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• Worldwide War on Women. [Empire Burlesque, UK] The defining issue of modernity is control of women's fertility. It is this question – more than religion, politics, economics or the "clash of civilizations" – that forms the deepest dividing line in the world today. It is a line than cuts through every nation, every people, from the highest level of organized society down to, in many cases, the divided minds and emotions of individual men and women. Control of fertility – and its active principle, sexuality – has always been an organizing principle of human society, of course, but modernity has presented the world with a revolutionary concept that overthrows millennia of received wisdom and tradition: namely, that an individual woman should control her own fertility. This notion destabilizes state structures and religious dogmas, and uproots cultural mores whose origins reach back to prehistoric times. It is a profoundly disturbing development in the life of humankind. Little wonder, then, that anxieties over fertility and sexuality are the chief engines driving the frenzied and increasingly violent fundamentalist movements now sweeping through the world. It is here that extremists of every stripe make common cause against modernity. Almost every other aspect of "the modern" – science and technology, high finance, industrialization, etc. – has been absorbed, in one form or another, by the most "traditionalist" societies. But what today's fundamentalists – from Osama bin Laden to George W. Bush to Pope John Paul II, from the American-backed warlords of Afghanistan to the anti-American mullahs of Iran – cannot accept, at any cost, is the freedom of a woman's body.

Christian

• United States: Female Rector Part of Trend. [Chicago Sun-Times] Kara Wagner Sherer taught elementary school, but for years people told her she should be a pastor. "It became a nagging thing," said Wagner Sherer, who has been a priest for three years. The Episcopal Church has ordained women since 1976, but Wagner Sherer had never seen a woman priest until she was in college. She is the sixth woman elected rector in the Diocese of Chicago. "It's still kind of emerging," she said.

• United States: Faiths Seeing Wider Spectrum of Female Clergy. [Pittsburgh Post Gazette] The year 2006 marked 50 years since women gained full clergy rights in what are now the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Methodist Church. They remained a rarity until the 1980s, but have since been ordained at such rates that some commentators predict mainline Protestant ministry could become a "pink collar" profession, dominated by women. Women are the majority at some mainline Protestant and Jewish seminaries. From 1977 to 2000, ordained women in the Episcopal Church rose from 94 to 3,482, or 20% of clergy. Figures in the United Methodist and Presbyterian Church (USA) are a close parallel. But recent statistics show that the rate at which women enter ministry is leveling off, and that many of those ordained work outside a congregation. While women may remain a substantial minority in pulpits, however, some observers believe they are changing the style of ministerial leadership. Reasons for not ordaining women vary among traditions. In the Catholic Church, it is because Jesus chose only men as his 12 apostles. Some Protestants cite Paul's words in 1 Cor. 14:35 that "it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church."

• United States: Female Priest's Views Differ from Mainstream Christian Values. [SU The Daily Orange] Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows is a priest - but not just any old, stereotypical priest. She's black, a female and is a certified preservationist. She also supports abortion. "The Bible doesn't say anything about abortion," said Baskerville-Burrows, the Episcopalian chaplain at Hendricks Chapel and the priest at Syracuse's Grace Church. "There is something God has to say about it, but it has to do with what kind of life we're called to live and lead." Baskerville-Burrows' stance on abortion, which aligns with that of the Episcopal Church, is liberal for Christian religions. Conservative priests often pull passages from the Bible to support their anti-abortion positions. Often cited are the Book of Luke to substantiate fetuses as people, the book of Genesis to condemn murder and the First Canonical Letters to explicitly condemn abortion. "I think that's a dangerous road to go," Baskerville-Burrows said of using Scripture to support or denounce abortion. "If what I'm doing, if what I'm advocating, if what I'm hoping to bring out in the world are all in the service of Christ's love and commandments, if an abortion is going to be, in the long-run, a better life and a better service of love for the persons involved, it's going to be better." Baskerville-Burrows is not alone in her beliefs.

• England: Panel of Reference Tells Episcopal Church It Should Clarify Stance. [Episcopal News Service] The Anglican Communion's Panel of Reference has recommended that the Archbishop of Canterbury discuss with the Presiding Bishop the possibility of clarifying what it called the ambiguous wording of a 1997 amendment to the Episcopal Church's ordination canon "so as to ensure that the permissive nature of the ordination of women is maintained in any diocese." "At the same time the apparent intention of the amendment to defend the interests of women candidates for postulancy, candidacy and ordination in a diocese that does not ordain women would be underscored," the panel's recommendation said. The recommendations are part of a report issued by the panel sometime in December and posted on the Anglican Communion Office's website January 8. The panel's report is its response to a submission by the Diocese of Fort Worth which states that the diocese and its bishop, Jack Iker, "are concerned that the action of the General Convention of ECUSA in passing Canons which makes women's ordination mandatory makes it impossible for the Diocese at some future date to receive confirmation of the election as their bishop of a man who disapproves of the ordination of women to the presbyterate and/or episcopate." The diocese has put in place a procedure known as the Dallas Plan to provide women access to the ordination process and provide for parishes that want to call a woman priest. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said, in response to the report, that "We recognize that women do have access to ordination under the Dallas Plan at present, which seems to address the intent of the canon."

