A report released by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) last week has shocked the humanitarian aid community. The report, entitled “Where is everyone?,” took a hard look at areas where aid has been falling short, especially in regard to emergency responses.
The three main issues the report finds are: funding is too slow and inflexible, NGOs operating at the grassroots are shut out of the UN-dominated system and emergency response is not prioritized in the humanitarian aid system.
Responses to MSF’s report have not all been favorable. Some, such as Bertrand Taith, a cultural historian of humanitarian aid and director of the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester, have criticized MSF’s methodology. Taith called the approach taken by MSF “headline grabbing.”
However, despite the controversy over MSF’s methods, the overwhelming response has been appreciation for the debate it has sparked. The MSF report’s website states: “We intend this paper to start a real discussion with our colleagues in the aid community…to make us all improve how we respond.”
One contribution to the debate has taken the form of a blog entitled, “Where is everyone? We’re standing right next to you.” Bob Kitchen, director of the International Rescue Committee’s emergency preparedness and response unit expressed in the blog that his agency and others “continue to stand and deliver in the face of chaos and mounting humanitarian needs.”
Kitchen’s comment is in response to the report’s finding that humanitarian aid agencies are not targeting the most vulnerable areas, because they are too dangerous and hard to access. One such population being unregistered urban refugees in Jordan.
“We’re not saying [agencies] should take unnecessary risks, but we do feel that in some cases, a perceived lack of security becomes a rather defensive argument,” says Jens Pedersen, a humanitarian adviser with MSF.
Kitchen, however, cites the work his agency is currently doing in Somalia. “A country,” he describes, “so violent that MSF itself has withdrawn.”
Funding is another issue that the report addresses. Not lack of funding in general, but lack of flexible and easily accessible funds. The report begins by saying, “the international humanitarian aid system has more means and resources at its disposal…than ever before.”
The issue is that the money is often inflexible and earmarked. It is also slow; on average, it takes three months for donor funds to be disbursed through UN agencies and reach their target. Three months that emergency response situations cannot afford.
To combat this delay, certain networks have been established. One is the START network, which operates outside the UN. It provides a shared source of emergency funding for 19 major NGOs.
The report effectively sparked debate in the aid community. MSF “has made it clear that [the report] is intended as a trigger for critical discussions in the aid community,” reports IRIN. And, in that regard, it has succeeded.
Humanitarian aid agencies across the globe are preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit, which will take place in Istanbul in 2016. The stated goal of the summit is to “find new ways to tackle humanitarian needs in our fast-changing world,” and the summit will provide space for the conversation about aid effectiveness to continue.
– Julianne O’Connor
Sources: IRIN, MSF, World Humanitarian Summit
Photo: NewInt
Tour de Meals: Biking to End Hunger
We all think of biking as a great way to exercise, but 67-year-old Tony Fritz found another great reason to ride his bicycle: ending world hunger. Fritz began this 1,500 mile route at the Global Aid Network (GAiN) Headquarters in Plano, Texas on June 30, and he estimates his arrival at the GAiN Distribution Center, which packages and ships food for humanitarian aid, in Mount Joy, Pa. on July 30.
Some of us may question why someone would commit themselves to this daunting task. Fritz provides a very straightforward and honest answer, “Because many people living in impoverished or war-torn areas do not have enough to eat, and because many of them die needlessly, I am raising money to send food.”
The U.N. estimates that 842 million people are suffering from hunger around the world, which is why Fritz is biking to raise awareness of this global health issue. According to Fritz, “If only one child in America died of hunger or related issue it would be a travesty and reported nationally. Tragically, it does happen thousands of times daily throughout the world and morphs into an impersonal statistic.”
Along with raising awareness, this bike ride known as the “Tour De Meals” is also a pledge-per-mile fundraiser. A mere penny given for every mile Fritz bikes equals a $15 donation, which will feed a child in need for a whole month.
In order to prepare for this 1,500 mile bike route across the country, Fritz began training indoors during the winter for at least an hour five days a week, and he rode up to 80 miles a week outside during the spring.
His hobby of bicycling with his son also helped him prepare for this long journey. Fritz has been riding bikes with his son for 15 years now, and they even planned a cross-country bike ride from San Diego to Pennsylvania together about four years ago. Although Fritz was not able to complete this 2,800 mile route, he was able to bike about 55 percent of it.
