Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the practice of partially cutting or eliminating a female individual’s genitalia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this tradition does not present any beneficial effects for women and can put them in danger due to unsanitary-cutting practices.
Muslim communities in Thailand (5-8% of the total population) consider FGM a ritual practice for female newborns after birth. Thailand’s health ministry turns a blind eye to cutting and relates the practice to culture; thus, it does not emphasize the harm that FGM causes.
Type IV Female Genital Mutilation in Thailand
Female genital mutilation in Thailand falls under type IV of the WHO classifications system. It is the least dangerous invasive process; it still involves cutting, incising and piercing of flesh, but it does not remove the clitoris.
Other types, I and II, involve partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia. Type III involves the vulva being sutured closed, meaning that during intercourse and childbirth, women must be cut open, creating life-threatening scenarios.
Practitioners argue that the consequences of type IV FGM are the least severe and that people should not consider it mutilation. However, Nawal Nour, the director of the Global Women’s Health Center at Harvard Medical School, argues that type IV can still create short and long-term consequences, from excessive bleeding and difficulty urinating to infertility.
Understanding the Risks
An issue Thailand faces is that practitioners believe smaller cuts are less harmful. In reality, they are just as dangerous; even a smaller cut inflicts pain and carries a high risk of infection. Botched jobs can lead to hemorrhage, infection, sepsis and death.
WHO has stated that invasive intervention of the female body violates the human rights of girls and women. Additionally, FGM reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and the violation of minors. In Southern Thailand’s Yala, hospitals have nurses and doctors who regularly cut the genitals of newborn Muslim girls.
Since no one documents cutting in Thailand and the procedures occur during infancy, some women do not know they have experienced FGM until much later in life. Thus, most women who have undergone the procedure do not see consequences, leading some women to think that it is not harmful and helps reduce sexual desire.
Women and girls remain the most vulnerable populations worldwide, partly due to gender inequity and sexual and gender-based violence. Although the practice is against WHO guidelines, Thailand’s government has not prioritized prosecuting FGM.
Solutions
The Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) is fighting to end female genital mutilation. ARROW’s goal is to engage with religious scholars who can influence communities positively and urge governments, including Thailand’s government, to end FGM. Advocating for change should help stop girls in Thailand and across Asia from undergoing the procedure. The global focus of FGM has ignored Asia; ARROW’s work to eliminate FGM can change this and cause fewer women to be victims of cutting.
People across the globe practice FGM every day, both secretly and openly which results in women suffering painful consequences. Although people have traditionally thought of FGM as a practice that occurs in African countries, women in Asia are subject to the same pain. However, with the help of NGOs like ARROW, female genital mutilation in Thailand should disappear.
– Yv Maciel
Photo: Flickr
A Bright Future for Agriculture in Angola
Angola is a country where 68% of the population lives below the poverty line despite being one of Africa’s biggest exporters of oil. Before its 27-year civil war, Angola used to be self-sustainable in key crops and even an exporter of a few cash crops. Angola’s civil war caused a mass exodus from rural farming areas and many of its citizens are wary of moving back because of weak infrastructure and the threat of unexploded landmines. Angola’s government, along with NGOs, nonprofits and international organizations, are finding innovative solutions to have agriculture in Angola blooming once again.
The Mines Advisory Group (MAG)
Angola’s biggest threat to economic and agricultural success is the landmine sites that are still active 11 years after their civil war. The Mines Advisory Group (MAG) is an NGO working out of the U.K. that is actively removing Angola’s active landmine sites. MAG is the only all-woman weapons and ammunition management team, and so far, it has cleared 10 million square miles of Angola’s rural areas. MAG’s work is allowing people to move back to their hometowns, like the village of Lucusee, which was once deserted and is now home to more than 21,000 residents. The group is making it possible for land that was once treacherous and deserted to be safe and capable of being used for home building and developing agriculture in Angola.
Projects from the FAO
The Angolan government, because of the help from MAG and other NGOs, is now able to hit the ground running on development projects for its agricultural sector. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a sub-organization of the U.N., is implementing a project across multiple countries in Africa called Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS). CDAIS is being put to work in many countries, but specifically in Angola, the FAO is trying to make use of Angola’s resource-rich farmlands. Angola’s farmers have only cultivated 7% of the country’s arable lands.