• England: Anglican Bishop Says Wearing Veil in Public Sometimes Inappropriate. [The Associated Press] A prominent Church of England bishop said officials should have the power to ban face-covering veils in public, reopening an increasingly divisive debate in Britain on the Muslim garment. The bishop of Rochester, Michael Nazir-Ali, urged Muslim women not to wear the veil outside the home. "It is fine if they want to wear the veil in private," he was quoted as saying. "But there are occasions in public life when it is inappropriate for them to wear it." Nazir-Ali, who was born in Pakistan, said authorities should have the power to ban the veil in some situations. Newspapers have reported that a male suspect in the shooting of a police officer may recently have escaped Britain dressed as a Muslim woman. "Given that we are facing an unprecedented security situation, legislation needs to be introduced that allows officials to remove the veil," the bishop was quoted as saying.

• Wales: Ten Years After First Women Priests, Bishop Regrets Stand. [ic Wales, UK] One of the most prominent figures in the campaign against the ordination of women priests a decade ago has admitted he got it wrong. Carl Cooper, the Bishop of St Davids, was a leading light in the "no" camp in the early 1990s, but now admits that view was "inconsistent". The Church in Wales voted against ordaining women priests in 1994, but the position was later reversed and this weekend sees the 10th anniversary of the ordination of the first female priests in Wales. Bishop Cooper, then vicar of Dolgellau, was a vocal opponent of the move. But he said it was now appropriate for him to make clear he had changed his views. He said, "People are bound to ask questions, and say, 'I remember that bloke when he said this that and the other.'

• India: A Unique Reformation Day for Tamil Nadu's First Lutheran Women Pastors. [Worldwide Faith News] "Reformation Day, 31 October 2006 became a remarkable and unique day in the 300-year history of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) in south India," remarked Rev. Suseela Gnanabai, one of the first women to be ordained as pastors in the church. The ordination of Gnanabai, five other women and one man as pastors on 31 October at the Tiruchirapalli Holy Trinity Church in Tamil Nadu was historic, as this was the first time the Indian church had ordained women as pastors. Many of them have undergone theological education over a period of nearly three decades. Some of the recently ordained female pastors were among a group of theologically trained women who were commissioned as candidates for pastoral work by TELC Bishop Dr T. Aruldoss in July 2002. He confirmed at the time that "these women will be ordained as full fledged pastors after a short period."

• Pakistan: Meeting to Review Women Ministry Projects. [Daily Times, Pakistan] The government will provide security, justice and protection to women under the Women’s Protection Act and more legislation will be introduced to eliminate discriminatory practices against women, said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz while chairing a meeting at the PM House. The meeting was held to review the gender support programs being implemented by the Ministry of Women’s Development. He said that the government was taking practical steps for the political, social and economic empowerment of women to improve their status.

• Rites and Rights: the Mosque Movement From Mecca to Main Street. [American Muslim] Women are flocking to mosques around the world. Now, during Ramadan, they are packing mosques nightly in many countries for tarawwih or the recitation of the Qur’an. It has not always been easy, or indeed possible, for women to participate in communal worship. Exactly 95 years ago when the Egyptian National Congress met in Heliopolis, in the midst of the anti-colonial struggle, writer, educator, nationalist, and feminist Malak Hifni Nasif (known under the penname Bahithat Al-Bad’iya) seized the change to forward the demand that women regain the right to participate in congregational prayer in the mosque that, as she pointed out, they had enjoyed in Mecca and Medina in the early days of Islam. If male nationalists, as fervently as women nationalists, wanted the colonialists out of Egypt, Malak Hifni Nasif and others wanted women in the mosque. In recent decades, women have won increased entry to mosques. Yet, with new gains come new concerns. These include women’s use of mosque space. While often curtailed in their access to the mosque or relegated to inferior space in mosques around the world, Muslim women have traditionally looked—both figuratively and literally, every time they pray—to the holy city of Mecca where male and female believers pray in common space in the Grand Mosque and circumambulate the Kaabah together. This is in stark contrast to the extreme gender segregation and female face shrouding that prevails in the rest of the country, advertising the extremes and durability of the very patriarchal practice the Qur’an had come to eliminate. The ritual at the holy shrines of Mecca and Medina has traditionally reflected the Qur’anic ethos and the practice of the early egalitarian Muslim community. This, however, is now threatened. It was with outrage last August that women received the news from the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs that they were to be removed from the circumambulation area around the Kaabah called the mataf and to be shunted to the northern wall of the Grand Mosque. Women in Saudi Arabia swiftly objected. Soon women around the world joined in. Hatoon Al-Fassi, a Riyadh-based writer and historian, objected in the press that the proposed plan “not only goes against the message of Islam but also wounds the feelings of Muslim women.” She continued: “The main problem of the proposal is that it denies Muslim women the right to pray at the holiest place on earth, near the Holy Kaabah, where prayers are answered and where the faithful can achieve better devotion and closeness to God.”

• China: Muslim Women Lead Worship. [Lexington Herald Leader] At a tiny courtyard mosque tucked down a back alley in China's Muslim heartland, Wang Shouying leads other Muslim women in prayers and chants. Every day, Wang dons a green velvet robe and white scarf and preaches to dozens of women at the Little White Mosque in western China's Ningxia region. Wang is a keeper of a centuries-old tradition that gives women a leading role in a largely male-dominated faith. She is a female imam or ahong (pronounced ah-hung) from the Persian word akhund for "the learned." "We need to train and educate our female comrades how to be good Muslims," Wang said between prayer sessions. "Women ahong are the best qualified to do this because they can relate to the female faithful in ways the male ahongs can't." China's female imams are not the equals of male prayer leaders. They do not lead salat -- the five daily prayers considered among the most important Muslim obligations. Those prayers are instead piped via loudspeakers into the female mosques from the male ones nearby.