A native of Reamstown, Pennsylvania, Fritz has been volunteering at GAiN as a Food Process Manager ever since retiring as a math teacher in 2006. GAiN is a humanitarian organization that works to help the world’s poor and needy through relief and development projects in the Americas, Africa, Middle East and Central Asia.
Since its launch in 2003, GAiN has created five programs: food, agriculture, clean water, education and relief. Through its Food Program, more than 13 million meals were given to children and their families across the world in 2012. This specific program is mainly responsible for packaging projects, shipping food and providing lifesaving food aid to those most in need.
Fritz is a perfect example that anyone, by any means, can make a difference in the fight against global poverty and hunger. He sums this idea up perfectly: “There are a lot of good causes out there, a lot of things to pour your life into, and this is one of them. I don’t think everybody needs to do this, but everybody needs to have awareness of it.”
To follow Fritz’s bicycling journey across the country, read his blog and even donate to the cause. Visit TourdeMeals.org.
– Meghan Orner
Sources: Global Aid Network,, Tour de Meals, Mission Network News, Greene County Daily World, UN
Photo: Auto Europe
Instability Facing Nigeria
On July 24, 2014 an estimated 82 people were killed in a northern Nigerian city due to the blast of two bombs. The source of the bombs leads to the Islamist terrorist group in the area, Boko Haram.
Nigerian forces are currently at war with the terrorist group, and there is heavy speculation that the suicide bombs were a ploy to distract their attention from the war zone to a heavily populated area a few hundred miles away.
Both events seem to be targeting influential political figures in Nigeria. The first target was “Muslim cleric, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, who has repeatedly condemned terrorism as un-Islamic,” according to the Wall Street Journal. He coincidentally missed the attack by minutes, leaving civilians as the only victims of the first bomb.
The second target was “Mohammadu Buhari, the ex-military dictator who remains the country’s top opposition leader.” With both attacks at the intended targets turning into failures, the only victims were helpless civilians who got caught in the crossfire.
This is not Boko Haram’s first attempt to create havoc in Nigerian cities, as they have bombed myriad other areas while trying to gain control of certain war-torn areas.
Nigeria’s financial stability is questionable at best, but the attacks have forced the President into pouring money the country may not have into military efforts in order to protect and police the country. It’s reported that over $1 billion have gone into the military fund as a result of these attacks.
Nigeria is acknowledging the public: “We call on Nigerian authorities to fully investigate these attacks,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. “We urge all Nigerians to avoid reprisals and continue to practice the interfaith cooperation that violent extremists seek to undermine.”
It’s hugely important to acknowledge that the terrorist group behind these bombings are the same people that have kidnapped over 200 young girls, drawing international attention to the Nigerian political stage. The ruthlessness of their actions demonstrates the fact that little will stop them before they reach their goals of control of the nation.
Attacks on civilians are another of the many actions Boko Haram has taken to make its point clear, their brutality is unmatched in the area and the terrorists have little trouble demonstrating it at any given time.
The instability facing Nigeria is nearing its peak and it is beginning to look like there is a high chance that these attacks will manifest into a full out war within the nation, with unknown risks on the line. Nigeria has few resources to aid them, causing the strength of the country to waver in the eyes of civilians.
– Elena Lopez
Sources: Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, Associated Press
Photo: Associated Press
UNICEF Campaign in Haiti
UNICEF and the Haitian government have combined forces to combat the cholera epidemic by providing access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities in the rural areas of Haiti. This week they launched the National Sanitation Campaign, which will target 55 communities, 3.8 million people, 2,500 schools and 500 health centers.
Cholera has not been documented in Haiti for a century prior to its outbreak in 2010. Since then, the government has reported 703,000 suspected cases of cholera and 8,500 cholera-related deaths in Haiti.
In 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon launched an initiative for the elimination of cholera in Haiti and the Dominican Republic through prevention, treatment and education.
The UN’s efforts in fighting the epidemic have included establishing mobile teams for rapid health response, setting up 150 cholera treatment facilities and 700 water chlorination points and distributing buckets, water tanks and cholera kits to Haitian residents. International aid has contributed to reducing the toll of cholera: rates have declined 74 percent in the first five months of 2014 compared to the same time period last year and the fatality rate is below the World Health Organization’s one percent goal.
Despite this progress, cholera still remains a global health emergency for the Haitian population, one that will only be resolved by keeping infected waste out of food and water. With lack of sanitation infrastructure and poor hygienic practices, cholera and other waterborne diseases which can lead to dehydration and death will remain a potential threat to Haitians, particularly those residing in rural communities.
