Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/jennifer-friedlin/)
On Sept. 21, Code Pink, the women’s antiwar group, will be joining other peace activists to protest the war in Iraq. In July, the group’s Diane Wilson led a hunger strike that echoes some of the urgent activism of British suffragists a century ago.
Women of color in the sciences are celebrated in a new book that aims to inspire the next generation. But educators and some of the featured scientists worry that recent gains for black female scientists are vulnerable to unraveling.
The emotional turbulence of infertility is making Jennifer Friedlin dread the sight of smiling babies. Slowly, however, she is finding comfort in the stories of other couples who have navigated the same difficult and confusing chapter of life.
After leaving CNN, Judy Woodruff is taking the pulse of the nation’s young and pondering journalism at Harvard. Later this month, the women’s media foundation she co-founded in 1990 honors three courageous female journalists.
Margarita Martinez gave up a safe, high-paying career to cover her native Colombia. Her award-winning documentary about life in a paramilitary-controlled barrio will be shown at the Human Rights Film Festival later this month.
Aid experts are becoming increasingly attuned to the nuances and extent of acts of sexual violence during war. As a result, human rights groups that once considered rape a peripheral human rights and medical issue are now making it a priority.
Across the country, women are backing legislation that calls for more protections from an abusive parent being granted custody rights in family court. These laws reverse what advocates say is a pervasive sexism.
Critics say “family cap” policies–designed to discourage single parents receiving federal aid from having more children–harm children. They criticize Minnesota’s decision to adopt such a policy when other states have already repealed it.
The federal government funds welfare with so-called block grants to states, which have not been raised since 1996 and provide no adjustment for inflation. Even though programs are getting pinched, no increase is on the horizon.
Most states have adopted The Family Violence Option, which waives welfare work requirements for up to a year in cases of domestic violence. But advocates say too few states are aggressively implementing the option.