South Asia | New Zealand | Leadership

Police women shining the torch

Retired, current and recently-sworn women police in Palmerston North hosted half of a torch on Saturday, celebrating 75 years since the first woman joined the New Zealand Police. The half-torch arrived from Woodville at midday, and was handed to Inspector Sarah Stewart for a whistle-stop visit. Accompanying the torch, leader for the Central District's 75-year celebrations Jeanette Park said it was important to pause and recognise the milestone. While still outnumbered by men, she said women in the police had come a long way.

South Asia | New Zealand | Politics

New Zealand female MPs thrown out of parliament after disclosing sexual assaults

Source: theguardian

The women’s intervention came after prime minister John Key on Tuesday accused opposition Labour and Green MPs of “backing the rapists” in a row over the detention of New Zealanders by the Australian government. When other female MPS, including Labour’s Nanaia Mahuta, Clare Curran and Megan Woods, along with Green MP Marama Davidson repeated the call for Key to apologise with reference to their own assaults, Carter ordered them to stop, saying they were “flouting the rules” by claiming to make points of order. Despite the warning, MPs continued to stand to urge the Speaker to

South Asia | New Zealand | Society

Surprise, Facebook is making women feel bad about themselves…men too

Source: NetGuide

According to a new study from University of Auckland, women in their mid-30s to mid-40s are the most likely to feel dissatisfied with the way they look after using Facebook, a new University of Auckland study shows. The study group of more than 11,000 people was made up of 62.5%women and 37.5% men aged 18-years-plus with a mean age of 49.23 years. They included both Facebook users and non-users. The study showed women Facebook users in their mid-30s to mid-40s had the lowest level of body satisfaction of any group, with women aged 38 least happy with the way they looked of any age group.

South Asia | New Zealand | Health

Anti-depressant use during menopause ‘raises risk of broken bones’

Source: The New Zealand Herald

Women who take common anti-depressants to counter the impact of menopause may have a 76 per cent higher risk of broken bones, scientists warn. The risk appears to last for several years after women take the drugs, leading to calls for doctors to reduce the period for which they are prescribed. For many women, the onset of the menopause triggers mood changes and depression, and each year thousands are prescribed a type of anti-depressant called SSRIs - selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, the best known of which is Prozac. The drugs are also sometimes prescribed to help women cope

South Asia | New Zealand | Medicine

More single women are turning to fertility services to have children

Source: New Zealand Herald

The number of single women seeking fertility treatment has almost doubled in two years as career-minded professionals without partners opt to parent alone. Demand at New Zealand's largest private fertility clinic is so high women are waiting 18 months for sperm donors. Fertility Associates' Dr Simon Kelly said numbers of single women wanting fertility treatment had swelled from 80 in 2012 to 156 last year. It was expected to be higher this year. That compared with 56 heterosexual and 88 same-sex couples receiving treatment last year, similar levels to in 2012 and 2013. Donor treatment

South Asia | New Zealand | Education

Woman graduates with doctorate 40 years after degree

Source: Stuff

A woman has graduated with her PhD, exactly 40 years after she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Eleanor Hamlyn, from Birkenhead on Auckland's North Shore, graduated with a PhD in Italian studies from the University of Auckland on May 4. She first studied English, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in May 1975. The city campus was a different place in the 70s, Hamlyn says. Getting your hands on books and resources without the internet was hard. "You had to be so organised to make sure you got your resources on time, if you went to the library too late everyone had got them befo

South Asia | New Zealand | Activism

The rise of high school feminism

Source: Stuff

For the first time in decades, feminism is firmly on the agenda for a growing number of teenagers. Meet the high school students championing the cause, and asks what sparked the shift. The 11.20 bell marks the start of morning tea, and as hundreds of students stream out of classrooms into the sun, a group of 15 convenes in room D11. At the door is a quote from American televangelist Pat Robertson: "Feminism is a socialist, anti-family, political movement that encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practise witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians." Th