the December 29 polls."
Delhi to set up women’s help desks for 2010 Games
By IANS,
New Delhi : Keeping in mind the safety concerns of women during the Commonwealth Games next year, the Delhi government Tuesday announced a plan to establish 'gender help desks' at various places across the city.
"Women, who are integral to any event, in diverse capacities, have some special needs. These needs are to be addressed and redressed," Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said.
India rejects Albania’s demand for Mother Teresa’s remains
By IANS,
New Delhi: India has rejected Albania's demand for Mother Teresa's remains, saying she was an Indian citizen - a decision widely welcomed in this country where the Nobel prize winner spent her life tending to the poor and needy.
An external affairs ministry official told IANS Tuesday that Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen and there was no question of returning her remains. It was reacting to a demand by Albania, the country where she was born on Aug 26, 1910,
"Mother Teresa was an Indian citizen. There is nothing more to be said," the official said.