According to UNICEF, less than one in two families have access to a safe, improved water source in rural areas of Haiti, compared with 77 percent in urban areas. In addition, only one in four families have access to functional toilets. Risks of cholera are increased by the environment and are even higher during the rainy season.
Edouard Beigbeder, the UNICEF representative in Haiti, claims that the partnership’s approach is to “address the root causes of the problem and offer sustainable solutions.” The National Sanitation Campaign involves the combination of community outreach and infrastructure building to provide working water points in at-risk communities and appropriate toilets for up to 90 percent of the population in areas where cholera is present. The current program aims to “stop the spread of cholera and cut the incidence of diarrhea by half within the next two years.”
Ki-moon called attention to the cholera epidemic in Haiti after departing on a “necessary pilgrimage” to Los Palmas and attending a local church service. He sought support for the $2.2 billion 10-year cholera elimination initiative of 2012, which struggled to raise an initial $400 million needed for the first two years. Ki-moon’s visit will hopefully reach donors who have previously been slow to respond to the campaign.
Some Haitians criticized Ki-moon’s visit, as the UN refused to accept responsibility for introducing the disease to Haiti. Past evidence suggests that Nepalese peacemakers stationed near a tributary of the Artibonite river had discharged raw sewage that carried a strain of cholera which sparked the outbreak. Now lawsuits are being filed demanding compensation for victims of the epidemic and affected families.
But UNICEF recognizes that it has a “moral duty” to end the world’s worst cholera epidemic. Major donors including the Canadian government and Japanese Agency for International Cooperation will facilitate the fulfillment of this goal. With new initiatives and a specific focus on sanitation systems and clean water, the National Sanitation Campaign aims to eradicate cholera from Haiti once and for all.
– Abby Bauer
Sources: UNICEF, United Nations News Centre, The Guardian, Global Research
Photo: UNICEF
GOP Seeks to Change Unaccompanied Minors Bill
Members of the GOP have insisted that President Obama’s $3.7 billion immediate spending demand to curtail the flow of children across the U.S. border is too costly.
Republicans want to pass legislation that would accelerate the deportation of unaccompanied minors. Since the end of 2013, more than 40,000 children from El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala have turned themselves over to officials at the border.
Senator John McCain, R-Arizona, insists that the best way to stop the flow of children is for them to be returned to their families in their homeland. He stated that it would discourage families and traffickers from sending children to the U.S. border.
While McCain agreed that many of the children are escaping danger and violence at home, he also claimed, “We cannot have an unending stream of children, whether it’d be from Central America or any place else, to come into our country with all of the strains and pressures that it puts on our capabilities.”
The legislation that Republicans want to introduce would allow Central American minors to be deported more quickly. Unaccompanied minors from any country would be able to have a hearing within seven days of their processing by the Human Services and the Department of Health and Human Services. An immigration judge would rule within three days whether the child could stay or would have to be deported.
The Obama administration has agreed to give support for laws that will speed up deportation proceedings, even though prominent congressional Democrats are against it.
Representative Mike McCaul, R-Texas, Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, stated that Republicans are contemplating a limited emergency funding bill that would supply aid through the end of the fiscal year.
Representative Hal Rogers, R-Kentucky and House Appropriations Chairman, told reporters that the current bill was excessive, but did not comment on what funding level the committee seeks.
A new poll reported that there is broad public disapproval of both President Obama and Republican congressmen’s handling of the flow of unaccompanied minors at the southern border. In fact 58 percent of Americans, including 54 percent of Latinos, disapprove of Obama’s management of the situation.
66 percent disapprove of the GOP’s handle on the crisis of unaccompanied minors.
The administration’s attitude towards this crisis is also facing opposition from Democrats and immigrant rights organizations who are afraid that deporting the children will put them at risk of returning to dangerous conditions in their home countries.
– Colleen Moore
Sources: USA Today, The Washington Post
Photo: ABC News
SDG Post 2015
As the finish line for the Millennium Development Goals quickly approaches, talks are already under way to establish the goals for the next 15 years. The new plan, called the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), is all about renewing the world’s commitment to helping the world’s poor.
As world leaders begin to establish these new goals, food security and nutrition remain crucial elements. David Taylor, Economic Justice Policy Advisor for Oxfam, tells the Inter Press News Agency, “In a world that produces enough food to feed everyone, there is no excuse for anyone to go hungry.”