• Indonesia: Religious Police Raid Beauty Parlor; Men Arrested for Receiving Haircuts from Women. [The Associated Press] Enforcing Islamic law, religious police in Indonesia raided a dozen beauty parlors and arrested 13 beauticians for failing to wear Islamic attire and two male customers for having their hair cut by women. Sharia Police Chief Bahagia Hadi said raids on beauty parlors would be intensified in the Indonesian province of Aceh because such places were often found to be used for prostitution. Hadi said police found used condoms during a raid in one of the parlors in the capital of the tsunami-ravaged province, Banda Aceh. The 13 female parlor workers were arrested because they wore tight shirts and jeans but no head scarves, while the two men should have known that Islamic Sharia law states they can only receive haircuts from male hairdressers, he said. All were released after being admonished by the Sharia Agency, he said.

• Malaysian Group to Research Polygamy's Effects on Muslim Families. [The Associated Press] Opponents of polygamy in Muslim-majority Malaysia said Thursday they will spearhead a rare survey to prove their claims that the practice throws families into emotional and economic turmoil. Researchers hope to interview 6,000 members of polygamous households over the next 10 months in what could be the most comprehensive survey ever conducted on polygamy in a Muslim society, said Zainah Anwar, director of Sisters In Islam, a Malaysian women's rights group. "We need evidence-based material to strengthen our advocacy for awareness and reforms, rather than merely use stories or assumptions about polygamy," Zainah told a news conference.

• Middle East: Veil-Wearing Muslim Women Are Part of Our Fight. [Scotsman, UK] Al-Qaeda's deputy leader said that any Muslim woman who wears the veil in Western countries is a supporter in what he described as a fight between Islam and "Zionist Crusaders". He described anyone doing that as "a soldier in the battle of Islam against the Zionist- Crusader attack". Ayman al-Zawahri issued what amounted to an al-Qaeda New Year message to the world in an audio tape posted on the Internet, calling on militant groups in Iraq to unite and urging Palestinians not to co-operate with the Palestinian Authority.

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• World: A Brave New Women's World. [Sydney Morning Herald, Australia] This year was a great year for political women around the globe. France's Socialist Party chose Segolene Royal, feisty mother of four, as its candidate to contest the presidential elections in April. Next door, Angela Merkel won a record 80% popularity rating in her first-year honeymoon as German Chancellor, sticking the stiletto with great effect into every lazy area of the economy. Another flame carrier emerged in the US: a 66-year-old Democrat from San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi, who became the first woman to hold the powerful post of Speaker following the midterm congressional elections. Leftist Michelle Bachelet scooped up the Chilean presidency and displayed her leadership credentials by denying dictator Augusto Pinochet - who murdered her father and imprisoned her, her mother and tens of thousands of her compatriots - a state funeral. On the other side of the world, Liberia elected Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf as its new President; she lifted the hopes of impoverished and maltreated African women when she declared in her inaugural speech that she would honor their aspirations and expectations.

• Only One Way America Will Elect a Female President. [Meadville Tribune] Call me a cynic or a realist, but I think all this talk about the U.S. electing a woman president, or even a black, is wishful, pie-in-the-sky thinking. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of those hardcore American voters who has never missed the opportunity to cast my ballot and I’d definitely vote for a woman candidate or a black candidate because I try to evaluate the candidate, not the gender or race or even the party affiliation of the person running. I am, however, pretty much in the minority. Bigotry comes in all forms and lurks just below the surface everywhere we go. Many of us may talk a good game about gender and racial equality, but when it comes time to cast our ballots, the old stereotypes win out. Look at the overwhelming victories at the ballot boxes for anti-immigrant, anti-gay and anti-affirmative action measures. I know, I sat in a campaign fund-raiser for George Bush, the first, and listened to him refer to Geraldine Ferraro as a lesbian. That coming from the sitting vice president of the U.S. and soon-to-be elected leader of the free world. So much for the melting-pot vision of America, eh? Bigotry, like so many of today’s vices, knows no geographic boundaries, no gender limitations, no socio-economic classes, no races and no age limits.

• Pelosi's Ascent a Breakthrough for Women. [Siskiyou Daily News] It shouldn’t be surprising that it took more than 200 years for Congress to select a female speaker of the House. The United States isn’t exactly at the forefront when it comes to women in politics. Women make up a larger share of the national legislature in 79 other countries, including China, Cuba, North Korea and Vietnam, according to the Inter-Parliamentary Union, an association of national legislatures. The U.S. even trails a couple of fledgling democracies: Afghanistan and Iraq. “When my colleagues elect me as speaker on Jan. 4, we will not just break through a glass ceiling, we will break through a marble ceiling,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who is set to lead the House when the Democrats take over. “In more than 200 years of history, there was an established pecking order – and I cut in line.” There were 22 women in the House when Pelosi was first elected to her California district in 1987. There will be a record 71 female representatives when she takes over as speaker, giving women 16% of the seats.