The project has several target areas to help farmers develop the rest of these fertile lands. CDAIS aims to provide agricultural education, and pathways for communicative efforts between agricultural entrepreneurs and has its own system for sharing technical information called the Agricultural Innovation System (AIS-CDAIS). The FAO, through these methods, will improve the production of seeds, the integrity of rice crops and the Commonwealth of agricultural information and advancements.
The World Bank Angola
The World Bank is funding big projects in Angola’s agricultural sector. The World Bank is one of many organizations to have realized Angola’s untapped agricultural power, but they have also realized the threats to a growing agricultural industry posed by the worst drought that Angola has seen in 40 years. The World Bank has tackled both of these issues by funding two key projects to develop agriculture in Angola. The World Bank in conjunction with the French Agency for Development has developed the Angola Commercial Agriculture Project (ACAP), which focuses on increasing productivity and access to foreign markets and commercialized farms.
ACAP aims to accomplish these goals by promoting agriculture in Angola to investors who will put money into agricultural development. So far, they have helped Angola’s farmers finalize 25 business plans which have amounted to a total of $7.7 million USD. The World Bank is also spearheading a project named the Smallholder Agricultural Transformation Project (SATP), which is trying to transition agriculture in Angola from smallholder sustenance farming to a more weather-resistant form of farming. SATP aims to accomplish this by:
The World Bank is just one of the many global organizations banding together to support growth in the agricultural sector of Angola.
Looking Ahead
Angola is a country that has faced colonization, civil war, a depressed economy and now the worst drought the country has seen in 40 years. The Angolan government is pooling its resources and working tirelessly with other organizations despite these despairing conditions. Farmers in Angola can ease their anxieties by seeing how hard their government and the international community are working to bring innovative solutions to transform their industry as they know it. Agriculture in Angola can count on a bright future because of the work that multiple supportive and creatively innovative groups of people are doing.
– Alexandra Curry
Photo: Flickr
The Current State of Poverty in India
As India is on track to become the most populated country in the world by the end of the year, many eyes are on the South Asian country in regard to its progress in eliminating poverty. Despite having suffered from chronic poverty for much of its modern history, India has made much progress in raising its poorest over the past few decades. Though factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic have complicated things, India continues to make great strides in its bid to eliminate poverty within its borders.
This Century’s Progress
In the past few decades specifically, the fight against poverty in India has come a long way. Since 2005, an estimated 415 million people have risen out of poverty in India – an impressive feat, considering that the country has a total population of 1.4 billion today. It has a diverse economy, which includes industries such as agriculture and handicrafts. Thanks to a well-educated population of English speakers, India has gained a global foothold in massive modern sectors such as information technology services and software workers. This increase in economic prosperity has given many of India’s poorest opportunities to rise out of poverty.
Old and New Challenges
Despite this amazing progress over the past 20 years, several hurdles remain in the fight against poverty in India. There are 229 million Indians who still live in poverty, which is the largest number of poor people in a single country anywhere in the world. In addition to this, the urban-rural divide of poverty remains very pronounced; as many as 21.2% of India’s rural-living citizens live in poverty, which contrasts with the much smaller 5.5% of impoverished urban dwellers. To put it into perspective, 205 million of India’s 229 million impoverished citizens live in rural areas, according to Mint. When developing strategies to fight poverty in any location, considering the rural-urban divide is a must.
Though India’s economy has remained steadily robust, COVID-19 had a strong impact on the country – particularly on those living in poverty. The pandemic caused India’s economy to contract by a hefty 6.6% in the fiscal year 2020-21. Particularly, COVID-19 hit hard the informal sector which employs 90% of Indians. The dampening effect on India’s economy has made a significant impact on the country’s most poor and vulnerable households especially.
Looking Forward
Thankfully, even with the challenges that COVID-19 and chronic economic equality still pose today, the fight against poverty in India continues its upward momentum. Much of this is thanks to its economic growth; in 2022, it overtook the U.K. to become the fifth-largest economy in the world. According to other reports, it could also overtake Germany and Japan by 2029 to become the third-largest economy in the world. As the country’s economy continues to grow and stabilize, more opportunities will arise for its poorest residents to climb the economic ladder and rise out of poverty.