Yet, as of today, one in eight people still go hungry or is ailed by some type of malnutrition. This is approximately 842 million people who are under-nourished. Poor nutrition causes 45 percent of deaths in children under five—this is 3.1 million children every year.
While, according to Taylor, ending world hunger is not an unrealistic endeavor, we still face enormous challenges in food security and agriculture. It is imperative to formulate new pathways to overcome inefficiency, corruption and wastefulness.
On June 2, the Open Working Group (OWG) in collaboration with the UN, released Draft Zero on SDG with 17 goals to be accomplished in the next 15 years. In terms of food, one of the main emphases of the program is to boost production by locals, women and marginal groups.
Despite the optimism of those proposing SDG, it is not without critics. In recent months, SDG and its proponents are being accused of bypassing water supply and sanitation as basic human rights. According to a letter of protest signed by 77 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including Biofuel Watch, Blue Planet Project, Corporate Accountability International and End Water Poverty Coalition, their protest arises from the fact that references to water and sanitation as human rights has been removed from SDG.
While the road ahead of a final SDG is still long and complex, the UN Secratary General is expected to provide an update on the final version of SDG by the end of this year. Proponents and critics are expected to work together, and the UN would be taking into account various contributions in order to achieve a plan that best suits the needs of the most disadvantaged sectors of the global population. The final disclosure of the post-2015 development agenda is expected to coincide with a high-level Summit in September of 2015.
– Sahar Abi Hassan
Sources: Inter Press Service 1, Inter Press Service 2, World Food Programme
Photo: Kean University
Malala Day
Malala Yousafzai’s birthday, July 14, is now nationally known as Malala Day. Malala is a young advocate for young girl’s rights and for education for everyone. It is not only her birthday but it is also a day for all young people to voice their opinions and to stand up for the right of education for everyone.
She is a strong believer in education and did not want to step down just because people in her government were telling her to do so. She wants to be someone influential when she gets older and believes the way to accomplish that is through education. When Malala was shot by the Taliban on her way to school she did not let that stop her from voicing her opinion and getting an education.
Malala is not the only advocate for education in her family, her mother is a school teacher and her father is also leading educational advocate.
A year ago, Malala gave her first speech to an audience that consisted of 500 youth advocates. “One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world,” said Malala last year.
This year Malala encouraged children around the world to help the voiceless be heard. “On my birthday last year, I stood before the United Nations and spoke up for girls’ rights. You stood with me, with letters, messages and photos of support. Thank you,” wrote Malala on her website, Malala.org
Malala makes sure to stay humble, and although she has been through so much she keeps her head up and does not dwell on her bad experiences. She instead uses her experiences to encourage others to keep on fighting for education. Malala has been recognized throughout the world because of her courage and has been acknowledged through many awards such as the Tipperary International Peace Prize, the Children’s Peace Prize, and being shortlisted for the Nobel Peace Prize.
-Priscilla Rodarte
Sources: A World at School 1, A World at School 2, Global Education First, Washington Post, Plan USA, Malala.org
Photo: Lakeside Connect
Mesut Ozil Funds Brazilian Surgeries
Fresh off of his World Cup win, German soccer player Mesut Ozil has partnered with Big Shoe to help provide Brazilian children access to surgery. Initially, Ozil had pledged to support 11 surgeries, one for each player on the field, but he increased his promise to 23 surgeries. Each surgery signifies the effort of one of the 23 players of the German national team.
Ozil isn’t the only representative of the soccer world to support the organization. United States national soccer team coach Jurgen Klinsmann also voiced his support for the initiative.
Ozil is expected to donate his FIFA World Cup winnings, approximately $600,000 according to The Telegraph, to aid ill children in Brazil. Throughout the World Cup, the German national team bonded with the Brazilian people.
In the aftermath of the World Cup, many FIFA players have felt this same warmth and generosity toward the host nation.
The Big Shoe Initiative, which Ozil aligned himself with, was founded in 2006 around the time of Germany’s own World Cup. The organization relies on both donations and efforts of countless doctors in order to provide access to surgery for impoverished children. Ozil’s video campaign for the Big Shoe Initiative, a video now on YouTube and many social media websites, has helped garner attention for the nonprofit.
For its work in Brazil, the Big Shoe Initiative hopes to raise enough money to pay for 100 future surgeries.
