Taken from Women Enews

The Week's Top Stories and Commentary from Women's Enews:

Business & Economy
Women's Businesses See Sales Drop of 10 Percent -- By Laura Koss-Feder
The downturn in the economy, coupled with the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, has hit small companies across the country. Since Sept. 11, nationwide sales by women-owned businesses have dropped an average of 10 percent, according to a recent survey conducted by Women Impacting Public Policy, or WIPP. The Oklahoma City-based bipartisan public policy organization, which focused on women's economic issues, surveyed 2,000 women owners of small businesses nationwide. Over the past few years women-owned companies have been the fastest growth area in new small businesses. Female entrepreneurs now need to be particularly creative in their networking, marketing and customer retention.

Commentary
U.S. Should Heed Our Allies' Treatment of Women -- By Mona Eltahawy and Kalpana Sharma
Imagine a country where a woman who is raped must produce four witnesses to the crime or else be put in jail as an adulteress. A country where a woman cannot drive and must obtain written permission from a male relative to travel. A country where a woman cannot pass on her nationality to her children and where the girls among those children face genital mutilation by age 7. It is not Afghanistan and the Taliban government that is responsible for these human rights violations. It is Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt -- three of the United States' best friends in the Middle East and the Asian subcontinent.

In the Courts
Women's Credibility Doubted in Many Family Courts -- by Victoria Graham
Most agree that for a family court to award custody of a child to a parent who physically or sexually abuses that child is contrary to the entire mission of these courts. However, too often, a family court judge, usually with little or no education in domestic violence or sexual abuse of children, sides with the man and says that evidence of sexual abuse was not substantiated and therefore that it did not occur. Instead, many in the legal system agree, the judge should rule only that no conclusion could be drawn. Given that most studies indicate that fabricated allegations are extremely rare, some advocates argue that no woman who is a primary care giver should lose custody because of an unproven allegation of abuse.

International
Red Cross Volunteers Listened to Grief, Rage -- by Maya Dollarhide
Nearly overcome with her own anxiety and sadness in the wake of the Sept. 11th attack and the collapse of the World Trade Center, graphic artist Kathryn Carey pleaded to be permitted to help. She was suddenly in charge of the Red Cross' victim's services unit at the 94th Street Pier and worked 12- to 14-hour days, debriefing trauma victims and making referrals to the correct agencies. She worked with hundreds of police officers, firefighters, volunteers and the families of the victims. Starting Nov. 5, Carey will begin a new Red Cross volunteer job at the respite center at Ground Zero.

Washington Lookout
Rep. Mink Introduces Fixes to 1996 Welfare Law -- By Caroline Polk
Rep. Patsy Mink of Hawaii has introduced a bill that would shift the focus of current welfare law from reducing the caseload to reducing poverty. It calls for minimum benefits and expanded child care; it broadens the definition of work, lifts time limits on training and encourages education that helps single parents find long-term employment. The Mink bill, introduced by the Hawaii Democrat on Oct. 12, addresses provisions of the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program, as the reform to federal welfare laws is known. It lifts some of the harshest provisions of the 1996 law, such as "full-family" sanctions, by which even children are deprived of benefits if parents fail to comply with some aspect of a program. The Mink bill would also mandate services for those who cannot work because of mental illness, physical disability and domestic violence. It is the first of several proposals that are expected to reauthorize and refine aspects of the 1996 welfare reform, the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act.

Senator Jeffords Says His Concerns Pushed Aside -- By Patti Reid
Jim Jeffords of Vermont, the lone Independent member of the U.S. Senate, says social issues, particularly those important to women and children, are being pushed aside for the foreseeable future while the nation focuses on the double threat of terrorism and the sharply falling economy. When Jeffords bolted from the Republican Party five months ago, his goal was to swing power toward moderates and give them an opportunity to take the lead on social and civil rights issues, especially expanding funding for early childhood education and protecting abortion rights. But those goals are on hold now as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington.

Outrage of the Week
Two Deep South States Take Anti-Choice Steps
Alabama became the fourth state last week to approve a state license plate carrying an anti-abortion slogan. Over the objections of abortion rights advocates, Alabama legislators have approved the use of taxpayers' funds to produce specialty license plates bearing the words, "Choose Life"-widely considered to be an anti-abortion slogan. In South Carolina, new regulations are raising the costs of abortions. So far, one clinic has closed.

 

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