Despite many challenges, both institutional and from outside forces, poverty in India has been decreasing at a steady rate, thanks to the country’s booming economy and a continued global awareness of the need to end poverty. As it stands, the current state of poverty in India shows several more hurdles remain in ending its impoverishment, but the horizon looks hopeful for India’s poorest.
– Elijah Beglyakov
Photo: Flickr
EdTech Companies in Bangladesh
Bangladesh has been heavily relying on coaching centers as after-school education resources. According to the Education Household Survey 2014 by BBS, around one-third of educational costs are spent on coaching centers or private tutoring. In addition to in-person tutoring, EdTech companies in Bangladesh are currently gaining popularity due to their wide range of access and quality learning experiences. With the rise of internet and technology users, EdTech companies are expanding their content and services to meet the student’s needs.
Post-Covid Situation
Back in March 2022, all educational institutions in Bangladesh had to shut down because of a governmental mandate implemented because of the pandemic. As a result, many students and teachers opted for online platforms such as Zoom and Google Meet to conduct regular classes. Additionally, teachers have used online submissions and clouds to store and grade materials.
Ten Minute School
Ten Minute School is a pioneer of EdTech Companies in Bangladesh. Ayman Sadiq launched the company in 2015 as a YouTube channel. Within a few months, it skyrocketed in popularity and turned into the most popular EdTech company in Bangladesh. That channel currently has 2.52 million subscribers. Teaching materials include educational videos, training programs, English language courses and more. The company has a broad targeted audience including students in K-12 and those preparing for university entrance exams, IELTS, GRE Prep, etc.
Technical-Training Companies
In addition to educational lessons, many companies also provide skills training ranging from social media marketing, graphic designing, web designing, software building and more. Some of the technical training and skill-based EdTech companies in Bangladesh include Upskill, BYLCx and CodersTrust. Besides courses in core academic subjects, Upskill also provides corporate training to employees in specific industries. Similarly, BYLCx has training programs in fields such as entrepreneurship, leadership, digital marketing and personal development in hopes of producing more young change-makers in their communities. On the other hand, CodersTrust is more focused on technology, coding classes and training for the digital economy.
According to Digital Mahbub, the Bangladesh EdTech industry can grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% from 2019-2024. However, due to its somewhat new industry, there is not a wide variety of data related to the industry or its statistical benefits. With an increasing number of internet users, more and more students are opting for EdTech companies as a supplemental method of studying. Not only does it create more job opportunities for recent graduates, but it also provides students with a quality education from the comfort of their homes. Moreover, EdTech companies in Bangladesh are more suitable options for low-income students as these classes are sometimes free or cheaper than traditional coaching centers. Bangladesh is set to graduate from its status as a Least Developed Country in 2026 and EdTech companies will continue to play integral roles in improving literacy and educational outcomes among the population.
– Zahin Tasnin
Photo: Flickr
Ending Period Poverty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Period poverty is defined as a “lack of access to menstrual products, education, hygiene facilities [and/or] waste management.” The World Bank says that each day, more than 300 million females menstruate and about 500 million menstruating females experience period poverty. In impoverished areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, the issue is more pronounced. The impacts of period poverty in sub-Saharan Africa are far-reaching.
3 Facts About Period Poverty in sub-Saharan Africa
FemConnect by Asonele Kotu
Asonele Kotu is a South African entrepreneur who founded FemConnect. In alignment with SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-Being) and SDG 5 (Gender Equality), FemConnect is a startup focusing on developing technological solutions to address period poverty in sub-Saharan Africa.
The BBC explained that the “platform allows users to access sexual and reproductive telemedicine with no stigma or discrimination as well as feminine hygiene products and contraceptives.” The focus is on underserved, marginalized girls. Girls can reach the website privately for assistance and advice pertaining to their menstrual health.
With the #WegotuGirl campaign to end period poverty in Africa, Kotu also advocates and garners support for the distribution of menstrual products like pads, menstrual cups and tampons to less privileged women and girls living in rural communities. “Collaborating with schools and local organizations to uplift women, Kotu has expanded her initiative to Nigeria,” Sowetan Live reports.
With platforms such as FemConnect, girls in sub-Saharan Africa can now seek menstrual guidance and easily access menstrual products, which helps to reduce the number of girls missing school during their menstruation. By addressing period poverty, poverty as a whole reduces because more girls gain an education.
