North America

Women Speak Up for a Bigger Role in Islam.  [United States] On a recent Friday, a veiled woman entered a crowded mosque and surveyed the scene.  In the front, a few hundred men waited for the call to prayer. In the back, women and children sat in a separate area behind tinted glass.  With barely a pause, Asra Nomani made her choice. Defying age-old Islamic traditions, she stepped over a low partition, sat with the men -- and kicked off a furor.
Women Explore Ties Between Rights and Religion. [United States]  A new group is aiming to connect female clergy with women's rights leaders to begin to promote their shared progressive values.  Fifth in a series about women and religion.  Maricela Morales left a recent national conference in Washington, D.C., on linking faith with feminism determined to bring the message to the grassroots level.  She plans to get female clergy members talking, through being the associate executive director of CAUSE, the Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy -- a nonprofit group in Ventura, Calif. that advocates policies to aid low-income workers.
In American Orchestras, More Women Are Taking the Bow.  [United States] A male violinist's discrimination suit against the New York Philharmonic underscores a little-noted phenomenon: Women have come to dominate the violin sections of some of America's leading orchestras, or at least hold their own. A nd their numbers among violin players have also helped raise their prominence as concertmasters, the most important orchestra jobs after the conductors.  But men still predominate in orchestras, and the testosterone level rises with the string instrument's size. 
10 Things Every Single Girl Must Own.  [United States] Sure, you've got the perfect shade of lipstick and the little black dress... but is that all you need?  Hardly.  1.  A fabulous photo of yourself.  We all have that photo: The one where your smile, hair, and (let's be honest) bod all come together in one sexy little package, whether it's that snapshot from your hike in the Grand Canyon or that cocktail party photo where you're dressed to kill.  Post that sucker at eye level on your fridge so your male guest can't help but notice it as he checks out if you have beer (see item #5).  What he says: "Is that you?"  What he means: & quot;Daa-aamn, girl, you're hotter than I realized!"  Keep a digital version handy so you can email it to online suitors or blind dates who want a glimpse of the goods beforehand.  And never, ever throw it away — when you're 80-something it'll serve as an instant reminder that back in the day, you were a total dish!
Ohio Girl Crowned Miss Teen USA.  [United States] Allie LaForce did her mother one better.  LaForce -- the daughter of Miss Teen Ohio 1977 -- was named Miss Teen USA Monday night, defeating 50 other contestants to take home the crown and a prize package worth an estimated $250,000.   The 16-year-old's winnings include a one-year modeling contract with Trump Modeling Management, a custom-designed wardrobe, a four-day trip to the Caribbean or Mexico, a scholarship to The School for Film and Television in New York and a one-time appearance on the NBC soap opera "Passions."
Stress Equal For Female Soldiers: Women Do No Better, No Worse Than Men.  [United States] Army women in support units exposed to combat don't have higher post-traumatic stress or depression rates than their male counterparts a few months after leaving Iraq, according to a pilot study due today.  It's believed to be the first research comparing the mental health of men and women in violence-prone support jobs - medics, mechanics, drivers - in Iraq, says Army Lt. Col. Carl Castro, chief of military psychiatry at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research.  Castro was scheduled to report his results to the American Psychological Association meeting in Washington, D.C.  "If the argument is women can't handle the stresses of combat as well as men, we see no evidence of a sex difference in these units," Castro says.  Women can't serve in front-line combat, "but truck drivers in Iraq have the dangerous jobs," he says, and Army women fill about 10% of such support jobs.
Female Soldiers are Fighting and Dying in Iraq, Even Though U.S. Policy Allows Only Men in Frontline Combat.  [United States]   She busted down doors of Iraqi arms dealers in house-to-house raids in Fallujah.  She seized caches of weapons and took prisoners.  She fired her machine gun from a Humvee and was shot at while wearing the uniform of the United States military.  She still can't hear thunder without thinking of incoming mortar fire.  But the Department of Defense won't say Sgt. Maria Freudigmann was in combat.   Under a federal policy, only men are allowed in frontline combat on the ground; women can join "combat support" units that are supposed to be farther away from the frontline.  In Iraq, however, the distinction between the two types of duty is blurred.  In this war, there's no real frontline.  Violence can break out anytime, anywhere.  Women are getting shot at and are shooting back.  They're getting killed.  One won a Silver Star for Valor in May.  Freudigmann fought alongside the Army's 3rd Infantry Division active-duty combat troops while serving in Fallujah with the Rhode Island National Guard's 115th Military Police Company.   But still, the Pentagon doesn't call her work -- or that of other female soldiers in similar jobs -- combat, denying them the designation that has long been a point of pride for males.
The Court and Gender Decoys - What's a Woman Anyway?  [United States] The very idea of 'woman' as an identifiable identity-one which resonates with ashared sexual status that is not completely individual in nature -- derives from the idea of feminism itself.  Recognizing this identifiable category is central to a feminist construction of democracy.  Instead, today, gender stands in more and more as a decoy for democracy.  Gender decoys are females in drag and the drag allows us to think that they represent the best of democracy when they don't.  Women-whomever, whatever, the definition-play a role of deception and lure us into a fantasy of gender equality rather than gender fluidity.  As a result, the sex often just changes while the gendered politics can and often remain the same.
FDA to Rule on Morning-After Pill.  [United States] By month's end, federal health officials will decide whether to let women buy emergency contraception without a prescription -- and if so, whether the morning-after pill will be treated more like aspirin off the shelf or like cigarettes.  Regardless of how the Food and Drug Administration ends the two-year saga, it isn't likely to settle the issue.  States are moving to expand access to Plan B, the pill that can prevent pregnancy if taken soon after unprotected sex, amid some competing efforts to restrict it.
Mockery of Katherine Harris Shows Double Standard.  [United States] When women reach middle age and finally have a crack at power and influence, they are struck by the pervasive double standard of aging: Men can look like unmade beds and gain in gravitas while women are judged ruthlessly on their looks and often silenced.
O'Connor's Legacy: Landmark Decisions.  [United States] Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's moderate judicial perspective made her vote critical in the most significant cases of her era -- from abortion rights to affirmative action. Although Republican of a conservative political background and appointed by President Ronald Reagan, she often supported the rights of women and minorities.
U.S. Teens Snap Up Japanese Comics.  [United States] Sales of male-oriented comics have stagnated in the United States.  An exception is the hot-selling Japanese import called "manga."  This month a new manga series was offered to female readers, who are fueling strong growth of the category.
Catholic Women Unofficially Ordained.  [Canada] Nine women are referring to themselves as ordained priests and deacons in the Roman Catholic Church, risking excommunication after a secret religious ceremony on a boat in the St. Lawrence River.  The women -- eight Americans and a Canadian, 65-year-old Michele Birch-Conery, a former nun from Vancouver Island -- were unofficially ordained Monday aboard a tour boat in the Thousand Islands near Gananoque, Ont.

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