Womens eNews Press Release for 2-22-09

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:  Sandra Spady pr@womensenews.org 212-244-1720

 

February 22, 2009

 

Watch Our Space: Watch for the Part II and III to this week's Cover Story. Part II will be a more in-depth look at the jailed Czech and Jamaican women along with more detailed discussion of why drug traffickers are targeting more women. Part III will report on conditions in the jail.

 

Cover Story: Ecuador Police Seize Foreign Women at Airport
By Dominique Soguel
A Paraguayan was on her way home from Ecuador when a man persuaded her to carry bottles of shampoo on the plane. Now she's in a Quito detention facility with a growing number of women on drug charges. First of three stories about women in the jail. Read the full article at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3927

 

Other news on the Women's eNews site:    

 

Cheers and Jeers: News from all over that makes us laugh or work just a bit harder. This week: Muslim Women Begin a New Push for Equality; Judge's Anti-Mom Bias Is Probed in Murder Trial.

http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3929

 

Podcast: http://www.womensenews.org/WEnews.mp3

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Lawmakers Join Push to Close Maternal Health Gaps By Kimberly Seals Allers

Advocates say a focus on maternal health is a critical component of any meaningful health care reform. Addressing deep racial disparities in maternal death rates remains an urgent priority in national reforms that promote women's wellbeing. Read the full article at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3926

Violence Funds Not Sheltered From Budget Cuts By Allison Stevens

A study on shelters finds they help survivors meet a wide range of needs and advocates are lobbying for more funds to run them. But they worry that shelters and anti-violence programs won't be spared from recession-related spending cuts in Congress. Read the full article at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3925  

Commentary:

Now Is the Time to Invest in America's Caregivers By Karen Kahn
The economic stimulus package approved yesterday allows states to use work-force development funds to improve training for direct-care workers. This is a good step, says Karen Kahn, but this vital part of the work force needs more help now. Read the full article at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3924

Lily Ledbetter's Search for Lost Income, Part II By Jennifer Thurston
Lilly Ledbetter lost her Supreme Court battle for fair pay. Now retired and a widow, her battle shifted to her Social Security office, which lost her February check. Her story shows how workers who suffer wage bias can feel the sting in retirement. Read the full article at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3922

Female Pols in Ghana Reflect on Recent Power Drain By Francis Kokutse
Two female parliamentarians in Ghana reflect on how much harder it is for women to win political campaigns than be appointed to office. Money, inexperience and social bias can all stand in the way. Read the full article at: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/3921

Commentoon by Ann Telnaes

 

Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes is once again brilliantly sharp. See this week's Commentoon at: http://www.womensenews.org

 

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About Women's eNews

 

Women's eNews is a prize-winning nonprofit news service supported by its readers and other donors. Launched in 1999, the independent media outlet provides news coverage unavailable anywhere else of substantive issues of particular concern to women and their allies. Rita Henley Jensen is founder and editor in chief.

 

For more information, please contact Sandra Spady at 212-244-1720 or e-mail her at sandra@womensenews.org.