– Oluwagbohunmi Bajela
Photo: Flickr
Tackling the Crisis in Haiti
Haiti has been engulfed in political, economic and social conflict since the assassination of former president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. The parliament has been ineffective as it struggles to govern amidst the recent earthquake and the prominence of gang violence. The crisis in Haiti does not only include one issue but rather multiple crises at once. The three most predominant crises are gang violence, the cholera outbreak and the aftermath of a deadly earthquake in August 2021.
Gang Violence
The number of gangs in Haiti has been growing for the past five years. With around 95 gangs occupying large portions of Port-au-Prince bay, the crisis in Haiti has accelerated into deeper chaos.
Organized crime disproportionally affects vulnerable communities, especially children. UNICEF’s Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean has warned that women and children have become targets of gangs, stating that “more and more incidents of gang violence have involved children and women in the past few weeks and months,” referring to kidnapping, rapes and killings.
Gangs developing strong political and economic footing have only made the crisis in Haiti worse by making gangs “mercenary partners of politicians and administrators,” according to the Global Initiative Report.
Recently, gangs seized Haiti’s fuel terminal, the country’s main source of energy, which sent the country into an economic and health crisis. Many schools and hospitals have no power and small businesses have shut down completely. The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) has increased funding for 22 grassroots organizations focused on helping Haitians adapt to the various political, economic and environmental collapses. The fuel crisis has prevented more than three-quarters of hospitals from operating and the IAF has been able to supply the country with community clinics and ambulances to meet the pressing need for medical care in the midst of the cholera outbreak.
In terms of suppressing gang violence, there is disagreement on which strategy is the best. The U.N. has issued $5 million to help those that the violence affected, as humanitarians try to negotiate with the gangs. Other experts and Haitians suggest that intervention may be a more plausible step as a large portion of money meant for more diplomatic relations has been relatively ineffective.
Cholera Outbreak and Environmental Concerns
Cholera outbreak and environmental shock: “more than a quarter of all suspected cholera cases are children under 9.” Children are much more likely to contract cholera, according to the Health Ministry. Between October and December 2022, there were 13,672 cases of cholera, with 86% of hospitalizations within these cases. From 2010 to 2019, there were 820,000 cholera cases in Haiti.
U.N. agencies and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), along with local organizations, have distributed medicines and treatments throughout the country. They have also established some clean water centers free of cholera, while pushing for the vaccine development for Haiti, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW).
There are also environmental concerns for Haiti, as a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook the country in August 2021, leaving around 650,000 people in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. The earthquake destroyed 70% of schools. UNICEF is continuing to provide water, food and shelter to vulnerable populations.
As violence extends outwards from the capital and inflation rises, the crisis in Haiti will require more aid and assistance to help rebuild and develop a more resilient political and economic order. Organizations within Haiti and around the world have already begun to provide relief, but more must happen to ensure vulnerable peoples are safe.
– Anna Richardson
Photo: Flickr
India’s only Afghan High School educating Refugee Children
Despite the ban on education for girls in Afghanistan under the Taliban regime, India’s only Afghan educational institution, Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan High School, is providing quality education to the refugee children of Afghanistan. Located in Delhi’s Jangpura Extension, the Afghan high school runs on a rented building with more than 30 teaching and non-teaching staff members, most of which are women.
Challenging the Taliban ban on girls’ education, the Afghanistan Ambassador to India, Farid Mamundzay, said in a tweet, “Young Afghan girls who want to be educated will not be stopped, at least in New Delhi. These girls will one day contribute to a stronger and more prosperous Afghanistan. Women share this planet 50/50 however over the past 15 months harsh and unnecessary restrictions have been put on.”
Sustaining Since 1994
Women’s Federation of World Peace, a women’s nonprofit organization, set up the Sayed Jamaluddin Afghan High School in 1994 for refugee children from Afghanistan living in New Delhi. The then government of Afghanistan, Prime Minister Ashraf Ghani, started funding the school at a request from the center. This educational center expanded to become a primary school in 2008 and then a high school in 2017. The school is a hope for more than 250 students, of which 65% are girls, according to India Narrative.
The medium of instruction comprises three different mediums, namely, Farsi, Pashto and English. The school is culturally rich and provides the students with all necessary extracurricular activities. It has more than 10 clubs that work to enrich the knowledge and intelligence of students with practical skills and experience.