• This Just In: Pelosi Is A Woman. [TomPaine.com] There’s something jarring to a feminist like me having to comment, in 2007, about the first female Speaker of the House of Representatives. By rights (and what should be the equal birthright of girls in this country), my great-grandmother should have been writing about this topic in 1807. The usual speculation abounds when a new speaker is chosen. What kind of leader will she be? Will she be strong or accommodating? Will she lead her caucus or follow it? These are fair and legitimate questions for anyone holding the office. Unfortunately, in Nancy Pelosi’s case, the emphasis is too often on the she. Genderizing her behavior as speaker began even before the election, mostly by right-wing pundits and the White House spin machine. The term of choice to describe Pelosi’s leadership was “San Francisco values.” That of course instantly translates to “gay values”— therefore “female-like” values, something all red-blooded men want to avoid. Just in case that connection was too subliminal for some, MSNBC's Hardball host Chris Matthews asked on national television if Pelosi was "going to castrate” Representative Steny Hoyer (D-MD). Discussing the victory speeches of Clinton and Pelosi during the network's election coverage, Matthews also said that Pelosi will "have to do the good fight with the president over issues," and then asked: "How does she do it without screaming? How does she do it without becoming grating?"

• Pelosi: What Difference Will a Woman Make? [Gloria Feldt, Women's Media Center] If Pelosi is as smart as we think she is, she will spend less time cultivating "Blue Dog" Democrats and recognize fellow progressive women as her greatest asset. After two days of pounding Washington’s marble hallways last week while the 110th Congress was sworn in, my flat-heeled boot clad feet were killing me. That Nancy Pelosi manages to do it in Jimmy Choo heels was enough to convince me of her resolve. When Pelosi accepted her gavel, she said she was “breaking the marble ceiling.” But what difference does it make that Pelosi has become the first woman speaker in our nation’s history? After its first 100 hours in which the House is taking up ethics reform, raising the minimum wage, lifting restrictions on funding stem cell research, lowering interest on student loans, permitting the Feds to wrestle Medicare drug prices down a few notches, and nipping subsidies for oil and gas producers -- all measures on which the new Democratic majority agrees and can even pull a few Republican votes -- will Pelosi do things differently, fulfilling her pledge of civility and partnership over partisanship? Shortly after being sworn in to cheers from a packed gallery, Kirsten Gillibrand, new Democratic congresswoman from upstate New York’s 20th District, was, she said, “on cloud nine. I’m so aware of the historic significance of this moment and thrilled to be part of it.” Gillibrand’s victory over a long-time Republican incumbent was one of the pivotal wins that tipped the majority to the Democrats. We were standing amid a chaotic mass of constituents waiting to get pictures taken with their member and the speaker outside the Rayburn room -- named for legendary Texan, Sam Rayburn, who presided for 17 years as speaker during the 1940s and 1950s. Washington is obsessed with the photo op because leadership is about the creation of meaning. The now ubiquitous photo of Pelosi brandishing a giant wooden gavel and smiling among her own and other members’ children and grandchildren telegraphed her message precisely: I am a woman, a liberal Democratic pro-choice feminist woman no less, and I love children. My agenda will be about the future not the past. So get off my case, all of you who want to brand me as lacking those values. I’m a mom, and I know how to run a house. I’m taking this Congress forward. (Gracious smile here.) Do come with me.

• Female Legislators Still Scarce in State. [Montgomery Advertiser] Alabama is progressing in increasing the number of women in the Legislature. Of course, glaciers progress too; just not very fast. That's about the speed of such progress in Alabama. A new survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures finds that Alabama has the fourth lowest number of female legislators, ahead of only South Carolina, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Although this is hardly a dramatic improvement, it is better than being dead last, as the state was in a 1994 survey, or next to last, as it ranked in a 2002 study. In the November elections, Alabama voters sent 14 women to the 105-member House of Representatives and four to the Senate, which has 35 members. That makes 18 women among the 140 members. The 12.8% female membership is slightly more than half the national average of 23.5%. It is especially easy to stereotype in politics, but surely the state would benefit from having less of a male-dominated perspective in the Legislature.

• Women Gain in Putnam Legislature. [The Journal News.com] The nine-member Putnam County Legislature, which has traditionally been male-dominated, now has three women lawmakers. Veteran Legislator Regina Morini, R-Mahopac, is joined by Mary Conklin, a Republican newly elected from Patterson. Legislator Mary Ellen Odell, R-Carmel, won her first full term representing Carmel and Kent after being appointed last January to fill a vacancy left by Legislator Arne Nordstrom, R-Kent, who is now Kent town supervisor. Will the presence of the largest number of women lawmakers in more than a decade make a difference in county policy? Conklin thinks so. "We need well-rounded representation," said Conklin, 59, a retired teacher, mother of three and grandmother of two. "A large part of the population, including the working population, is women, and it's great to have someone with their interests at heart there."

• Congress’ Conundrum: Potty Parity for Women. [Kansas City Star] When nature calls during a House debate or vote, what’s a member to do? The answer, even as the first female speaker of the House prepares to be sworn in this week, depends on gender. The members-only House men’s room, with its shoeshine stand, fireplace and TV, is a few paces from the House chamber. Reaching the women’s is more challenging. It entails traversing a hall where tourists gather, or entering the minority leader’s office, navigating a corridor that winds past secretarial desks, and punching in a keypad code to ensure restricted access. So when Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, a California Democrat, takes the gavel, she might confront the question of potty parity. The 435-member House will have a record 71 women. The 100-member Senate will have 16 women, also a record. Asked whether female House members should get a loo off the chamber, Pelosi said: “I’m all for it. Let’s find a spot.” There are arguably more pressing matters for Congress when it returns to session and Democratic control for the first time in a dozen years.

