Friday Femme Fatale: Lady Legends, #DiversityFail & Plan-B

Ok, ok, ok. It's Friday. Phew. We made it through another five-day work week, only to go tumbling through the weekend, jump through some rabbit holes and end up exactly where we started - back on Monday. I think the world is mocking us, no? Anyways, enough of my existential crisis. Here are the greatest and latest stories from this week in the world of women's rights.

Gudrún Jónsdóttir writes over at WMC, "In Iceland, Our Long-Sought Victory in Battling Human Trafficking":

Iceland's parliament passed a bill criminalizing the act of buying individuals for purposes of prostitution. Patterned on the Swedish law that addresses the demand fueling the commercial sex industry, the action was hailed as an historic moment in the international struggle against human trafficking. Via Equality Now, here is a dispatch describing the campaign from Gudrún Jónsdóttir, spokeswoman for Stigamot, a women's rights organization in Iceland.

Also, Iran's judiciary said on Tuesday an appeals court would reconsider US-Iranian reporter Roxana Saberi's eight-year jail sentence on spying charges, while the Human Rights Campaign reports that "Governments Should Endorse Anti-Racism Declaration"

Governments that boycotted the UN racism conference should now demonstrate their commitment to fight racism by endorsing the conference declaration, Human Rights Watch said today. By so doing, they can ensure that the conference will be remembered for its commitment to victims of racism and not for an inflammatory speech by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran.

Don't forget to take a peek at these hot items - Michelle Obama's 100 Days of Style and Substance, Jessica Valenti talking about her new book The Purity Myth on the Today Show and Foreign Policy Association is seeking an editor for the Women Entrepreneurship Blog

In addition, Feministe shares this heart-wrenching statement from Angie Zapata's Family on Andrade's Conviction, while Jon Pincus explains #diversityfail after the Politics Online Conference and Hormone-Colored Days calls for marketers to consider diversity in their blog outreach. Also, here are the early results of Craigslist's collaboration with Attorney Generals and NCMEC based on the joint effort announced last November.

On the brighter side of the road, the American Cancer Society is trying to create a world with more birthdays, and my dear friend Samantha gives an ode to old Hollywood at Pretty Lovely, while the New York Times wonders, Who's Buried in Cleopatra's Tomb?

WHAT becomes a legend most? If you're a woman, the formula is straightforward. Your best bets are the three D's: delusion (Joan of Arc), disability (Helen Keller), death (Sylvia Plath). You get extra points for the savage, sudden or surprising demise, as Evita, Amelia or Diana attests. At the head of the list of untimely self-destructors comes of course Cleopatra VII, for whose tomb a search begins shortly, on an Egyptian hilltop west of Alexandria.

In politics, Molly over at NARAL writes about Palin, Sebelius, and the right to choose:

Let's all take a moment to be thankful that Gov. Palin is not Vice President Palin - shall we?

I know I've ventured off track, but here's where I bring it all back to the Sebelius nomination. As I wrote above, Team Sarah, the online community of Palin's female supporters, is calling on its members to take on the Sebelius nomination as part of the "Not on Our Watch" project... because Sebelius is pro-choice. Never mind her years of experience. If Team Sarah sees fit to launch a campaign against the Sebelius confirmation, then I see fit to point out the hypocrisy of Palin's recent statements at the Indiana Right to Life dinner in conjunction with the "Not on Our Watch" project.

We must work to ensure Gov. Sebelius is confirmed. Her nomination went before the Senate Finance Committee for a vote today, and it passed by a vote of 15-8. Now, it will go on to a full Senate vote which could happened any day now.

Additionally, President Barack Obama has proclaimed April 2009 as National Sexual Assault Awareness Month:

I urge all Americans to respond to sexual assault by creating policies at work and school, by engaging in discussions with family and friends, and by making the prevention of sexual assault a priority in their communities.

Finally, during a time when the recession is linked to more abortions and vasectomies, the FDA Approves Plan B for 17-Year-Olds:

Reversing a contentious policy of the Bush administration, the FDA said in a brief statement it will not appeal a judge's order that overturns restrictions limiting over-the-counter sales of "Plan B" to women 18 and older.