SECRETARY CLINTON TO LAUNCH WOMEN’S WORLD CUP INITIATIVE

andlt; pandgt; Pretty Smart! On Monday June 6, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will launch the Women’s World Cup Initiative: Empowering Women and Girls Through Sports. The event, which will be streamed live on www.state.gov. will take place 9:30 am ET at the Department of State with members of the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and youth soccer players from around the world. This initiative is a joint effort by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and the Secretary’s Office of Global Women’s Issues. The partnership hopes to harness the power of sports and international exchanges as a means to empower women and girls worldwide. The announcement is part of the build-up to the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will take place ths summer in Germany, and the kick-off to the 40th anniversary year of Title IX — the U.S. law to provide equal oppor wtunity for men and women in academics and athletics. In her address, Secretary of State Clinton will h [Read More]

published June 7, 2011 at 6:00pm CDT

SAUDI WOMEN DARE TO DRIVE IN DEFIANCE OF LAW

There are a lot of rights that western women take for granted. One of them is the freedom to drive - an activity that helps women be independent. Not so in every country or culture. Manal, a 32-year-old woman, is planning something she’s never done openly in her native Saudi Arabia: Get in her car and take to the streets, defying a ban on female drivers in the kingdom. Manal and 10 other people are organizing a campaign on Facebook and Twitter urging Saudi women with international driver’s licenses to join them starting June 17, risking their jobs and their freedom. Read more on Saudi Women Driving [Read More]

published May 11, 2011 at 6:15pm CDT

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL HONORS JOAN BAEZ FOR A LIFETIME OF HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY

Amnesty International turns 50 this year, and closely linked to Amnesty’s legacy of championing human rights is that of folk legend Joan Baez. Baez was an active supporter of Amnesty from the start, stuffing envelopes at their first home office in San Francisco– not coincidentally, where this year’s Annual General Meeting is being held. This Friday, as part of their anniversary AGM, Joan Baez will be honored for a lifetime of human rights solidarity and advocacy. Her receiving the award also marks an exciting beginning, as it will establish the Amnesty International Joan Baez Award for Outstanding, Inspirational Service in the Global Fight for Human Rights. The award will be given to artists – working in music, film, fine arts or other media – who similarly contribute to the advancement of human rights. Baez will be presented with the first award in recognition of her historic, ground-breaking and courageous human rights work with Amnesty International and beyond, and the [Read More]

published March 15, 2011 at 2:04pm CDT

AL QAEDA'S LATEST JIHADIST WOMEN'S EMAGAZINE

Tips on how to meet a terrorist husband? Ideas for keeping your skin beautiful underneath a niqab? Poetry about the Holy War? Enter the bizarre world of Al Qaeda's newest Cosmo-like magazine for women. Al Shamikah--The Majestic, features stories on pleasing your husband and working on household duties alongside calls to violent terrorism and praise for the wives of suicide bombers. While Al Shamikah is written in classical Arabic, the contents appear aimed at a worldwide audience. Fast Company takes a closer look at this new ezine, which is admittedly a propaganda tool. Close Reading [Read More]

published March 15, 2011 at 12:16pm CDT

IRANIAN PRESIDENT, CLERICS DISAGREE OVER WOMEN’S SPORTS

Iranian athletes had fine performances in China’s southern city of Guangzhou where the 16th edition of the Asian Games, Asiad, recently wrapped. But a senior Muslim cleric has denounced the participation of Iranian women in the Asian Games, calling it a humiliation and saying women’s sports are a product of the West’s “dirty” culture that should be shunned. As he has done in the past, President Ahmadinejad took the opposite view – one shared by most Iranians – and praised female athletes from Iran who won medals in the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, which took place November 12 – 27, 2010. Iran’s strict Islamic rules forbid physical contact between unrelated men and women, and Iranian women are even barred from attending soccer games in which men’s teams are playing. Although Iranian female athletes take part only in games where there is no physical contact with men, clerics are still opposed. “That Muslim women get medals in sports games is [Read More]