• More NH Women to Hold Office. [Portsmouth Herald News] The year 2007 could be "The year of the Woman" in the N.H. Legislature. An unprecedented number of women ran for the state's General Court in the 2006 elections -- 236 in all, the most of any state in the nation. That will result in a record number of women serving in the 2007 legislative session -- 156 women for a total of 424 seats, said Theresa de Langis, executive director of the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Women. For the first time in state history, women make up more than 37% of the Legislature, 42% in the Senate and 36.5% in the House of Representatives.

• Federal Minister Not Welcome at Provincial Meeting on Women's Issues. [570 News, Canada] The Harper government has shown so little interest in women's issues that provinces have decided to meet on their own to plot a national strategy without bothering to invite federal Status of Women Minister Bev Oda. The snub follows two recent federal-provincial meetings on women's issues at which Oda put in only brief appearances and displayed "a complete lack of interest," according to Sandra Pupatello, Ontario's minister responsible for women's issues. At a meeting of federal and provincial ministers in Saint John, N.B., in October, Pupatello said Oda showed up for only an hour. "Because we have ministers who travel literally from coast to coast to coast, a couple of them that take two days just to get there, they were really quite offended that she would come for an hour," Pupatello said. Their frustration deepened on Dec. 15, when a federally organized teleconference, supposedly aimed at finishing up the agenda from the October meeting, was similarly cut short. Pupatello said Oda "attended for 20 minutes and then had to excuse herself and insisted that the meeting be over when she left the call."

• Former Government Minister Sworn in as First Female Speaker. [radiojamaica.com, Jamaica] Sources close to the ruling United Workers Party have confirmed that Mrs. Flood-Beaubrun has been offered the position and has accepted. Some persons are however questioning the impact the appointment will have on opposition members of parliament, especially former Prime Minister Kenny Anthony. Three years ago Mr. Anthony fired Mrs. Flood-Beaubrun from her post as a government Minister.

• Chile’s Bachelet Keeps Promise, Announces Preschool Reforms. [Santiago Times, Chile] Chile’s President Michelle Bachelet announced a series of reforms to preschool education and daycare, including more flexible hours for kindergartens and daycare centers, and a new Childhood Observation Center to monitor the efficiency of child support policies. The announcement took place at the opening of the new “Ardillitas” daycare center in Quilicura. With the opening of the new facility, Bachelet fulfilled a promise she made when she was running for the presidency. "A year ago, as presidential candidate, in a day care center in Valparaiso, I said that in December of 2006 we would have 800 new day care centers. ‘Woman’s honor,’ I said. And today, I am very happy, because we have met our goal.” The creation of 800 new day care centers effectively tripled the amount of centers in operation throughout the country. There are now 1500 such facilities available for infants aged between three months and two years and belonging to the most vulnerable sectors of the population.

• President-Elect Names Cabinet: 7 Women, Including First Female Defense Minister. [The Associated Press] Ecuador President-elect Rafael Correa announced his 17-member Cabinet, appointing seven women to key posts including Ecuador's first female defense minister. Correa told reporters he would "try to achieve gender equality." He acknowledged it was "something we are not going to reach, but at least we will get close." New Defense Minister Guadalupe Larriva, the president of Ecuador's Socialist Party, will also be the first armed forces chief who never served in the military. "Ecuador will really become a democracy when all the institutions of the state are clearly subject to civilian society," Correa said. "That is why it is very important to break the tradition of putting an ex-officer in charge of the Defense Ministry and put in a civilian, and if possible a woman." Retired army Col. Luis Hernandez, a military analyst, called Larriva's appointment "positive" and said Ecuador's armed forces are prepared to take orders from a woman.

• Historic: First Female to Assume Presidential Duties. [Living in Peru, Peru] Mendoza del Solar will make history in Peru. In her function as second Vice-President of the Republic, she will assume responsibility of the Government Palace while President Alan Garcia is attending the inauguration ceremony of Rafael Correa, newly elected President of Ecuador. Mendoza del Solar will become the first woman in the history of Peru to assume the role of leading the country, the Peru's Presidential Press Secretariat stated in an official note. Garcia and Peru's Foreign Minister Jose Antonio Garci'a Belaunde will represent the county at Correa's official inauguration, which is also attended by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Lourdes Mendoza, the second vice-president and congresswoman from the city of Arequipa, will be in charge of presidential functions during Garcia absence. Peru's first vice-president, Luis Giampietri, is attending personal matters next week.

• War on Women: Nicaragua's Left and Right Unite for Total Abortion Ban. [The Bridge] In a move of catastrophic proportions for the women and girls of Nicaragua, and ignoring hundreds of women protesting the passage of the measure outside of the National Assembly last week—many calling the decision a “death sentence” for pregnant women and a “violation of human rights”—the Nicaraguan parliament has unanimously moved to implement a total ban on therapeutic abortion. The measure was approved a week before the national elections.