The Taliban Takeover and Pandemic Setback
The Afghan high school struggled with funding when the pandemic hit the nation in 2020 and imposed a country-wide lockdown. The Taliban overtake in Afghanistan affected the high school in Delhi enormously as the newly built government of the Taliban stopped the smooth flow of funds. The school failed to pay rent for the school premises due to which they had to vacate the space and hold classes online. They were out of salaries to pay to the teaching staff, The Indian Express reported.
However, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stepped in and helped the school in times of difficult situations. Afghan Ambassador Mamundzay expressed gratitude towards the Ministry of External Affairs on Twitter.
Looking Forward
Currently, the Afghan school holds offline classes in two shifts as the space does not allow all the students to study at the same time. The school successfully conducted its mid-term exam for the academic year 2022-23 in December 2022. The school is also looking for various private and municipal schools which can provide them with 14 to 15 classrooms to hold evening batches.
– Aanchal Mishra
Photo: Pixabay
Bukayo Saka’s Fight Against Surgical Poverty
At the age of 21, Bukayo Saka is not just the face of Arsenal Football Club, he is the face of every Nigerian who emigrated to North London. He is the face of every black child whose dreams ignite as the Emirates symphony floods the night. Despite his tender years and relaxed demeanor, Bukayo Saka is not ignorant of the significance of his example. He has already inspired generations with his tireless work ethic and mercurial footwork. However, his recent partnership with BigShoe aims to fill a much bigger pair of boots. Bukayo Saka and BigShoe are fighting against surgical poverty, which hampers the prospects of children everywhere.
The Issue of Surgical Poverty Amongst Deprived Children
A Meta-Analysis by Bull World Health Organ found that 1.7 billion children could not access surgical care in 2017. This surgical poverty exists intensely in low-income communities, where less than 3% of children can access life-saving medical care. Surgical poverty has a devastating impact on children under 5 in particular. Treatable birth defects, injuries and diseases cause mass disability and death. In 2019, 5.2 million children under 5 died from treatable causes. Despite meaningful progress in infant mortality rates this century, surgical poverty still wreaks havoc amongst the poorest children.
BigShoe’s Mission to Provide Impoverished Children With Critical Surgery
BigShoe is a charity that funds critical operations for children who cannot afford them. It began with a fundraising campaign for Nourisson, a little girl who was born in Togo with a cleft. Today, BigShoe is a vast NGO that encourages prominent football players around the globe to fork out large sums of money, funding operations for needy children. Mesut Özil, Antonio Rüdiger, Phillip Lahm, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Paul Pogba are some of the high-profile players who partnered with BigShoe over the last two decades. Since the creation of BigShoe during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, BigShoe has facilitated essential operations for 2,398 children in need, as of January 2023.
Bukayo Saka and BigShoe
In November 2022, Bukayo Sako joined a growing community of premier league footballers who dedicate their platform and paychecks to charitable causes. In keeping with the example that his peers set, Bukoyo Saka made a diligent donation. Together, Bukayo Saka and BigShoe facilitated 120 life-changing operations for impoverished children.
Speaking about the new partnership, Bukayo Saka stated: “I feel blessed to be in a position where I can contribute to making the children’s lives easier and better through these surgeries… for me, it is very important to use my abilities to have a positive impact where I can. I want to do more and more and help as many children as I can.”
Whilst not much older than a child himself, Bukayo Saka speaks with wisdom beyond his years. Bukaya Saka seems determined to make a lasting impact with his influence and money. The young cub sets an example for his senior premier league peers who are content to live lavishly. Child poverty remains rife in the modern world, but even one player can make a massive difference. Bukayo Saka and BigShoe play for the most important team of all, as the future of the planet rests in the health of the children.
– David Smith
Photo: Flickr
Poverty Among Farmers in the Philippines
More than one-third of the Philippines’ 50 million citizens living in rural areas are considered poor. Most rural citizens depend on agriculture as the primary or only source of income for their families. These families end up further in poverty as agricultural productivity declines, unsustainable practices continue and economic growth lags. Here is some information about poverty among farmers in the Philippines including what some are doing to eliminate it.
The Impact of COVID-19 on Farmers in the Philippines
COVID-19 exacerbated poverty in the farming community by devastating the Philippean economy. Intense quarantine restrictions and natural disasters in 2020 led to an increase in poverty. The inability to transport goods and items has disrupted the farming sector. It continues to stall the stabilization of the economy. Farmers in rural areas have remained among the poorest group in the Philippines since 2006.
