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UPDATED NEWS FOR TODAY

Michigan Anti-Abortion Package Passes Senate

Women joined the thousands of protesters who took to the streets in Michigan on Tues. Dec. 11 --protesting against the state's right-to-work laws--determined to highlight another issue they say is in danger of being overshadowed: the state's sweeping assault on women's health, The Guardian reported Dec. 12. The state Senate of Michigan passed a package of anti-abortion legislation last week in an effort to pass abortion restriction legislation before the end of the lame duck session, Ms. Magazine reported Dec. 11. SB 612, 613, and 614 seek to eliminate insurance coverage for abortion services with no exception for rape or incest.

Mormon Women Plan 'Wear Pants to Church Day'

A group of Mormon feminists has declared Sunday, Dec. 16, as "Wear Pants to Church Day" and is calling on sister Saints across the globe to join the effort, The Salt Lake Tribune reported Dec. 11. Some LDS women do wear dressy pants to church, but social convention dictates that most Mormon women don dresses or skirts to their weekly services. Already more than 500 people have agreed to make the symbolic gesture.

Slow Progress for U.S. Women into Top Positions

Although women make up nearly half of the U.S. workforce, only 16.6 percent have seats on the boards of Fortune 500 companies and the number has barely budged since 2005, according to a study released Tuesday, Reuters reported Dec. 11. The Catalyst 2012 F500 Census, which annually tracks women in top positions in companies, showed progress is painfully slow for women seeking the top spots in corporate America, with only a 0.5 percent rise from the previous year.

WeNews 21 Leader, Aloisea Inyumba, Dies at 48

Aloisea Inyumba, the Minister of Gender and Family Promotion of Rwanda passed away last Thursday at the age of 48, AllAfrica.com reported Dec.10. Inyumba had been suffering from throat cancer. She was nominated as a WeNews 21 Leaders in 2007 for her effort as a senator to promote the peace and cooperation of women on local and international levels

Despite Law, Afghan Women Still Suffer Abuse

Afghan women victims of violence are still being failed by the justice system, according to a new UN report,BBC News reported Dec. 11. Although there had been some progress in implementing a 2009 anti-violence law, overall use of the law "remained low", the report says. Cultural pressures and inconsistent police practices are hampering implementation of the law, it added. The report comes a day after gunmen shot and killed the head of the women’s affairs department for eastern Laghman province. Afghan officials said Najia Sediqi, who took the job four months after her predecessor who was killed in a bomb attack in July, was on her way to her office when she was shot dead.

Study: Women Over 40 Unaware of Fertility Decline

Nearly half of women who became pregnant through in vitro fertilization (IVF) after age 40 say they were "shocked" to discover they needed fertility treatments, according to a study Fox News reported Dec. 11. "Women did not have a clear understanding of the age at which fertility begins to decline," the researchers wrote in their study. Most women thought their fertility would last longer than it did. For instance, 31 percent said they expected to get pregnant without difficulty at age 40.

U.S Census Found Women More Likely to Live to 100 Than Men

Women stand a much better chance of becoming centenarians than men do, a new U.S. Census Bureau report shows. Of the 53,364 people aged 100 and older in the United States in 2010, more than 80 percent were women, the report found, US News and World Report reported Dec. 11. For every 100 centenarian women, there were only 20.7 men in that very select age group.

DSK, NYC Hotel Maid Settle Suit

Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn and a Nafissatou Diallo, the New York City hotel maid, have signed a settlement of her sexual assault lawsuit, a judge announced Monday, saying terms of the deal were confidential, AP reported Dec. 10. The lawsuit stemmed from a May 2011 hotel suite encounter. It also spurred criminal charges, forced Strauss-Kahn's resignation from the IMF and cut off his potential candidacy for the French presidency. The criminal case was dropped after prosecutors said his accuser had credibility problems. She said she always told the truth about the encounter. Strauss-Kahn called her suit defamatory and countersued for $1 million.

Powell Supports Coverage of Abortion in Case of Rape, Incest for Servicewomen

Colin Powell, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and former U.S. secretary of state, joined a letter Monday with dozens of military leaders urging congressional support for an amendment introduced by U.S. senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) that would allow the department of Defense to cover the cost of abortions for servicewomen who are survivors of rape and incest, Stand With Servicewomen announced in a press statement.The letter was sent to the chairman and ranking member in the Senate and House Armed Services Committees. The Shaheen amendment was included in the version of the National Defense Authorization Act passed unanimously by the Senate on December 4^th and is now pending final negotiation between House and Senate conferees.

