Feminist Events Calendar

October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month & Domestic Violence Awareness Month
-19th: Love Your Body Day
-20th: National Young Women's Day of Action
-28th-29th: South Atlantic FMF Regional Conference

November:
-4th-5th: Midwest FMF Regional Conference
-7th-11th: EC Week of Action
-11th-12th: South Central FMF Regional Conference
-11th-12th: West Coast FMF Regional Conference
-13th-19th: National Education Week
-25th:International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
-25th-Dec. 10th: 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence

December:
-1st: World AIDS Day
-10th: International Human Rights Day

Contact Us!

Call us toll free at either the East coast office (1-866-444-FMLA) or the West coast office (1-866-471-FMLA). You can also email us at campusteam@feminist.org. We are always happy to hear from you and answer any questions or concerns!

What do you think?

This is your E-zine, and we are always updating and changing to fit your needs, so please let us know what you think of our new format! Email campusteam@feminist.org with any suggestions, ideas, or comments.

Regional Collegiate Global Women's and Human Rights Conferences
Register Today!

South Atlantic Conference: Oct. 28th-29th, Spelman College (Atlanta, GA) Registration Deadline: Oct. 21st!
Midwest Conference: Nov. 4th-5th, Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH)
Featured Speaker: Hauwa Ibrahim
As a Nigerian lawyer, Hauwa Ibrahim represents indigent women and men who otherwise would not have legal counsel before the civil courts and Sharia courts in her country. She has assembled teams of lawyers and been lead counsel in numerous cases representing pregnant women accused of adultery, the penalty for which is death by stoning. 
South Central Conference: Nov. 11th-12th, University of North Texas (Denton, TX)
Featured Speaker: Dr. Sarah Weddington
Sarah Weddington is the attorney who, in 1972, argued and won Roe v. Wade. Since then she has become a nationally-known attorney and spokesperson on public issues and leadership, and has been a long-time advocate for women.
West Coast Conference: Nov. 11th-12th, Claremont Colleges (Claremont, CA)
Keynote Speaker: Dolores Huerta
Dolores Huerta is the co-founder and First Vice President Emeritus of the United Farm Workers of America, AFL-CIO ("UFW"). The mother of 11 children, 14 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, Dolores has played a major roll in the American civil rights movement.

Organizations that will be represented at the conferences include: Feminist Majority Foundation, UNFPA, SisterSong: Women of Color Reproductive Health Collective, Center for Global Development, National Center for Human Rights Education (NCHRE), Population Connection, United Students Against Sweatshops (USAS), Free the Slaves, Sierra Club, Women's Actions for New Directions, Women's Edge Coalition, and many more!

Love Your Body Day 2005
For Love Your Body, October 19th, we have put together a few action ideas that you can use on your campus to organize around body issues. As always, please let us know how your events go and if you have any feedback!

Young Women's Day of Action
October 20th is Young Women's Day of Action!

• Get your friends and classmates to sign a new petition to lift the Global Gag Rule and restore funding for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
• Call or plan a group visit to your Senators' home offices and ask them to support international family planning.
• Organize around global women's issues on your campus!

NEW ecards!
Check out our Feminist eGreeting page with new ecards for Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Breast Cancer Awareness month, National Coming Out Day, and Love Your Body Day!

Plan Ahead!
Start planning your activities for November now! EC Week of Action is coming up on Nov. 7th-11th and National Education Week is Nov. 13th-19th. These weeks are a great opportunity for you to organize activities to spread awareness on your campus about the crucial issues of EC and Title IX!

Texas Woman's University
The TWU FMLA raised over $300 this week, tabling for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Nice work!

University of Maryland
On October 10th Feminists Activists of Maryland (FAM), an affiliate group at Univ. of MD, brought former Assistant Commissioner for Women's Health and Director of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Women's Health, Dr. Susan F. Wood to speak on EC.

