Monday was the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day. Not that I put much store in that sort of thing. Not while millions of women and girls around the world are, right now, walking miles for water, scavenging for food, enduring gang rapes, having acid thrown in their faces, being killed for talking to boys, staying out of school for lack of menstrual products, bleeding to death while delivering their sixth child ... Did they know it was International Women's Day?

Oh but hey, in Canada's Parliament, our MPs sure did. Watching Question Period that afternoon, while the Liberals, NDP and Bloc were firing away at the Conservatives on domestic violence, the repeal of the long-gun registry, maternal health care, EI, seniors' supplements and other "women's issues," I had the feeling that we women had become the equivalent of the Afghan "detainees" torture scandal du jour.

There was even a woman, Victoria MP Denise Savoie, as acting speaker of the house. Hurray. It sure was nice while it lasted. True to form, the Conservatives deflected every question. When Liberal MP Lise Zarac (LaSalle-Émard) brought up how our citizenship laws still discriminate against women  "a child born outside Canada to a Canadian father is entitled to Canadian citizenship, but a child born outside Canada to a Canadian mother does not have that same right'' – Immigration Minister Jason Kenney blamed the previous Liberal government. (When does that blaming get old, anyway?)

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Moderate female drinkers are less likely to gain weight than those who drink mineral water, according to a new study, Women drinkers also have a lower risk of obesity than teetotallers. The research suggests that a calorie from alcohol has less impact on weight than a calorie from other foods.

It is thought that in regular drinkers, the liver develops a separate metabolic pathway to break down alcohol, with surplus energy turned into heat, not fat. The findings come from a 13-year study of 19,220 American women conducted by Lu Wang, a medical instructor at Bringham and Women's hospital, Boston. Wang questioned the women about their drinking habits, 38% of whom were non-drinkers.

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It was disappointing news, especially with International Women's Day on Monday, that the number of economically inactive women in South Korea rose to a record high last year. According to the Ministry of Labor, the number hit 10.24 million, marking an increase of 286,000 from 2008. It was unfortunate that 67 percent of those women quit their jobs or gave up looking for employment to look after their families.

In a nutshell, the unprecedented global economic crisis took its toll on women more severely than men. The ratio of economically active women over the total female population stood at 49.2 percent in 2009, down 0.8 percent from a year before. For men, the ratio edged down only 0.4 percent. The entire number of women workers decreased by 103,000 to 9.77 million, while that of their male counterparts rose by 31,000.

In particular, self-employed women were hit hardest with their number declining by 190,000. This has much to do with the saturated market for the self-employed that has been forced to downsize since 2006. Whatever the reason, it is regrettable that Korean women have suffered from fewer job opportunities than their male counterparts. More worrisome is that the gloomy situation shows little sign of getting better anytime soon.

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The United States women's soccer team beat Germany, 3-2, Wednesday in Faro, Portugal, to win the Algarve Cup for the seventh time. Germany goalkeeper Nadine Angerer fumbled in the 70th minute, and Lauren Cheney tapped it in for the winner. "That was the only way I was scoring today," Cheney said. "The goalie bounced it off my face." The U.S. took a 2-0 lead on goals by Carli Lloyd and Abby Wambach within a 5-minute span of the first half.

U.S. men lose: In Amsterdam, the U.S. men's team lost to the Netherlands, 2-1, in the Americans' last match before coach Bob Bradley picks his World Cup roster. Dirk Kuyt converted a penalty kick in the 40th minute, and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar made it 2-0 for the third-ranked Dutch in the 73rd minute with a shot that deflected off Jonathan Bornstein and left goalkeeper Tim Howard with no chance to stop it. U.S. captain Carlos Bocanegra scored in the 88th minute, heading in DaMarcus Beasley's 35-yard free kick.

Iditarod: A musher from Jamaica, Newton Marshall, 26, will compete in the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which starts Saturday. As a rookie last year, he completed in the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, finishing 13th out of 29 mushers.

We were in his home state of Minnesota after all and "the times, they are a changin'" neatly summed up the world of men's golf as the dust settled on the USPGA at Hazeltine. YE Yang had just become the first Asian-born winner of a men's major and the golfing compass seemed to be pointing due East. In this respect, the game looked to be heading for a transformation similar to the one we have already witnessed in women's golf.

Here it is perhaps more the case of "the times, they HAVE changed" such is the domination of Asian players. Indeed, in the wake of Ai Miyazato's victory at the prestigious HSBC Women's Champions tournament in Singapore, the boss of the LPGA has said the staging of a major in Asia is "inevitable".

Heading into the Champions event, no fewer than 12 players of the top 25 in the world come from Asia. This compares with four from Europe. So it is little wonder that LPGA commissioner Mike Whan is recognising the significance of the power shift. "Will there be a major played on the women's tour somewhere in Asia 10 years down the road?" he wonders.

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American Diana D'Alessio shot a 4-under 68 on Friday to take a one-stroke lead over Australia's Sarah Kemp in the Ladies European Tour's season-opening New Zealand Women's Open. D'Alessio had a 9-under 135 total on the Pegasus Golf Club course. Kemp shot a 67. South Africa's Ashleigh Simon (70) and Norway's Marianne Skarpnord (73) were three strokes back at 6 under. Canada's Lorie Kane was fifth at 5 under after a 66 - the round of the day.

Canada's other hockey powerhouse takes centre stage Thursday at the Olympics in what could prove to be the most watched women's hockey game in history. Canada pushed the envelope as much as they could the last six months  including some 30 games against midget triple-A boys' teams  so they would be ready to beat the U.S. for the Olympic women's hockey gold.

"It's a huge edge for us," said forward Jayna Hefford of Kingston, Ont. "I like our team in a lot of ways. But our preparation, I can't say there's anything I would have wanted to do differently, better or more of." The Americans are 3-7 in games played against their archrivals since September, but their last meeting was almost a toss-up. Canada edged the U.S. 3-2 in a shootout in Ottawa on Jan. 1.

Canada lost eight straight games to the U.S. before beating them 3-2 in the 2002 Olympic final in Salt Lake City. At the women's free skate, Canada will be watching Joannie Rochette to see if the 24-year-old from Ile-Dupas, Que., can deliver another top-tier performance in the wake of the death on the weekend of her 55-year-old-mother, Therese.

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critics who say it ought to be eliminated as an event. Firstly, hockey is not a fringe sport. It is the pre-eminent team sport of the Winter Olympics. To not include women's participation in this sport would be thoroughly un-Olympian. In fact dropping it seems unimaginable.

Secondly, the level of play is improving in the countries that have developing women's hockey programs. The Canadian women are better today than they.

Women's hockey has been in the Olympics for 12 years. That's four Games: Nagano, Salt Lake City, Turin and, now, Vancouver.

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Getting medical tests takes some time and effort. But making an appointment and going to see your doctor to get these tests done could be one of the best things you can do for yourself.

Every year thousands of women race for the cure. A cure for breast cancer. Doctors say the first test women should get is the mammogram. Women should also do regular self breast exams. Officials say a good time would be in the shower after your menstrual cycle.

"During the menstrual cycle there can be some changes to the breast and so yes after the menstrual cycle is the best time to do that," said gynecologic oncologist Amanda Fader.

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Child marriage continues to remain a big problem in the country, with half the women getting married before attaining the minimum legal marriageable age of 18 years, according to a study released by Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad here Saturday.

"Marriage happens very early for most of the women in most states - one fifth were married below the age of 15 years and 49 per cent were married before turning 18," said the study.

The study was conducted in six states - Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu - between 2006 and 2008, involving over 58,000 youths in the age group of 15-29 years.

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