The surgeries performed by the organization include burn and scar tissue removal, cleft palate corrections and congenital heart and limb disorders among others. The medical treatments are often either too expensive or too specialized for the regions in which the Big Shoe Initiative works.
The World Cup rejuvenated attention and support for the Big Shoe Initiative. Ozil’s generous donation, in particular, will help the organization begin to realize the potential of its coming impact in Brazil.
– Kristin Ronzi
Sources: Big Shoe, The Telegraph, YouTube
Photo: The Telegraph
Humanitarian Aid’s Shortcomings
A report released by Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) last week has shocked the humanitarian aid community. The report, entitled “Where is everyone?,” took a hard look at areas where aid has been falling short, especially in regard to emergency responses.
The three main issues the report finds are: funding is too slow and inflexible, NGOs operating at the grassroots are shut out of the UN-dominated system and emergency response is not prioritized in the humanitarian aid system.
Responses to MSF’s report have not all been favorable. Some, such as Bertrand Taith, a cultural historian of humanitarian aid and director of the Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute at the University of Manchester, have criticized MSF’s methodology. Taith called the approach taken by MSF “headline grabbing.”
However, despite the controversy over MSF’s methods, the overwhelming response has been appreciation for the debate it has sparked. The MSF report’s website states: “We intend this paper to start a real discussion with our colleagues in the aid community…to make us all improve how we respond.”
One contribution to the debate has taken the form of a blog entitled, “Where is everyone? We’re standing right next to you.” Bob Kitchen, director of the International Rescue Committee’s emergency preparedness and response unit expressed in the blog that his agency and others “continue to stand and deliver in the face of chaos and mounting humanitarian needs.”
Kitchen’s comment is in response to the report’s finding that humanitarian aid agencies are not targeting the most vulnerable areas, because they are too dangerous and hard to access. One such population being unregistered urban refugees in Jordan.
“We’re not saying [agencies] should take unnecessary risks, but we do feel that in some cases, a perceived lack of security becomes a rather defensive argument,” says Jens Pedersen, a humanitarian adviser with MSF.
Kitchen, however, cites the work his agency is currently doing in Somalia. “A country,” he describes, “so violent that MSF itself has withdrawn.”
Funding is another issue that the report addresses. Not lack of funding in general, but lack of flexible and easily accessible funds. The report begins by saying, “the international humanitarian aid system has more means and resources at its disposal…than ever before.”
The issue is that the money is often inflexible and earmarked. It is also slow; on average, it takes three months for donor funds to be disbursed through UN agencies and reach their target. Three months that emergency response situations cannot afford.
To combat this delay, certain networks have been established. One is the START network, which operates outside the UN. It provides a shared source of emergency funding for 19 major NGOs.
The report effectively sparked debate in the aid community. MSF “has made it clear that [the report] is intended as a trigger for critical discussions in the aid community,” reports IRIN. And, in that regard, it has succeeded.
Humanitarian aid agencies across the globe are preparing for the World Humanitarian Summit, which will take place in Istanbul in 2016. The stated goal of the summit is to “find new ways to tackle humanitarian needs in our fast-changing world,” and the summit will provide space for the conversation about aid effectiveness to continue.
– Julianne O’Connor
Sources: IRIN, MSF, World Humanitarian Summit
Photo: NewInt
AIDS Researchers on Flight MH17
Dozens of delegates, scientists and researchers on Flight MH17, en-route to an AIDS conference, were among the 298 victims of the crash in Ukraine after it was shot out of the sky over the war-torn area on July 17.
The five day AIDs conference in Melbourne, Australia was almost cancelled as it became evident that many of the dead passengers from flight MH17 were researchers and delegates heading to the conference, convened by the International AIDs Society. A silent, candle-lit vigil has been held at the conference to honor the victims.
Although not all the passengers have been named, it is believed that some of the world’s leading HIV/Aids researchers are among the victims of the doomed flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur.
Dutch-born former president of the International AIDS Society Joep Lange and his partner Jacqueline van Tongere have been confirmed as among the dead. Lange was a prominent HIV researcher and a professor at the University of Amsterdam due to speak at the conference. He was also a key researcher behind projects aimed at preventing mother-to-child AIDs transmission and an early advocate of bringing HIV medicines to the developing world.
Referring to her friend Joep Lange, U.S. public health doctor and journalist Dr. Seema Yasmin tweeted from the AIDs conference in Melbourne: “How do we measure how much a person has done for humanity? People like Joep change the course of epidemics.”
