(CNN) — A court in Saudi Arabia increased the punishment for a gang-rape victim after her lawyer won an appeal of the sentence for the rapists, the lawyer told CNN.

The 19-year-old victim was sentenced last year to 90 lashes for meeting with an unrelated male, a former friend from whom she was retrieving photographs. The seven rapists, who abducted the pair and raped both, received sentences ranging from 10 months to five years in prison.

The victim’s attorney, Abdulrahman al-Lahim, contested the rapists’ sentence, contending there is a fatwa, or edict under Islamic law, that considers such crimes Hiraba (sinful violent crime) and the punishment should be death.

“After a year, the preliminary court changed the punishment and made it two to nine years for the defendants,” al-Lahim said of the new decision handed down Wednesday. “However, we were shocked that they also changed the victim’s sentence to be six months in prison and 200 lashes.”

Aren’t we proud they are our friends.

Technorati Tags: women, womens rights, saudi arabia,

So we gather once more to pay homage to our foremothers by celebrating today, Aug. 26, the anniversary of the passage of suffrage.

What a year it’s been since we last met. We’ve seen the first woman speaker of the House, the first woman president of Harvard University, and who can forget Bill Clinton, striving to become the first “first laddie”?

Nevertheless, we continue our time-honored tradition, celebrating this day by announcing the cherished Equal Rites Awards to those who have labored over the past 12 months to set back the cause of women. As always, our one-woman committee worked hard to sift through all the candidates. Thus, without further ado, the envelopes please:

Go read the whole article. It is more than worth your time.

While you are still thinking of women’s suffrage there is a rather interesting anti-suffrage book that has been transcribed here. I find it funny that the some of the same arguments were used against the Equal Rights Amendment much more recently. Here is an incredible resource about suffrage. Just about everything you could ever want to know. It is always a good idea to reflect on our history lest we repeat it.

Technorati Tags: suffrage, women,

Of the 14 candidates who have filed for council seats thus far, only four are women, Radle said. Two men are challenging McNeil for her seat, while Herrera is uncontested; Radle is term-limited and there is one woman running for her seat.

Could it be because there aren’t as many women out there who can afford to work for $20 a week? I know that there are plenty of women out there who volunteer their time, however, very few of them have to run a costly campaign in order to do it. Furthermore, when you volunteer for an organization, you can contribute your services for more than four years and maybe watch the organization flourish without people being suspicious about your motive for staying.
MySA.com: Metro | State

Radle said if women don’t want to hold elected office, they can still serve through one of the city’s 60 boards and commissions or other community outlets.

I wish more women were on these boards as well. However, I suspect that the vast majority of San Antonians are unaware of their existence. I didn’t know about them into I started looking in the parks situation. And with council members having to appoint people to the various boards and commissions every two years, I don’t think they have the time or resources to widely publicize the openings in their districts.

Visit http://www.ci.sat.tx.us/clerk/boards/ for more information on current openings. I would provide the link for information on how to run for city council but I haven’t decided yet if that would only be encouraging a disfunctional system.

Take some time today to say something nice to one of the strong women in your life. Remember, without us, the world really doesn’t go around. Also, take a moment to go to save darfur and fill out a postcard if you haven’t already. Darfur is certainly not the only place that horrific things are happening to women but it is one that we can hopefully do something about.

Rebecca Chapa has a story about International Womens’ Day today that is more than  worth reading.

Technorati Tags: Women, International Womens’ Day