• Ségolène Royal Shakes Up France's Gender Politics. [The New York Times] Even the middle-aged men seem eager to make a woman their next president. The woman in question is Ségolène Royal, the 53-year-old nominee of the Socialist Party who is turning French political history on its head by turning her sex into an asset. To allay voters' concerns about a tepid economy, high unemployment and pervasive globalization, Royal has portrayed herself as the mother protector of the nation. Royal's electoral prospects may appear surprising in a nation that historically has not championed political equality for women. Women voted for the first time only after World War II. The percentage of women in the National Assembly today is 12.6%. Insulting women in politics has long been a blood sport for men.

• Equal Representation for Women. [Sitagita, India] The French cabinet has approved of a proposal whereby men and women will be represented equally in both national and regional politics. This is probably an attempt by the country to be portrayed as a women-friendly country. France is behind 17 other countries in its attempts to bring women to the forefront. The country urgently wants to promote women as is evident from the law which states that any party that fails to have an equal number of women and men candidates for the national elections will be fined! The government has also ordered that the same law apply to the 3,500 towns. There should be an equal number of men and women in all the top-ranking positions. When the new law is enforced, there will be more than 4,000 women entrants in French politics. It is hoped that with more women in the field, women’s rights will gain more focus. The country is gearing up for a woman governmental head also. This should really help the women of the country fulfill their dreams and ambitions!

• Germany to Offer Working Mothers Maternity Benefits. [International Herald Tribune] In a country in which deaths have exceeded births since 1973, the coalition government of Chancellor Angela Merkel decided in the summer to allocate billions of euros for maternity benefits. The money becomes available Jan. 1 at one second after midnight. The government hopes that this "elterngeld," or parents' money, will give professional women an incentive to stay home from work for a year and look after their children. If a new mother does so, she will receive 67% of her net salary up to a maximum of €1,800, or about $2,370, a month. The measure will cost the state €3.5 billion. But Ursula von der Leyen, the German family minister, calculates that Germany may be able to raise its birthrate from 1.37 children per woman if financial aid and day care centers are made available, as they are in France, where the birthrate is 1.9, and in Sweden, where it is 1.75.

• PM 'Treating Women Like Fools'. [NEWS.com.au, Australia] Frustrated Liberal MP Bronwyn Bishop has accused John Howard of treating women like "fools" after he tossed out her plan to help families with childcare. "I cannot agree with any man who makes a judgment about what is best for a woman," she said. When asked which "man" she was referring to, Ms Bishop agreed he was a government decision-maker and would not deny she was referring to the Prime Minister. Mr. Howard was the only man named by The Sunday Telegraph in a story last month as having rejected her childcare plan. Ms Bishop recently chaired the Balancing Family and Work report, which called for a $262 million-a-year scheme to make childcare tax deductible and subsidies home carers such as nannies or au pairs. But Mr. Howard ruled out the proposed reforms. He believes the existing system - which theoretically gives parents a 30% tax rebate of up to $4000 a year on childcare - is adequate. But in an emotive letter to The Sunday Telegraph, Ms Bishop said, "Australian women won't be fooled; they can be mistreated, but they are not fools.

• A Brave New Women's World. [Sydney Morning Herald, Australia] Australia has never had a female leader of a major federal political party; ergo, never a female prime minister. There's no woman in sight to replace Prime Minister John Howard, and the ALP shunned the community's most popular choice for alternative Labor leader to Kim Beazley, Julia Gillard, and installed Kevin Rudd. Not only was the sharp, media savvy Gillard relegated by factional bovver boys to second spot, but she is often seen with Rudd, playing an excruciating prefeminist handmaiden's role, either standing relatively mutely next to her male leader or simply beaming at him. Waltzing now with Rudd into the election year are just seven women on his 32-member front bench. Down in Victoria, Labor's Steve Bracks did his bit this year to send the women's movement back a few decades. When elected in 1999, he included eight women in his 18-member cabinet. This term he included just four. Statistics from Emily's List - the Labor body that helps vault women into Parliament - show that only 27% of Labor seats in the House of Representatives are held by women. In the Senate 13 of 28 Labor slots are female-held. But even though only 60 of the nation's 226 federal MPs are women, this year they have climbed mountains.

• Report: Premier Says China to Continue With One-Child Policy. [The Associated Press] China has no plans to change its one-child policy, Premier Wen Jiabao said, adding family planning was critical to China's modernization plans. The official Xinhua News Agency quoted Wen as saying the "government will adhere to the basic policy of family planning with improved services and stronger leadership." He added that family planning was crucial to China's modernization and the building of a "harmonious society," a catchphrase meant to mean a more equal distribution of riches in a country with a growing wealth gap. Wen told a conference on population and family planning that the family planning priority was China's highly populated countryside, where maintaining a low birth rate was crucial. Critics say the policy has led to forced abortions, sterilizations and a dangerously imbalanced sex ratio due to a traditional preference for male heirs, which has prompted countless families to abort female fetuses in hopes of getting boys. 

• First Female Prime Minister. [Korea Herald] Han Myeong-sook's appointment as the country's first female prime minister signaled a major breakthrough in the seemingly impenetrable political glass ceiling. In March this year, President Roh Moo-hyun selected the feminist Uri lawmaker for the top Cabinet post. Usually of a reserved character, Han is said to possess a gentle charisma that surfaces in times of crises. On several occasions she has mediated disputes between Cheong Wa Dae and political parties, and also soothed public sentiment over a series of scandals that erupted the past year. During the latest, over illegal video games involving government officials, Han stepped up to the plate to issue a public apology. Han, 62, was a two-term legislator of the ruling Uri Party before her appointment to prime minister. In 2003, she was Minister of Environment. Before that, she served as the first minister of the newly created Ministry of Gender Equality in 2001. Han had been an avid student activist when young. In the 1970s, she was imprisoned for two and a half years for her involvement in an institution called the Christian Academy, which was labeled an illegal underground communist group by the authoritarian Park Chung-hee regime.

