Deutsche Presse Agentur: Poor women in India, left destitute by the 2004 tsunami, have been selling their kidneys. (I'm sorry ... what?) The press release states, "'During an inquiry by the revenue divisional officer, we found about 35 women of Tsunami Nagar (a temporary shelter) have sold their kidneys,' Ranvir Prasad, an official of Thiruvallur district in southern Tamil Nadu state was quoted as saying." Jesus.
Los Angeles Times: A reader brought us this article, about unlicensed midwives in Iraq providing home birthing care to women too afraid to travel to a hospital for delivery. It's an important story, since, as the article states, Iraq's Health Ministry stopped licensing midwives and training birth assistants in 2003, "even though they deliver half the country's babies, up from one quarter in 2000, according to figures from the ministry and the United Nations Development Program."
Reuters Health: Less educated women have a higher risk of stroke. A Swedish study followed 48,000 women over approximately 10 years and found a strong correlation between educational levels and the risk of stroke. However, this finding may have less to do with educational levels themselves and more with activities, like smoking and drinking, that tend to be more prevalent among less educated people, the report says.
Women's Media Center: Gloria Steinem on why feminists don't need to support women just because they're women (in particular, according to Steinem, if they're Condoleezza Rice, Barbara Bush, Judith Regan, Katherine Harris or Ann Coulter). "There is still a false idea out there that feminists back every woman, regardless of how she behaves," writes Steinem. "Let's leave that behind right along with 2006."
Arab News: A group of five women from the Icelandic Parliament recently traveled to Saudi Arabia to help strengthen ties between the two countries and, in particular, to encourage Saudi women to work toward assuming leadership positions in the country.
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