SUNY Cortland
New affiliate group POWER at SUNY Courtland is planning a Speak Out in October on the steps of Corey Union, involving the following topics: Abortion Myths and Facts, Birth Control, Condoms, Emergency Contraceptive, the Right to Have a Child and Forced Sterilization, Family Planning Benefit Program, John Roberts, Harriet Miers, and the Supreme Court. They will also have national map at the event with individual state information on reproductive rights, as well as music, performers, and speakers.

University of Indiana-Bloomington
The FMLA at the University of Indiana- Bloomington had 175 people turnout for their Take Back The Night march October 10th, 2005. The march was preceded by live music and booths set up by various student and community organizations that sponsored the event. In addition, men who showed their support to end violence against women by marching behind the women. When they reached their destination, the courthouse, the men and women split up so that each side could hear several speeches and then had the opportunity to participate in an open-mic speak-out to voice past experiences or their views.

Hobart and William Smith Colleges
The Women’s Collective at Hobart and William Smith Colleges will be holding its first annual conference on women’s issues and the future of feminism, "Searching for the Sunlight: From the Roots to the Future Building an Inclusive Women’s Movement" on the HWS campus, October 26th–30th, 2005. It is open and free of charge to anyone who is interested and/or involved with women's issues. The conference will tackle a broad spectrum of issues involving new feminist movements that promote non-racist, non-hegemonic, non-classist, non-abelist, and non-heterosexist attitudes. It will present the varied opinions and perspectives of women who historically have been left out of the feminist agenda. The purpose of the conference is to provide information and resources as well as an opportunity for various people and organizations to connect and build solidarity. For more information, visit http://people.hws.edu/womenscollective/index.htm

West Virginia Free Choice Summit
On October 8th FMF Campus Organizers presented at the West Virginia Free Choice Summit, a day with the goal of advancing the movement for women's health and lives in West Virginia, and helping to mobilize 200+ Pro-Choice West Virginians to attend lobby day at the WV Capitol in Winter 2006. Workshops were offered on working with the media, how to be an effective citizen lobbyist for choice, and framing our message to win. Marshall University affiliate group Women's Studies Student Association and West Virginia University affiliate group FEM (Feminist Equality Movement) were in attendance, along with members of the community.

New FMLAs!
We would like to welcome new FMLAs at Wayne State University (MI), and University of Massachusetts-Darmouth (MA) as well as new affiliate groups POWER at SUNY Courtland (NY), the Organization for Students Actively Pursuing Equality (OSAPE) at Stetson University (FL) to the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance community!

Members of Congress Urge FDA Decision on Plan B, Glimpse GAO Report
October 14, 2005--Last week, 62 members of Congress sent a letter urging Andrew von Eschenbach, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to approve the emergency contraceptive Plan B for over-the-counter sales. “We are displeased that the FDA continues to delay, postpone, and create impediments to issuing a decision on an application that its own expert advisory committee endorsed nearly 20 months ago,” the members of Congress wrote. “Unfortunately, this important decision has been delayed too long and at the expense of women’s reproductive health throughout the country.” More

Civil Rights, Women's Rights Leader Dies
October 13, 2005--C DeLores Tucker, a lifetime champion of civil rights and women's rights, died yesterday at the age of 78. Dr. Tucker was the first African American and the first woman to hold the position of Secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 1971, the first African-American woman to be vice chair of Pennsylvania’s Democratic Party, and the first woman vice president of the Pennsylvania NAACP. In 1984, Dr. Tucker founded the National Political Congress of Black Women (now the National Congress of Black Women) in order to encourage more African-American woman to run for office. More

Cervical Cancer Vaccine Passes Test
October 10, 2005--The pharmaceutical giant Merck has announced successful results in a study of its vaccine to prevent cervical cancer. Of the 12,000 women who participated in the two-year study, 100 percent of those who received the vaccine were free from precancerous lesions and early-stage cancers, while 21 cases of lesions were reported in the group that received a placebo. The vaccine targets two types of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a sexually transmitted virus that has led to an estimated 70 percent of cervical cancer cases. More

