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Global Feminism in the News is a monthly column discussing recurring themes in international news stories concerning women. This month we will focus on women’s health.

For those of you non-Americans, you may not realize quite the fervor of the health care debate in the US Congress right now. As it has dominated headlines, I wanted to write this month’s article on Women and Health. It was a month of confusing health care advice, progress in the fight against gender based violence, and some unexpected news about Vitamin A.

In the US, two controversial and confusing health suggestions for women were published. The Preventive Services Task Force of the Department of Health and Human Services revised previous guidelines for breast cancer screening; they no longer believe women under 50 need regular screenings, and women 50- 74 only need them every other year- half as often as previously recommended. This news angered many who feared that insurance would soon decline to cover the yearly screenings that many health care professionals and cancer survivors count as crucial tools to detect and survive cancer. Many women, suspicious of the change, plan to continue with their yearly screenings (with the blessing of doctors and the Obama administration).

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In contemporary Egyptian affairs the unknown quantity is the new woman. During the feverish days of the revolution of 1919 she threw off the muzzle endured throughout centuries. Since then her voice is raised on every public question, and what she has to say is so significant that it is recorded on the front pages of metropolitan newspapers. (“New Women of Egypt Struggle to End Age-old Wrongs” by Beatrice Hill Ogilvie, June 17, 1928, from the New York Times*)

It is said that in Ancient Egypt, women’s position in society were equal to that of men’s. In ancient Egyptian mythology, for example, goddesses such as Mut, Isis and Hathor ruled over many areas of Egypt. This post will focus on the Egyptian feminist movement that began in the early 20th century, a time when Egyptian women had little to no rights. Whenever talking about an underdeveloped country, some people believe that women’s movements outside of the First World such as the one in Egypt should not be called “feminist” because that word is imported by the West. I beg to differ, and offer an explanation articulated by Margot Badran, who is an Islamic women’s and feminist writer in her book, Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Read the rest of this entry →