Search Results for: Amnesty International
American Childbirth: A Human Rights Failure?
Data from the United Nations shows that between 1990 and 2008, the United States maternal mortality rate nearly doubled, while the overwhelming majority of countries collectively decreased their rates by 34% (Coeytauz et al 2011).
How America’s Broken Health Care System Affects Women
The idea of womens empowerment is a touchy issue. It has been correlated with the myth of the male decline and other scare tactics put forth by those who may seek to sweep womens issues under the proverbial rug. However, one fact stands very clear.
France Stands Strong on Burqa Ban
A “burqa” is an enveloping outer garment worn by women in some Islamic traditions to cover their bodies in public places. The burqa can refer to the woman’s loose body-covering plus the head-covering and face-veil, but is more generally understood to refer to just the head-covering. I, like many others, have seen women wearing these pieces, but have never truly understood their significance. I always assumed they were a vestige of cultural and religious tradition, and I never expected them to be at the root of such uproarious controversy. But since France’s recent ban of most types of face-coverings, these little pieces of fabric have spurred other European countries to consider similar laws and inspired fear in French Muslims that the rule will permanently stigmatize them.