More Feminist News

Afghan Women's Rights Editor on Trial for Blasphemy
October 14, 2005--Ali Mohaqiq Nasab, the male editor of a women's rights magazine in Afghanistan who was arrested and jailed on October 1, is now on trial on charges of blasphemy. Nasab was arrested for publishing articles criticizing execution and other severe punishments for adultery, thievery, and murder under Sharia (Islamic) law. Nasab was reportedly arrested at the urging of Mohaiuddin Baluch, who serves as a religious advisor to President Hamid Karzai. Religious fundamentalists are calling for Nasab to serve 10 to 15 years in jail. More

UNFPA Releases 2005 Report on Gender Equality and Poverty Links
October 13, 2005--The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has released its 2005 report, highlighting the critical link between achieving gender equality and eradicating poverty. Entitled The Promise of Equality: Gender Equity, Reproductive Health and the Millennium Development Goals, the report analyzes the current status of women and girls, particularly in developing areas, and suggests a “road map” of practical policies to improve the quality of life of women and girls, a necessary step to putting an end to poverty worldwide. More

Women's Rights Activists Among Winners in Afghan Election
October 7, 2005--On the fourth anniversary of the US bombing of Afghanistan to topple the Taliban, Afghanistan has begun releasing the first results from its parliamentary election on September 18. The ballot count is completed and the election has enetered a challenge period for those who seek to contest the election. Early election reports indicate warlords, opponents of President Hamid Karzai, and women’s activists are among the winners. More

More Global Feminist News

Human Trafficking
Have you organized your viewing party yet for the premiere of the new Lifetime miniseries Human Trafficking? Learn more!

Women for Sustainable Development 2006
CALL FOR APPLICATIONS -
Women for Sustainable Development 2006: A Capacity Building Initiative of the National Wildlife Federation The National Wildlife Federation is offering a unique opportunity to undergraduate student women in the United States and Mexico with an interest in international sustainable development.

Participants selected for WSD will attend a three-day conference in Washington, D.C., January 6-8, 2006, where they will learn about current global environmental issues, receive skills training such as grassroots organizing, and meet with professionals working in the sustainable development field. Upon returning to their campuses, participants will organize an outreach event aimed at increasing public awareness regarding international sustainable development.

TO LEARN MORE about the Women for Sustainable Development project, and to download an application, please visit our website at www.nwf.org/population or send an email to population@nwf.org. Deadline for applications is November 3, 2005. Electronic applications are preferred. Limited travel scholarships are available.

The Clearinghouse on Women's Issues Invites You to its October 25, 2005 Meeting
UNCLE SAM AND WOMEN'S HEALTH
We are all affected by and dependent on government policies, programs and agencies to protect our health. A key agency is the Food and Drug Administration, which has been much in the news lately. We are fortunate to have as a speaker Dr. Susan Wood who recently resigned from a top women's health leadership position at FDA because of policy differences, particularly emergency contraceptives and breast implants. How much should health policies be determined by scientific research and how much by political views?

Dr. Beth Jordan will help us understand the key women's health issues she is battling for in two significant positions: Director of Health Policy at the Feminist Majority Foundation and Medical Director of the Association of Reproductive Health Professionals. She will discuss strategies that medical and women's advocacy groups are using to watchdog the FDA and advocate for wider access and availability of emergency contraception and Mifepristone. Dr. Jordan a board-certified internist and specialist in women's health, also is a health provider at a women's clinic, serves as medical advisor to Ms. Magazine, and speaks on scientific and political women's health topics on college campuses.

TOPIC: WOMEN'S HEALTH POLICIES AND THE FDA

SPEAKERS: Dr. Susan Wood, Ph.D., former Assistant Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration

Dr. Beth Jordan, MD, Medical Director, Feminist Majority Foundation and Association of Reproductive Health Professionals

TIME: 12 noon -- 1:30 p.m. (Bring your lunch and an ID.)
PLACE: American Council on Education, One Dupont Circle, NW, 8th Floor, Kellogg Room