published December 8, 2010 at 3:02pm CST

GIRL UP PEP RALLY

More than 400 girls and and#40;and some boysand#41; from all over LA joined gathered at the Marlborough School in Hancock Park a few weeks ago to support the United Nations Girl Up campaign and learn about the lives of girls in Malawi, Liberia, Guatemala, and Ethiopia. No matter where they live in the world, girls are bright, talented, and full of dreams. But too many girls growing up in developing countries aren't able to fulfill those dreams because their chances to go to school, stay healthy, and live free from violence are out of reach. The Girl Up is a campaign for girls, by girls. Her Majesty Queen Rania al Abdullah of Jordan joined the Girl Up pep rally providing truly inspirational remarks highlighting the difficulties girls around the world face. Queen Rania praised the energy and compassion of American girls to draw attention to the adversity their counterparts face and she empowered all the attendees to bring about global change. Queen Rania is seriously the coolest! A [Read More]

published November 24, 2010 at 6:34pm CST

RUN FOR CONGO WOMEN

This is pretty good. A few weeks ago, the New York Times Magazine highlighted a number of individuals as part of a series about grassroots work being done worldwide to help others in need. One of the women profiled, along with her mission, caught our attention. Lisa Shannon’s life changed in 2006 while watching an episode of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,”  on which Women for Women International founder and CEO Zainab Salbi was explaining the crisis facing women in the Democratic Republic of Congo and#40;DRCand#41;. “I learned about Congo, widely called the worst place on earth to be a woman,” Lisa said. “Awakened to the atrocities—millions dead, women being raped and tortured, children starving and dying in shocking numbers—I had to do something.” Moved by DRC survivors’ stories, Lisa took action, sponsoring two women in the DRC and starting a program called Run for Congo Women. Lisa began running alone, raising nearly $28,000 on her first run. The movement ha [Read More]

published November 3, 2010 at 4:22pm CDT

AUSTRALIANS SET RECORD FOR FASTEST STILETTO RACE

In the wake of last week’s LIVE’s  High Heel-a-Thon to benefit the Heart Association, four Australian women have just nabbed the world record for the fastest relay race in stiletto heels. The quartet from the Australian capital of Canberra completed a 100-meter and#40;330 feetand#41; course near Sydney’s Opera House in about one minute and four seconds on Tuesday, Sept. 28 2010 — while wearing 3-inch heels. A record keeper from Guinness World Records confirmed the women had set the record and presented them with a certificate. The women — known as the Pinkettes — say they plan to use their 10,000 Australian dollar and#40;$9,600and#41; prize for a trip to Thailand. About 100 women — and one man — competed in the race, which helped raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation. [Read More]

published September 28, 2010 at 6:38pm CDT

IRANIAN WOMAN CHASING HER RACING DREAM

Noora Naraghi recently traveled 1500 miles from Iran all the way to Tallahassee, Florida to learn motocross from Stefy Bau, former two-time women world motocross champion and owner of 211 MX school, the elite world wide motocross academy for women. Naraghi already made news world-wide when she decided to go against her country laws and create the first ever women motocross championship in Iran. The race was held last year at the club that Naraghi and her family own, and despite the skepticism from most people, it was an incredible success. Eight female participants and#40;one of them being Noora’s momand#41; competed in a five lap race and opened the eyes of all Iranians present. The racers were covered from head to toe, as per Iranian law, but that didn’t discourage them from giving it their best. Naraghi says: “we have to wear our “hejab” everyday so it was no different for us, just another day.”  She wants to be a motocross racer, and was granted permission by her husband [Read More]

published September 27, 2010 at 10:31am CDT

LADY SALAMANDERS REP US AT HOMELESS WORLD CUP IN BRAZIL

Eight women from homeless shelters across the country make up the Lady Salamanders, a street soccer soccer currently in Rio, Brazil for the 8th Annual Homeless World Cup competition which wraps Sunday Sept 26th. Philanthropist and businesswoman Sheila Johnson named the team the Lady Salamanders because salamanders, capable of surviving in fire and water, embody resilience, a quality Ms. Johnson herself and especially these women overcoming homelessness embody. The U.S. women’s team joins Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Haiti, India, Kyrgyzstan, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Paraguay and Uganda in the Women’s Homeless World Cup. Zambia is the current Women’s Homeless World Cup champion, lifting the trophy at the Melbourne 2008 Homeless World Cup. The Lady Salamanders is a program of Street Soccer USA , a national not for profit organization whose motto is “Ending Homelessness and Poverty is a Team Sport.” Street Soccer USA delivers sports based curriculum to teams in shelte [Read More]

published September 25, 2010 at 2:46pm CDT