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There's so much going on in the world of women's news it's hard to know where to start. Perhaps a good place in the recent Boston Marathon, which boasted the closest women's finish in the history of the event! Kenya's own Salina Kosgei who outsprinted the defending champ, Ethiopian Dire Tune, to win by less than a stride. In a close third was American Kara Goucher, who, pictured here, was a bit disappointed by her finish (photo courtesy of the Associated Press).

On a more serious front, a Saudi Justice Minister is trying to enact laws that will prohibit child marriages in the future. This news comes in the wake of judge Sheikh Habib Al-Habib's refusal to annul an eight-year-old girl's arranged marriage last weekend. According to an article on the Feminist Daily Newswire, the marriage between the girl and a 47 year-old man was arranged by her father to settle a debt. When a Saudi judge refused to grant the girl a divorce, the case went public and many--both within the country and globally--are outraged.

Nearby in Afghanistan, women recently took the streets to protest a new law that would severly restrict womens' freedoms. According to The Guardian, the law would prohibit women from leaving their homes, working, going to school, or obtaining medical care unless granted permission by their husbands. Another controversial part of the law states that women cannot refuse their husbands sex. Check out this related video from the New York Times.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/04/15/world/1194839517084/a-mans-world.html