Reuters AlertNet just brought this story of the plight of women in Afghanistan today to my desktop via Truth Out.
AFGHANISTAN: Domestic violence intolerable, say battered women and girls
13 Apr 2005 15:16:14 GMTSource: IRINKABUL, 13 April (IRIN) - The story of Zaynab, (a name adopted to conceal her identity) an 18-year-old mother of five who has taken refuge in a new women's shelter in the capital Kabul, illustrates how routinely women continue to suffer rights violations in conservative, patriarchal Afghanistan.
Following closely on the heels of that report is another article posted on the pages of Truth Out. This one comes from New Scientist, a periodical from across the Big Pond, and is about a new vaccine being developed to prevent transmission of the human papilloma virus (hpv.) The folks at New Scientist fear that it may not be utilized in any sort of optimal way due to flack from the wingnuts. (I guess they have them, too. At least I feel a bit better knowing that all the nuts in the world aren't in the United States of America, although we do seem to have more than our share.)
Will cancer vaccine get to all women?
16 April
2005
NewScientist.com news service
Debora MacKenzie
DEATHS from cervical cancer could jump fourfold to a million a year by 2050, mainly in developing countries. This could be prevented by soon-to-be-approved vaccines against the virus that causes most cases of cervical cancer - but there are
signs that opposition to the vaccines might lead to many preventable deaths.Click here to read the full article.
I can personally attest to the fact that being monogamously partnered in a heterosexual, legal marriage affords no protection against HPV. I discovered that quite early in life.
Too bad the fundies are so slow to catch on.