Domestic Violence Activist Jenni Rivera Dies in Crash Plane

The National Caolition Against Domestic Violence (NCADV) announced Monday in a press release the death of its spokesperson, Jenni Rivera, who was killed Dec. 9 in a plane crash. Before her flight, Rivera had played a concert in Monterrey. Rivera, an entertainment icon known for her music and her television show, was a vocal advocate against domestic violence and a tireless champion for Latinas. She was an outspoken immigrants rights activist who actively opposed Arizona SB1070, as well as a supporter of LGBT equality. A victim of domestic abuse during her first marriage, Rivera, in 2010, was named a spokesperson for the NCADV.

North Carolina Barred From Issuing Anti-Abortion License Plate

A federal judge has permanently blocked North Carolina from issuing an anti-abortion specialty license plate, ruling that offering plates with a "Choose Life" slogan without an alternative supporting abortion rights is unconstitutional, The Chicago Tribune reported Dec.10. The lack of a plate promoting reproductive freedom in the state constitutes "viewpoint discrimination in violation of the First Amendment," Senior U.S. District Judge James C. Fox said on Friday. The ACLU filed a lawsuit in September 2011 after state legislators approved the "Choose Life" plate but refused to authorize voluntary license plates with abortion rights slogans such as "Respect Choice."

Afghan Women's Rights Activist Shot Dead

A senior advocate for women in Afghanistan was shot dead by unknown gunmen Monday, officials said, The Washington Post reported Dec. 10. It is the latest assassination against women’s rights activists in the country. Two assailants riding on a motorbike gunned down Najia Seddiqi as she was heading for her office in eastern Laghman province according to Helai Nekzad, the chief of information at the Women’s Affairs Ministry in Kabul. Seddiqi was head of the Women Affairs Department for Laghman province. Her predecessor in that post was killed four months ago, when explosives hidden in her car were detonated.

Female Presence on UAE Boards Now Compulsory

The UAE has made it compulsory for all public and private sector organisations to include a female representative on their board of directors, the Arabian Business reported Dec.10. “Women proved themselves in many workplaces and today we want them to have a strong presence in decision-making positions in our institutions,” UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced.

Researcher Says 'Sexual Display' Prevents Women's Success in Boardroom

Male and female executives sitting on the same board are engaged in "sexual display" - like mammals in the wild on the hunt for a mate - which is why most women won't succeed at the top, independent researcher Steve Moxon found, The Business Insider reported Dec. 10. "When there are men and women together, the basic interaction is not cross-competition; it is sexual display. Males will display their competitiveness; females will back off from competition. They will actually reduce their competitiveness,” Moxon explained.

Women and Kids First Victims of 'Fiscal Cliff', Says Heidi Hartmann

Women and kids will be the first victims of the "fiscal cliff" if a deal is not struck between Democrats and Republicans by the end of the year, says Dr. Heidi Hartmann, President of the Institute for Women's Policy Research in Washington, The HuffPost reported Dec. 10. The "payroll tax cut is worth $120 billion to families and to stimulate the economy," says Hartmann, explianing "that's $400 in savings to a woman making $20,000 a year, and it can be significant -- several weeks of groceries, a couple of car repairs, half a month's rent. Lower income workers [mostly women] spent that money on bills, food, and transportation." According to Hartmann, "The Maternal and Child Health block grant, Title X Family Planning, the Child Care and Development block grant" are among the programs that already suffer the most of the 2011 Bugdet Control Act.

Muslim Women in U.K. Pressured to Change Appearance to Get Job

Muslim women often feel pressured to change their appearance or anglicise their name in order to access employment, a recent parliamentary report found in U.K., The Guardian reported Dec.10. "Being a woman, migrant, or perceived as such, and Muslim" is the "triple paralysis " said the article. South Asian Muslim women have the highest rate of unemployment in terms of both religion and ethnicity in the UK although many are highly educated and ambitious. The article reports that some Muslims women have been asked to remove their scarf in the workplace while others "were advised to change the style or colour of their scarf in order to appear more "client friendly."

Human Chain in Morocco to Denounce Violence Against Women

Hundreds of people formed a human chain in Rabat Saturday to denounce all forms of violence against women, AFP reported Dec. 8. The protest, called "Spring of Dignity", was organized by a coalition of 22 groups defending the rights of women. The chain, accompanied by street entertainment, ran from parliament to the justice ministry. In a country of 32 million, around six million women are victims of violence, more than half of them within marriage, according to government figures.