• First Lady Wants Political Quotas for Women. [Dominican Today, Dominican Republic] Burkina Faso's first lady, Chantal Compaore, called for a quota system in politics to ensure women get greater representation in the running of public affairs. "The representative status of women in decision-making spheres is encouraging, but could be improved by bringing in a quota system for women," President Blaise Compaore's wife said on public radio. Speaking during a New Year's ceremony for ministers, diplomats and the heads of women's organizations, Chantal Compaore added that women would have to merit their jobs and thus "the education of girls and training for women are prior conditions." In neighboring Niger, which like Burkina Faso is one of the poorest nations in the west African sub-Sahara, women get 25% of government portfolios and a quarter of parliamentary seats under a quota law passed in 2000, which took effect in 2004. Women's movements in Burkina Faso held a march in October 2005 demanding 20% of government posts and 30% of seats in a future national assembly.

• Women Who Made the News in 2006. [Jamaica Observer, Jamaica] Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was elected to the office of president in Liberia allowing Africa its first woman president. Despite the fact that polls leading up to the elections had Johnson-Sirleaf neck and neck with her main rival, former football star George Weah, she captured most of the votes on Election Day. She is only the second black woman head of state in the world following Eugenia Charles of Dominica. She is often referred to as the "Iron Lady".

• The Female Factor. [Daily Sun, Nigeria] Is there an emerging female factor in Nigeria’s politics and governance? This question is being posed quietly in some circles of thought. In the annals of Nigerian antiquity, women have played prominent leadership roles. Students of history readily recognize names such as those of Moremi and Queen Amina, Zaria’s greatest monarch. Others such as Margaret Ekpo and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti stand out in the nationalistic politics that forged Nigerian nationhood. The epiphany of the nineties was the emergence of the Nigerian woman in many boardrooms across the landscape of corporate governance. The glass barrier that had kept them languishing in the lower cadres was broken. The phenomenon even inspired the publication of a monthly magazine, Corporate Woman, which was tailored for the business savvy upwardly mobile woman of the nineties. Although the publication folded up soon afterwards, the point had been made. The rise of corporate chieftains like Ndi Okereke-Onyuike and Cecilia Ibru indicated that women had come to stay in the gilded corridors of corporate Nigeria. Today, one of the most under-reported trends of our present democracy is the apparent female factor in the polity. President Obasanjo’s administration is undoubtedly the most gender-sensitive ever to have graced the national stage. Most instructively, women have not been offered the usual sop or token appointment contrived to demonstrate an official sensitivity to the need for gender equality or “women empowerment.” Instead, women are occupying strategic roles in the administration and are driving some of its important policy measures.

• Female Politician Sleeps in Office with Young Lovers. [The Tide, Nigeria] This is a story of how this female politician who was a powerful Minister in the Obasanjo administration despite her marital status flirted with young guys whom she allegedly spoilt with mouth-watering contracts. According to the gist, the madam who hails from a state in the southeast has a penchant for dating younger lovers and makes no bones about it. Small Talks gathered that when she was a Minister, she allegedly dated guys young enough to be her son’s age mates. It was also revealed that her young lovers used to sleep with her in her office and she compensated them with lucrative contracts. However, when the perk of office is no longer there, Small Talks learned that her number of young lovers has drastically thinned down since she no longer has contracts to disburse to them.

• First Female Foreign Minister is Deputy UN Secretary-General. [AllAfrica.com] Tanzanian Foreign Minister, Dr Asha-Rose Migiro, has been appointed the new Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations Organization. Dr Migiro was appointed on Jan.5 in accordance with the new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's pledge to name a woman to the No 2 UN post, the UN said. She replaces Mark Malloch Brown. She becomes the second high-ranking Tanzanian woman at the UN after Dr Anna Tibaijuka, head of the Nairobi-based UN human settlement agency, Habitat. The Tanzanian Foreign Minister is amongst six women ministers in President Jakaya Kikwete's government and the first female foreign minister after serving in the Community Development, Gender and Children dockets in the previous government.

• Women Are Their Own Detractors. [AllAfrica.com] While it is undeniable that women bear the brunt of gender inequality because of sexism, it is also true that women are, at times, their own worst enemies. One analyst once wrote that women would never be liberated until they liberate themselves first. Tiggums (pen name) a feminist, says: "Feminism really misses the mark in my opinion. I think women ought to have a more serious look inside themselves before they go around accusing men of holding them back." Many people, including other women have questioned whether women should, for instance, continue to survive on the quota system in politics when they constitute more than half of the country's population. And statistics have shown that more women, than men, vote. Paradoxically, the greater the number of female voters, the greater the number of male representatives in politics. Veronica Morfaw, founder and president of Ntangka Women's Common Initiative Group in Cameroon notes: "From personal experience, women don't co-operate to help each other rise in politics." She also observes that in public service, women hardly propose or vote for other women as staff representatives. But ironically, they allow themselves to be used by men. In many strong political parties, women form the formidable backbone. But they do not propel each other to the frontline.

