(WOMENSENEWS)--

Cheers

May is Older Americans Month and some women are finding that age is no deterrent to making the news.

At 95, Nola Ochs of Hays, Kan., will become the oldest person in the world to earn a college degree when she graduates from Fort Hays State University today. Ochs began taking college courses after her husband died in 1972. "I don't dwell on my age," Ochs told the Associated Press. "It might limit what I can do. As long as I have my mind and health, it's just a number."

Barbara Hillary became the first black woman to reach the North Pole when she skied to the top of the world from a base camp in Norway on April 23, the AP reported. At 75, Hillary is also believed to be among the oldest people to reach the pole. The New Yorker is a survivor of lung cancer and, despite never having skied before, she made the trek because she heard that a black woman had never done it. She plans next to become a global warming activist.

In Shelbyville, Ind., the world's second oldest woman--Edna Parker, who is 114--and the world's tallest woman--Sandy Allen, who is 7 feet, 7 inches--celebrated Parker's birthday together on April 20, the AP reported. The two women live at the same convalescent center near Indianapolis, and know how to party: They shared some carrot cake and released balloons into the sky for the occasion.

Verna Naylor, at 91, still goes to work every day in Bentonville, Ohio, as the nation's oldest postmaster. She's had the job since 1968, taking over after her husband, Harry, died. "These walls are made from solid timbers," she told the Cleveland Plain Dealer, describing her one-room post office. Naylor has no plans to retire.

Vera Curioli, 68, received an honorary baseball bat from the New York Yankees in a May 6 ceremony, the Journal News (of White Plains, N.Y.) reported. Curioli was honored for foiling a robbery attempt at the sandwich shop where she works; the robber came in and she whacked him with a bat twice on his head before he fled the scene.

More News to Cheer This Week:

• Heading into the weekend of Mother's Day, lawmakers introduced legislation Friday to combat maternal depression. The bill, known as the Mothers Act, would set aside federal funds for education and treatment programs for postpartum depression. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House.
• A group of mothers, one adult child and a coalition of national organizations filed suit Friday against the United States in an international human rights court. Plaintiffs claim that U.S. courts have abused the human rights of mothers and children by frequently awarding child custody to abusive fathers. Plaintiffs also claim that mothers have been unfairly jailed after attempts to protect their children from abuse. They want the court to issue a set of steps to be taken by the United States to comply with its human rights obligations.
• Amnesty International, the London-based human rights group, said that a woman who has been raped or whose health is threatened by pregnancy should have the right to a safe abortion, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported May 10. Amnesty's new policy is part of its global campaign to stop violence against women and plans to call for the decriminalization of abortion procedures. Annually, an estimated 68,000 women die from unsafe abortions.
• Mozambique Prime Minister Lusia Diogo has launched the Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians, comprised of women who are current or former members of the government. The aim of the new organization is to advocate and lobby for gender equity and women's empowerment. Thirty-seven percent of the parliament seats are held by women and the government currently has seven female ministers, including Diogo.

Jeers

One in 13 mothers worldwide will die from pregnancy-related causes, the U.S. charity Save the Children found in its annual Mother's Day Report Card, an index that ranks nations for how women and children fare by comparing 13 key indicators, such as mortality rates, heath care provisions and female school enrollment.

The United States and Hungary were tied in 26th place on the ranked list. The worst country to be a mother is Niger, where maternal mortality claims 1 in 7 women. Sweden received the top ranking.

"Investing in the health of mothers everywhere is not just the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do," said Save the Children president and CEO Charles MacCormack. "When we take care of mothers by ensuring that they have the basic tools they need to improve the quality of life for themselves and their children, we also improve prospects for generations to come. When mothers thrive, their children grow up healthy and, ultimately, all of society benefits."

The report concluded that nearly all maternal deaths and mortality for children under 5 occur in the developing world, noting the "grim conditions" women and children face. In Ethiopia, for example, only 6 percent of births are attended by skilled health providers and in 11 sub-Saharan African nations women typically die before age 45. But the report also strongly notes that "political will matters more than national wealth" in the effort to improve maternal and child health.

More News to Jeer This Week:

• XM Satellite Radio hosts Opie and Anthony have come under fire for responding with laughter to degrading comments on their talk show, the New York Daily News reported May 11. A caller known as "Homeless Charlie" declared on the show that he would like to rape U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, first lady Laura Bush and Queen Elizabeth II of Britain. Opie and Anthony played up the remarks and said they would enjoy the "horror" on Rice's face as she were punched and held down. A White House spokesperson said he would not "dignify the comments" by responding to them.
• A May 7 report from watchdog group Media Matters America found there is still a lack of covering women's and minority issues in cable news programs. A three-week study of MSNBC, Fox News and CNN that followed the controversial firing of radio host Don Imus for his sexist and racist remarks found that while the number of female and minority program guests increased during the study period, they were largely relegated to discussions of sex and race. Of seven shows studied during primetime viewing, 29 of 35 hosts are male and all are white.
• Organizers of an education convention in Saudi Arabia closed a Canadian stand because it was staffed by women, Reuters reported May 7. Last month, Saudi officials also denied visas to U.S. female high school students hoping to make the sacred pilgrimage to Mecca, the Chicago Tribune reported April 29. The Muslim teens were not allowed on the pilgrimage--even with adult female chaperones--because they did not have males to accompany them.
• Segolene Royal's focus on gender at the cost of promoting her policies contributed to her failure to win support from a majority of female voters in France's election last week, Reuters reported May 7. Among women, 48 percent voted for Royal, but sociologist Mariette Sineau told Reuters that Royal's loss stemmed from the gap between her image as an elite woman and the needs of working-class women. In France, 12 percent of lawmakers are female.
• Samar Saed Abdullah, a 25-year-old Iraqi woman, was sentenced to death after admitting to collaborating in the murder of three relatives, but only after she was tortured in police custody, CNN reported May 9. Abdullah claims that the murders were committed by her husband and that she is innocent. Amnesty International says the situation is common in Iraq, which now has the fourth-highest execution rate in the world.

Nouhad Moawad is managing editor of Arabic Women's eNews, Allison Stevens is Washington bureau chief, and Jennifer Thurston is associate editor.

Women's eNews welcomes your comments. E-mail us at editors@womensenews.org.

Save the Children, State of the World's Mothers:
http://www.savethechildren.org/campaigns/state-of-the-worlds-mothers-report/2007/

Amnesty International, Stop Violence Against Women Campaign:
http://web.amnesty.org/actforwomen/index-eng

Media Matters for America, "Locked Out: The Lack of Gender and Ethnic Diversity on Cable News Continues":
http://mediamatters.org/CableDiversity

Note: Women's eNews is not responsible for the content of external Internet sites and the contents of Web pages we link to may change without notice.