Category Archives: Uncategorized
Can a girl change the world?
I am so excited to be living in a time when the voice of women and girls is starting to be heard. Girls Globe is an amazing organization that recruits women from around the globe as writers and bloggers. I have attached a link to an article about women making history in an effort to support women’s rights and empowerment.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
http://girlsglobe.org/2013/10/15/can-a-girl-change-the-world/
Art as a Catalyst for Change
I am always so amazed at the number of women who speak out on behalf of other women and girls, and who allow their own suffering to act as a motivating factor in contributing to awareness and empowerment. As of late, I have been noticing more and more men becoming involved in feminist issues. I think it is really important to take note of the kind of impact that men can have on helping to reduce violence against women, and improving gender equality. They add a voice that is unique, and has the ability to reach other men in a way that I think sometimes women cannot. I came across this article through Girlsglobe.org, about Mark Tuschman, who gave up a career in science to embark on one in photography. He has dedicated his work to photographing women’s stories across the globe, documenting their struggles and triumphs. I wanted to post this because I think it demonstrates the ability of art to function as a medium for social awareness, and a driving force for change.
Link to article: http://girlsglobe.org/2013/06/05/art-with-heart-one-man/
Source: Girls Globe
Author of Article: Justine Stacey
Letter to Girls
Christiane Amanpour wrote a fantastic letter to girls and women of the world. It is truly a letter for both men and women to take notice of. Girls and women experience acts of inequality in all corners of the world, from lower wages to not being allowed to choose who and when to marry. Every day, I find myself questioning exactly how this still exists! I speak from a position of gratitude because I live in a country where women are provided many opportunities to seek education and succeed in life. Regardless of whether we live in a country with greater or fewer opportunities and rights, it is important to take note of the forms of oppression that do exist in the lives of all women.
Women should have the right to go to school, to marry or not to marry, to work, to bear or not to bear children, to dress how we wish etc., and all of this should be without criticism, judgment or harassment. It seems so simple yet the power imbalance that exists throughout the world is astonishing, and this keeps women from thriving. In her letter Amanpour writes about communities and even countries who have, on some level, provided opportunity and empowered women. She discusses the world-wide benefits of allowing women the freedom to establish themselves within their communities.
Here is the link to the letter: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/05/16/world/amanpour-girl-rising/index.html
Edna Adan
I want to post about an amazing woman who has dedicated her life to the health and well-being of women and children in her home country of Somaliland. Upon returning to her country from a successful international career, she started out on a journey to build a hospital for women and children to help reduce maternal and infant death. She has also established a training program for midwives with the goal of having graduates return to their communities throughout Somaliland to practice. Here is an excerpt from the hospital website:
“The health of the people of Somaliland is among the worst in Africa, with one of the highest Maternal and Infant Mortality rates in the world. Every year, one baby in eight dies in infancy while nearly 4000 Somali women die in childbirth. This tragedy can be attributed in large part to the long civil war which brought about the death or departure of nearly all of the country’s trained health care professionals.”
Link to hospital website: http://www.ednahospital.org/
What is the World Like For Girls?
A link to the World Youth 2013 data sheet and summary, by the Population Reference Bureau. It details education, child marriage, teen pregnancy, and many more issues that affect youth worldwide.
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Datasheets/2013/youth-datasheet-2013.aspx/
Education to Stop Exploitation
A great article written Gordon Brown, former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, discussing the need for and the growing empowerment of women across the world. He places great emphasis on the need for education to eradicate many of the challenges facing the women today.
”The quickest and most effective advance we could secure immediately is to move girls out of exploitation and into education” – UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown
“2013 is the year when a new form of female empowerment will not only change the way we see the world, but finally deliver rights that have been denied for too long — and that starts with every girl’s right to an education.” -Gordon Brown
Micro Finance Loans
War Child Canada runs programs that provide women with the chance to develop an education, life skills, and business development skills in areas where opportunities for women are scarce. Micro finance loans are a way for women to start their own business, contribute to their local economy and, gain much needed independence. Attached is a short article depicting War Child Canada’s work with women in Afghanistan.
http://www.warchild.ca/news/detail/empowerment_through_business/
childoftheuniverse 