Gender Equality Cheers and Jeers

Cheers

New Hampshire became the fourth state to allow civil unions of same-sex couples on Jan 2. Ceremonies began shortly after midnight and over 40 couples said vows at the Portsmouth State House, the Boston Globe reported. At the South Church Unitarian Universalist Church in Portsmouth 11 same-sex couples made their commitments by the end of the afternoon.

The legalization of civil unions comes as a huge victory for lesbian and gay rights activists in New Hampshire. Local politicians, however, warned that it could become a contentious issue during this year's presidential elections and that couples will need to fight to preserve these rights.

Meanwhile, in Havana, Cuba, a lesbian couple had a symbolical and politically charged wedding celebration in a state facility, the Inter Press Service reported Dec. 26. Monica and Elizabeth--whose last names were withheld--both wore white dresses as they were married in a courtyard. Activists are lobbying parliament to recognize same-sex unions and guarantee equal rights this year.

More News to Cheer This Week:

* Two women who were sexually harassed by a mob of nearly 50 men during New Year's celebrations in Mumbai, India, are finally seeing a hint of justice after police arrested 14 suspects on Jan. 4. The victims were pinched, grabbed and groped outside a five-star hotel, the AP reported. Photos of the incident hit the headlines of local newspapers and television channels. The media attention prompted public criticism against Mumbai's police commissioner, who initially failed to adequately pursue the perpetrators and blamed the media for overplaying a commonplace incident.

* A bill to allow rape victims to obtain abortions has been introduced into Egypt's parliament, Gulf News reported Jan. 1. Egypt has an estimated 20,000 cases of rape annually and current law bans abortion except on the grounds of "necessity," which includes instances when a woman's life or health is in danger or in cases of fetal anomaly. An influential Sunni cleric announced his support for the bill but said women must "do their best" to resist rapists. He also said that abortions were necessary in rape cases in order to assure "social stability," Agence France Presse reported.

* The number of women who run major U.S. corporations rose to a record 12 last year, USA Today reported Jan. 2, an increase of three from the previous year. Stock performance at women-run companies also matched those of firms with male CEOs. Only 2.4 percent of CEOs at Fortune 500 companies are female.

Jeers

An abortion clinic in Albuquerque, N.M., received a Molotov cocktail as a Christmas present, setting the roof on fire on Dec. 25, while a second was vandalized, the Associated Press reported. Another clinic was burned to the ground on Dec. 6.

On the political front, other attacks on abortion rights are also intensifying.

In Missouri, a 2008 ballot initiative, if approved by voters, could result in the nation's most restrictive abortion ban, the Baltimore Sun reported Jan. 3. The initiative would require abortion providers to investigate the backgrounds of pregnant women in order to determine whether they have been coerced into seeking the procedure; opponents say that would make abortions virtually unobtainable. The proposal also would require women to be informed of abortion's link to suicide, substance abuse, depression and other psychiatric problems, which pro-choice activists say have been decisively disproved by science.

In Wisconsin, state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald introduced a bill to ban an abortion procedure used after the 12th week of pregnancy. Supporters say it will allow the state to prosecute doctors who break the law with prison sentences up to 15 years and will make the state's law consistent with a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision.