Weekly Feminist Reader

Two mentally disabled women were used to bomb a marketplace in Iraq. The blasts killed more than 100 people.
Also in Iraq, police forces are once again allowing female police officers to carry weapons. Meanwhile, Iraqi women are facing more violence and have fewer rights.
New research shows women in India are not only more likely to donate a kidney, they’re less likely than men to receive a kidney transplant when they need one.
A budget airline in the UK pulls its “back to school special” ads featuring a model in attire reminiscent of the “Hit Me Baby One More Time” video.
The siege against Kansas abortion provider Dr. Tiller continues. Now the antis are demanding he hand over non-redacted medical files.
Linda Hirshman on women voters in the NYT Magazine today.
A British chain store is selling A-cup bras for the same price as D-cups: “We’re putting an end once and for all to one of the last prejudices – that of the bigger-busted woman,” said brand director Fiona Lambert in a statement. (With apologies to my well-endowed girlfriends, II’ll admit my total ignorance here: As someone with smaller boobs, I had no idea that bigger-size bras were way more expensive! Perhaps it’s time to stage a bra-price-equity campaign in the U.S.?)
Despite President Michelle Bachelet’s decree that the morning-after pill be made available to all women in Chile, there have been serious access problems.
An absurd piece of legislation seeks to deny restaurant service to anyone with a BMI over 30.
Hans Johnson argues that, “The ‘08 election, no matter its winners, will usher in decision-makers unable to deny the presence or escape the accountability of openly gay people in every precinct of the nation.”
Susan Faludi has a great review of the new book, Thirty Ways of Looking at Hillary.
A state legislator in Colorado recently resigned after sexually harassing a female lobbyist:The lobbyist, who spoke to The Denver Post on Thursday on condition of anonymity, said Garcia exposed himself to her last month and said, “Wouldn’t this be real nice inside of you?”
An Afghan man is sentenced to death for downloading a report about women’s rights.
How did I miss the news that Jodie Foster finally came out?
An attempt to crack the woodchuck glass ceiling.
A new report documents the effects of Manila’s ban on contraception.
A quick summary of sexist attacks on Hillary Clinton.
New research suggests that some women with breast cancer get better follow-up treatment if they have a female doctor.
A University of Georgia professor resigns on the heels of allegations he sexually harassed his female students.
On the growing prevalence of fair-skinned models in India. (Gee, wonder if this has anything to do with sales of skin-whitening cream?)
Covering up rape to win a few football games. Disgusting.
Hundreds of Afghan women gathered to protest the kidnapping of an aid worker.
Pam and Hilzoy dispel the myth that this is a post-gender or post-racial election.
The South Dakota legislature passed sonogram-requirement bills. (Click here to listen to Planned Parenthood’s Kate Looby discuss the legislation.)
This is frightening: If consent is obtained through fraud or deceit, it’s not considered rape in Massachusetts.