Today is World Contraception Day, and there is no better time for couples and sexually active people – particularly young people – to be informed about sex, reproductive health and contraception. The motto of the day is: ‘It’s Your Life, It’s Your Future, Know Your Options’. It seems like a pretty simple message. Contraception, whether…
Read more
I grew up in a tiny Far North Coast town called Alstonville, nestled back from the beach in the dark, lush greenness of macadamia country. When I was a teenager, I didn’t want country living. I wanted to be like the cool girls in school, and learn how to surf, and get my belly button…
Read more
(Image via Flickr) Four men have been convicted in New Delhi over the gang rape and murder of a 23 year old physiotherapy student onboard a moving bus in December last year. The victim was viciously assaulted by the group for an hour before being thrown from the bus along with a male friend she…
Read more
Heygate Was Home It’s seven minutes to 5pm on a Sunday afternoon in Elephant and Castle, South London. A street preacher is delivering a blessing to a Colombian musician who plays U2 songs outside the shopping centre. The man closes his eyes and rests his head back against the wall as the preacher lays…
Read more
As bizarre as it may sound, it turns out that being well-educated and financially sound works against women in countries like India and China. It seems to have become a mammoth task for urban, well-qualified and highly paid Chinese women to find suitable life partners. According to official statistics, one third of such women in…
Read more
With the Federal election looming, the topic that has been hot on everyone’s lips is gay marriage rights. Whether it’s Labor’s commitment to marriage equality, or the constant to-ing and fro-ing of Liberal candidates on the issue, it’s clear that gay rights and marriage equality are important to many Australians (and so they should be)….
Read more
When Mia Klitsas gets an idea, she doesn’t waste any time. Sick of her tampons getting destroyed in the bottom of her handbag, she created a company to sell tampons in a durable, purse-sized tin. Six months later, Woolworths was stocking her Moxie sanitary products and she hasn’t looked back. ‘Had I known what was…
Read more
Almost as soon as the Russian government passed its anti-gay legislation in June, there were questions about how the law would impact the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Less than a year to go until the games, international athletes were in training with their eyes on gold; for some it will be their first games…
Read more
Image via Takver, Flickr Amongst the rife and wrangle preceding the Federal election in less than two weeks, the topic of refugees, ‘boat people’ and even ‘plane people’ has never received so much public attention since the Tampa incident in the harrowing Howard era. Former arbitrary water-cooler conversations at the office are being transformed into…
Read more
In case we weren’t convinced yet that she’s the queen of controversy, a recently leaked song from Lady Gaga’s forthcoming album, ARTPOP, has the pop singer regaling us with half-formed, ignorant lyrics about the burqa. The song, either entitled ‘Aura’, or ‘Burqa’, includes the lyrics ‘I’m not a wandering slave I am a woman of…
Read more
Sydney University magazine censored for controversial vagina cover The latest edition of Sydney University’s student-run magazine, Honi Soit, has been pulled from campus shelves as its front cover, which features uncensored photos of students’ vaginas, has been deemed a criminal offence. According to a statement on the magazine’s Facebook page, the cover was intended as…
Read more
Gloria Steinem to receive Medal of Freedom The well-known US feminist is headed to the White House to hang with the Obamas and receive presidential seal of approval. The Medal of Freedom is a pretty big deal–pretty much the highest award a citizen can receive, delivered at the liking of the President. The win is…
Read more
According to the Thomson Reuters Foundation survey, India is the 4th most dangerous place in the world for women to live in. From January 2002 to October 2010, 153 acid attack cases were reported in the Indian print media, while 174 judicial cases were reported for the year 2000. Of course these figures are believed…
Read more
In Gujarat, India, 3000 women came together earlier this year with one very big aim. The women crowded under a makeshift tarp in the heat and the dust to listen to 24-year-old Artika give her first ever public speech. Why were so many women so keen to hear her speak? I’ll give you a hint:…
Read more
