"It is clear that the provisions of the Mexico City Policy are unnecessarily broad and unwarranted under current law, and for the past eight years, they have undermined efforts to promote safe and effective voluntary family planning in developing countries. For these reasons, it is right for us to rescind this policy and restore critical efforts to protect and empower women and promote global economic development."

President Obama, January 24, 2009

Josina Machel delivered this speech at the 4th Africa Conference on Sexual Health and Rights in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2010. Machel is a gender activist and a social entrepreneur and a member of the Board of Directors of the International Women's Health Coalition. The speech is available to download in Word and PDF.

This post is by Audacia Ray and originally appeared on Our Bodies, Our Blog on January 26, 2009.

Demand for newer and better devices that protect against pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections is constant — partly due to the fact that the process of development, testing and approval takes forever, and partly because what’s on the market often leaves something to be desired.

I walked alongside women, men, youth, and young children at a One in Nine Campaign march earlier this month in Cape Town, South Africa to protest the failure of justice systems worldwide to protect victims of sexual assault, gender-based violence, and murder. 

>>Available in PDF

Summary: By Open Society Institute, 2008.  Endorsed by IWHC.

Dear U.S. Presidential Candidates,
Women have taken center stage in this year's race for the next President of the United States. We're not just talking about Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton-increasingly, election coverage has focused on women's roles in national security and foreign policy, the importance of the women voters, and debates over what constitutes sexism.