• Female Leaders' Rivalry Seen Hurting Bangladesh. [Washington Times] For 15 years Bangladesh has been dominated by the revolving-door premiership of two women whose rivalry is among the most ferocious in the democratic world. President Jimmy Carter tried to get Begum Khaleda Zia and Sheik Hasina Wajed to shake hands in 2004, but couldn't even persuade them to look at each other. Last month, at a party, the two held court in different corners of the room. It's the stuff of political slapstick, except that this feud is rooted in the assassination of one woman's father and the other's husband, and the result is anything but funny. “We have floods, cyclones, many people die. But Zia and Hasina are worse," said Dhaka shop owner Abul Islam, 51. "The two ladies are our worst disaster."

• DMK to Take Up Women’s Bill Cause. [The Statesman, India] It seems winds of change have started to blow low, much below the Vindhyas, with the DMK taking up a national cause in the state. Come February and the party will kick off a women’s rally seeking passage of the women’s reservation Bill in Parliament. The party’s district secretaries, high-level executive and other bodies that met at the DMK headquarters here to approved the idea. The rally will ask the Centre not to delay the Bill any longer. DMK said it wants Centre to push for a permanent solution in Sri Lanka. A party resolution said: “The central government must take steps to ensure that Lankan Tamils get a permanent solution.”

• Government to Help Women Left in Lurch Abroad. [Times of India, India] In its bid to assist Indian women who have either been deserted or divorced by their husbands overseas within a year of marriage, the government has finalized a scheme to provide them free legal and counseling services. The ministry of overseas Indian affairs (MOIA) proposes to introduce this scheme in the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and the Gulf. The assistance will be provided to NRI women as well as foreign citizens of Indian origin. The ministry will involve credible women’s organizations and NGOs working in these countries and give them financial assistance to the tune of $1,000 for every woman they assist. The organizations will be expected to provide documentation and initial work for legal proceedings and counseling for the deserted woman.

• Women’s Rights Bill Resubmitted to Assembly. [Pakistan Dawn, Pakistan] President of the Pakistan Muslim League (PML) Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain submitted the government’s second bill on women’s rights after it was redrafted to accommodate one change. The “Prevention of Anti-Women Practices (Criminal Law Amendment) Bill 2006” – aimed at protecting the rights of women – was first submitted to the speaker in November. However, the bill was withdrawn and redrafted subsequently, omitting a clause seeking ban on three divorces given in one go. The bill, drafted in line with the proposals of a nine-member ulema panel, identifies several problems being faced by women due to lack of legislation. The bill prohibits the handover of women, for settling a dispute between groups. Any violation will carry a three-year prison term and fine. Under section 498A, depriving women of the right to inheritance in property will be prohibited, and any violation will carry up to seven-year imprisonment and fine. Forced marriages have been proposed punishable with a three-year imprisonment and fine under Section 498B. Section 498C prohibits marriages with the Quran, and those involved in arranging or facilitating such marriages will be punishable with three-year imprisonment. Section 498D relates to dissolution of marriages in the absence of husband. It makes the offence punishable under Qazaf where a husband -- having knowledge of a complaint or report of his wife to the court for Qazaf -- fails to undergo the procedure of lian specified in the said section. Section 498E is meant for making a wife liable to prosecution for zina where she admits zina in proceedings for lian. A new section, 302D, has been inserted in Act V of 1898, barring provincial governments from interference through suspending, remitting or commuting any sentence passed under section 376 of the PPC in sentences of rape.

Tunisia

• Woman Heads Tunisia Political Party for First Time. [Reuters] Tunisia's main opposition party elected a woman as its leader, a first for the North African country and only the second example of a woman being chosen to head a political party in the Maghreb. May Eljeribi, the 46-year-old manager of a private research firm, was elected to replace Ahmed Nejib Chebbi who resigned as general secretary of the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) after 23 years in the post. Eljeribi is the second female leader of a political party in the Maghreb after Algerian Worker's Party leader Louisa Hanoun. "This is another opportunity for women in Tunisia to fight, not only by working in associations and unions but by taking part in political activity in an important opposition party," Eljeribi told Reuters.

• "We Can Support a Female President". [Sabah, Turkey] The leader of DYP (True Path Party), Mehmet Agar, stated that they would support a female president if their numerical power permitted and added: "we will not hesitate to take action for this in case our numerical majority comes true."

• Women Dominated FNC Election Process. [Gulf News, UAE] Women's participation in the Federal National Council election was high although only one female candidate was victorious. Although females dominated the voting process, the majority of votes were won by male candidates, according to the National Election Committee (NEC), which announced a statistical breakdown of the landmark Federal National Council (FNC) elections held in December last year. In Umm Al Quwain, all female voters in the Electoral College cast their votes but male candidates won more than 98% of them. In Abu Dhabi, the voter turnout was over 60% with 44% being female. Male candidates won 84% of the votes. Seventy-two voters (60 males and 12 females) voted in the first hour. Voting hit the highest point at 5pm with 135 voters (115 males and 20 females) and the lowest at 2pm with 49 voters (39 males and 10 females). In Dubai, poll turnout was over 70% with 69.47% female participation. Male candidates secured 85.46% of the votes. Around 148 voters voted in the first hour. Voting hit the highest point at 11 am with 186 voters and the lowest was around 6pm with 32 voters.