Women’s News Round-Up: 5 Important Stories About Women
1. Greater Religious Freedoms Granted to Women in Israel
In a call that has been long awaited and fought for by women’s rights activists, Israel decided that it will allow women and men to worship together at the Western Wall, the holiest location for Jewish prayer. Women who choose to continue to pray separately will be given a space in which to do so. NPR reports that “This could lead to other changes in Israel.”
2. In India, Women are Granted Head of Household Status
It has now been made public that in 2015 a Delhi high court ruled that women can hold the status of the head of their household, or the Karta. Huffington Post shares that this move recognizes and legalizes a woman’s right to empowerment in matters such as “family inheritance, property management and decisions.”
3. A Day to Stand for the End of Genital Mutilation
February 6th was the United Nations International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation. “Globally, it is estimated that at least 200 million girls and women alive today have undergone some form of FGM” (from the UN). The UN’s 2016 goal on this topic is “the elimination of Female Genital Mutilation by 2030.”
4. February is Black History Month: Remembering Claudette Colvin, Teenage Civil Rights Activist
At age 15, Claudette Colvin refused to move to the back of the bus, months before the famed Rosa Parks action. PBS tells us that she was also “arrested and thrown in jail, she was one of four women who challenged the segregation law in court,” and that though Rosa Parks, NAACP Secretary, was chosen as an adult icon for the NAACP, the contributions of young women like Colvin were many and invaluable.
5. Barbies Continue to Become More Diverse
Many fans of diversity in toys rejoiced in Mattel’s 2015 release of a doll based on ‘Selma’ director Ava DuVernay. In 2016 Barbies have taken on new body shapes, including tall, petite and curvy.
A further step for diversity in Barbie’s image was the release of the doll inspired by U.S. soccer star Abby Wambach (who was a childhood Barbie fan), which Cosmopolitan calls the first lesbian Barbie.
Also check out the work of Haneefah Adam, who clothes Barbies in a style “inspired by popular Muslim fashion bloggers” on Instagram @Hijarbie.
*Extra News Flash*
Valiant Comic’s “Faith” has just premiered- she is a superhero who is charismatic, hopeful, can fly and use telekinesis, and is full of curves (“plus-size”). Read more about her story and relevance here.
Julia Travers is a writer and artist. Her writing portfolio is here and she runs the artist interview site 5 Questions for the Artist
Legendary Women does not own these images and we do not profit from them. If you have a news story you think might be relevant to our round-up then give us a tweet on Twitter @legendarywomen
Love what you read? Want to follow us closer to get all the latest Legendary Women news? Then sign up for our monthly newsletter and also our Medium collection. Also, we’re taking nominations for the best women-centered books of 2015 across a variety of genres for our Jacqui awards. If you have a book or author to nominate, please tweet us @legendarywomen or email the nominations committee at legendarylucinda@lycos.com.
