About 150 female students and several female teachers in an Afghan high school were hospitalized today after drinking contaminated water at their high school. Local health officials report that the water was poisoned; the girls experienced vomiting, partial loss of consciousness, and dizziness. The students were reported to be in critical condition but there have been no reported deaths. Local officials are “100% sure” that the poisoned water was an attack by extremists who are vehemently against the education of girls. During the Taliban’s rule from...

According to the state of Arizona, it does. The state passed a bill on Thursday called the “Women’s Health and Safety Act,” a name so hilariously (and infuriatingly) inaccurate that I can’t begin to wonder how they got away with it. To go along with its all-kinds-of-wrong title are some all-kinds-of-wrong stipulations of the bill: Any sexual education must focus on and prioritize birth and adoption (sex ed is not mandatory in Arizona) The state health department must create a website that emphasizes abortion alternatives and features photos...

In honor of Equal Pay Day tomorrow, the National Partnership for Women & Families has released staggering new data that illustrates exactly what women are losing out on due to the wage gap. In New York alone, women on average are paid 83 cents to every dollar paid to men. When the data is separated and examined more closely, women of color fare worse, with African American women earning 76 cents and Latina women 63 cents to every dollar. This sounds terrible, yes, but what does...

With his official candidacy imminent, Mitt Romney's campaign spent this week addressing his dismal popularity among women voters by doing a classic political move I like to call Flippin' the Script (very technical terminology here, I know). Democrats, according to Romney, have been accusing Republicans of waging a war on women when really, it's Obama's economic policies that have been, "turning the clock back 20 years on American women. " Oh. Let's unpack this one!  Considering Obama's first move as president was to pass the Lilly...

How many times have we all heard the contradictory phrase, "Well, I believe in gender equality, but I wouldn't say I'm a feminist." Girl, no. To this day, the feminist movement is derailed by people's unexplained allergy to the word. Students in a Duke University course called Women in the Public Sphere were disturbed by society's widespread misconceptions about the feminist movement, so they decided to launch a campaign aimed to challenge existing stereotypes surrounding the big, scary F word. What started as a class...

Actress, activist, and all-around badass Ashley Judd has fired back at the media for critiquing her appearance. Tabloids (and even legit news sources) have been crowing that Judd’s face looks puffy and generally messed up, claiming that it must be due to her having pumped her face full of fillers. With her response, Judd's established herself as a force to be reckoned with. With eloquence, intelligence, and seeming effortlessness, she slammed those who have picked apart her looks and the system that allows this...

Last November, atheist Egyptian blogger Aliaa Magda Elmahady posted a nude photo of herself on her blog, tweeting and tagging it #NudePhotoRevolutionary. She and her boyfriend were then criminally charged with "violating morals, inciting indecency and insulting Islam" -- spurring activists to "take back the nude photo," as it were. When blogger and activist Maryam Namazie got wind of this, she decided to take on the project of the Nude Photo Revolutionary Calendar -- and stand in solidarity with Elmahady. While Elmahady's initial post was a response...

Our access to basic health care is under attack. We have a say – stand with Planned Parenthood and fight back!  Now more than ever before, Planned Parenthood needs our help to continue to provide their life-saving services. Roe on the Rocks is a benefit for Planned Parenthood of New York City and will feature New York dream pop band Asobi Seksu and award-winning comedian Sara Benincasa, host of the podcast Sex and Other Human Activities. Plus Brooklyn bands North Highlands and Little Big have...

As conservative politicians continue to litter the world with disgusting and offensive sound bites about women, it's a relief to finally hear someone talk some sense. And an even bigger relief when that person is the President. Speaking about women and the economy this morning, President Obama reiterated the should-be-totally-obvious fact that women are actual individuals! He stated, "There’s been a lot of talk about women and women’s issues lately, as there should be. But I do think that the conversation has been oversimplified. Women...

Despite my issues with TIME magazine, I love the annual “Most Influential” people list. Maybe it’s because it brings to my attention people around the world who are making changes (both positive and negative), or maybe it’s because they named me “Person of the Year” in 2006. Though TIME has yet to honor me and my greatness since 2006, they’ve honored more upstanding women than myself for 2012. Voting went live on Monday for the most influential person, and 60 outstanding women (63 if the ladies...