One of the nine passengers from the UK was Glenn Thomas. Thomas was a former BBC journalist working as the World Health Organization’s Media Relations Coordinator and was heading to Kuala Lumpur for his connection to Melbourne.
The current death toll stands at 298, which includes 189 Dutch nationals, 44 Malaysians, 27 Australians, 12 Indonesians, nine passengers from the UK, four Germans, four Belgian passengers, three passengers from the Philippines, one Canadian and one passenger from New Zealand. The nationalities of the remaining four passengers are unknown at press time.
Executive director of UNAids, Michel Sidibe has tweeted: “My thoughts & prayers to families of those tragically lost on flight #MH17. Many passengers were en-route to #AIDS2014 here in #Melbourne.”
Flight MH17 was shot down on July 17 in Eastern Ukraine with anti-aircraft weaponry. Ukraine has been in turmoil since November 2013 when the former President Yanukovych abandoned an agreement on closer ties with the E.U. He was overthrown in February after months of violent protest in the capital, Kiev. Russia then moved to annex the Crimean Peninsula. Other areas in the south east of Ukraine are violently fighting to be independent of Ukraine; the rebels are believed to be supplied and financed by Russia.
International Reaction:
The U.S. has criticized Russia for arming separatist rebels in Ukraine who are widely held responsible for perpetrating the attack. President Obama, Joe Biden and John Kerry have, however, stopped short of directly blaming Russia.
Hillary Clinton has made the strongest criticism of Russia, saying that action was needed to “put [Vladimir] Putin on notice that he has gone too far and we are not going to stand idly by.”
Clinton spoke to Charlie Rose on the PBS network, saying, “The questions I’d be asking is, number one, who could have shot it down? Who had the equipment? It’s obviously an anti-aircraft missile. Who could have had the expertise to do that? Because commercial airlines are big targets, but by the time they got over that part of Ukraine they should have been high, so it takes some planning [to target such a plane].”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has denied Russian involvement in the crash and has said that Ukraine bears the responsibility of the crash. He has since called for opposing sides to lay down their arms and enter talks.
U.K. Prime Minster David Cameron has said it is too early to know who is responsible for the tragedy.
– Charles Bell
Sources: The Guardian 1, Vox, The Guardian 2, The Guardian 3
Photo: Global Research
Pakistani Town Offers Sex Education Classes
Despite censure, a small village in Pakistan is defying social norms. Tucked away in the ultra-conservative Sindh province, the village of Johi is doing something extraordinary and radical: they’re providing sex education classes for girls.
To a Westerner this notion may seem far from revolutionary, but it is a gigantic leap forward for Pakistan. In the Muslim nation of 180 million people, sex education is taboo — in some places it has even been outlawed. Women who expose their sexuality in the slightest and most harmless of ways can be sentenced to death.
The pioneers behind the movement are bravely looking forward, teaching girls what they feel is just and necessary. They have established the Village Shadabad Organization where sex education classes are taught to girls starting at age 8. Thus far, there are 700 girls enrolled in eight different schools. The topics range from changes in the female body, to what a women’s rights are, to how she can protect herself. The lessons are an addition to regularly taught classes.
From the teachers’ experience, sex education is vital knowledge these young girls are deprived of. When they begin to menstruate, for example, they are ashamed and think they are sick. Pakistani girls are largely uneducated about puberty and do not know when they will begin to menstruate. Furthermore, many girls get married without understanding the mechanics of sex.
The lessons are not only useful in educating the girls about the natural functions of their bodies, but they are also a means of teaching self-defense. The girls learn that they have a right to their bodies; they learn how to defend themselves if someone violates their personal space; they are taught that even if they are married, their husband cannot force them to engage in sex if they are not willing.
Surprisingly, most families in Johi support the implementation of sex education in the public school curriculum. Unfortunately, the movement is far from reaching a national arena. In fact, the government recently shifted in the opposite direction, forcing the elite Lahore Grammar School to eliminate sex education courses from its curriculum. Many people argue that sex education is a violation of Pakistan’s constitution and an obstruction to their religious beliefs. For now, sex education in Pakistan is still a fringe idea, but nonetheless, the idea demonstrates an outward display of government defiance and a step in the right direction for women.
– Samantha Scheetz
Sources: UN Women, Huffington Post, Reuters
Photo: Wikimedia