RELIGION: That Men and Women Question Again

A new missive on women from the Vatican followed by a strong response to it has brought new spark to an old debate.

HEALTH-NIGERIA: Abortion Law Takes a Toll

The fight for human rights in Nigeria has received ample coverage, as has that for fairer distribution of oil revenues – and the battle to curb endemic corruption. But, Nigerian women have another, and often more pressing fight on their hands – for abortion rights.

POPULATION-U.S.: Bush Extends Jihad Against UNFPA

In what critics are calling its latest slap at women and multilateralism, the administration of U.S. President George W Bush announced Friday that the 34 million dollars Congress had earmarked for the U.N. Population Fund (UNFPA) will be used for other purposes.

HEALTH: ‘Failed Aid Kills A Million Women’

More than a million women have died because rich nations have failed to honour their commitments to promote sexual and reproductive health, a group of NGOs said at the launch of a new campaign in London Thursday.

HEALTH-AFRICA: Pregnant Women Beware

A decade after the United Nations International Conference on Population and Development, maternal mortality continues to plague Africa. Delegates to a meeting held in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, recently heard that of the 585,000 deaths caused every year by obstetric complications, many occur in sub-Saharan Africa.

WOMEN-LATAM: ‘Pro-Life’ Pressure Fails to Thwart ‘Sexual Rights’

Washington and right-wing anti-abortion groups lost an important battle in Latin America and the Caribbean because despite their threats and pressure, they failed to keep the terms ''sexual and reproductive rights'' out of the final document of the regional conference on women.

POLITICS-U.S.: Reagan’s Policies Set the Stage for Bush’s Excesses

As Ronald Reagan's body lies in state beneath the Capitol Rotunda in advance of the first U.S. state funeral in 31 years on Friday, Washington is seeing an intensification of the affection and praise for the 40th U.S. president that have swept over the national media since his death last weekend.

RIGHTS-KENYA: A Disturbing Trend in Female Genital Mutilation

A society free of female genital mutilation, also referred to as female circumcision, appeared somewhat distant this week after a group of women’s rights activists accused medical personnel of carrying out the practice.

HEALTH-KENYA: Enforcement of Abortion Law Problematic

Calls for Kenyan officials to clamp down on abortion were sounded anew this week, during a requiem mass for 15 aborted foetuses discovered near a river in the capital, Nairobi.

JAPAN: Experts Put New Spin on Sex Education

Japanese health experts and officials are revising sex education in schools so they focus more on individual teaching yet accept traditional Asian values - pragmatic changes that they hope will make the subject more interesting and relevant to young people.

HEALTH: Assembly Takes Action on Adults, Newborns Will Have to Wait

The world's health ministers approved more ambitious policies for preventing deaths from problems affecting mostly adults, such as heart disease, diabetes, cancer and road accidents, but largely ignored a proposal to strengthen health protections for newborns.

SOCIETY-CHINA: Old Fears Return about ‘Quality’ of Race

The liberalisation of China's marriage law is reviving old fears about the 'quality' of China's race, as eugenics experts sound the alarm about the growing number of babies in the world's most populous country that are born with birth defects or diseases.

HEALTH: HIV/AIDS ‘Biggest Threat’ to Developing World

HIV/AIDS is the greatest threat to development in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, European interest groups are warning.

HEALTH-KENYA: A New Report Fires Up the Abortion Debate

A report suggesting the legalisation of abortion in Kenya to reduce maternal mortality has sparked a heated debate in the country. Pro-life organisations claim that preventing unwanted pregnancies is a better way of reducing these deaths.

HEALTH-URUGUAY: US Lawmakers Meddle in Abortion Law Debate

A letter that six U.S. legislators recently faxed to Uruguay's senators, urging them to vote against a bill that would have legalised abortion in this South American country, amounted to undue pressure and meddling, according to legislators and activists.

HEALTH-URUGUAY: Three Votes Away from Legalisation of Abortion

The Uruguayan Senate fell just three votes short of passing a law that would have legalised abortion. According to opinion polls, 63 percent of the population of this South American country is in favour of making abortion legal.

RIGHT-U.S.: Women’s March Goes Global

Women from Albania to Zambia joined hundreds of thousands of men and women from the United States on Sunday to charge that the Bush administration's assault on women's reproductive health rights is costing lives worldwide.

RIGHTS-CHILE: Supreme Court Is Last Hope for Lesbian Mother

Chile's Supreme Court is due to decide next month whether a lesbian mother has the right to raise her daughters in the home she created with another woman after separating from her husband.

POLITICS: Bush Ideology Hurts Women Worldwide – Groups

U.S. President George W Bush can talk a good line on women's issues but his performance is a flop, said U.S. groups Monday in a preview of this weekend's March for Women's Lives in Washington.

POPULATION-PHILIPPINES: After ‘Fatwah’, Muslims Face Taboo Issues

Upon birth, a Muslim infant is called to greatness. An imam, the keeper of faith in the mosque, cuddles the infant and whispers prayers traditionally held to be the first words the baby should hear as Allah's blessing.

RIGHTS-BURKINA FASO: Helping Girls to Keep Marriage Under Wraps

It is an article of faith in development circles that assisting girls to complete their education – and postponing the age at which they have children – benefits both the girls and the communities they live in.