The ACDI/VOCA
The ACDI has attempted to combat the poverty that farmers in the Philippines feel through its Cooperative Development Program. The ADCI/VOCA is a Washington, D.C.-based organization focusing on economic development and growth to raise living standards in poverty-stricken countries. Founded in 1993, the global organization has developed multiple programs in the Philippines to aid the farming community.
Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise
Some of ACDI/VOCA’s past initiatives include the Philippine Coffee Advancement and Farm Enterprise (PhilCAFE), which emphasized supporting farmers in the coffee sector. PhilCAFE aimed to increase the production and exports of coffee by promoting the coffee industry, facilitating the establishment of good agricultural practices, improving technologies and supporting lending.
The initiative has helped 349 individuals access agricultural financing and has also formed partnerships with 50 public-private partnerships as of November 2020.
The MinPact Project
The organization also implemented the Mindanao Productivity in Agricultural Commerce and Trade (MinPACT) Project. The project helped increase the incomes of small farmers in the cocoa, coconut and coffee farming industries of Southern and Western Mindanao, an area with extreme poverty rates in the Philippines.
The project worked to reduce poverty and food insecurity in Mindanao by supporting smaller farmers. The approach included plans to increase production, improve productivity, support improved agricultural practices, provide training to reduce harvest loss, provide grants to improve systems and equipment and promote sustainability in the farming industry.
The initiative assisted 6,360 farmers and trained them in farming planning, improved infrastructure for production in 26 enterprises and gave access to traditional cash loans to 1,248 farmers.
CDP in the Philippines
ACDI’s Cooperative Development Program (CDP) works in multiple countries to support cooperatives and their members by promoting economic growth and bolstering civil society. The CDP launched in the Philippines in September of 2022. Agreements with more than 40 local cooperatives made this possible.
These cooperatives are members of the agricultural sector in areas such as rice, coconut, coffee, cacao and dairy production. The CDP in the Philippines will implement a five-year plan to provide the assistance the agriculture industry needs. The multimillion-dollar effort will “foster broad-based economic growth, raise living standards, and help build dynamic agricultural value chains.”
CDP Philippines hopes to see the positive effects of investing in the next five years through its efforts to “promote inclusion, integration, and innovation to create a more vibrant and sustainable farming community.”
– Brooklynn Rich
Photo: Wikipedia Commons
Everything to Know About Poverty in Greece
Although many generally consider Greece a developed country and it ranks as number 28 for quality of life according to U.S. News, the recent rise in poverty rates is of increasing concern. Here is everything to know about poverty in Greece.
Current Poverty Statistics
The World Bank reported that the most recent poverty headcount ratio for those living below $2.15 a day in Greece was 0.7% in 2019. Moreover, the European Anti-Poverty Network (EAPN) report titled “Poverty Watch 2022 Greece” found that poverty rates in Greece are on the rise. In 2020, the EAPN reported that 17.7% of the population received wages below the poverty line, coined “income poverty” and rose to 19.6% in 2021. The Poverty Watch report listed three indicators of poverty: income deprivation/poverty, access to seven of 13 basic goods and the labor intensity of a household. The report found that 29.5% of the population (3,092,300 people) is at risk of poverty, 14.8% experience material deprivation of basic goods and 13.6% of adults (individuals aged 18 to 64 years old) live in low-employment households.
In the same report, the risk of poverty for children (individuals aged 0-17) was 23.7%, a 2.3 increase since 2020’s finding of 21.4%. Moreover, nearly every one out of four children lives in households at risk of poverty, suggesting that poverty in Greece affects children and is “severe, recurrent and worsening.”
While the pandemic can take the blame for just about any rise in poverty rates since 2020, Greece’s inflation is a recent growing catalyst of dangerous poverty rates. The World Bank estimates that for every single 1% increase in food prices, more than 10 million people end up in “extreme poverty.” In Greece, the EAPN reports that food prices were up by a startling 30% in May 2022. Furthermore, the cost of wheat, a staple grain, rose by 50%. This means that not only do the increasing food prices in Greece imply expensive groceries but with a 30% growth, as many as 30 million people could be facing extreme poverty.
Relief Programs
Here are some influential relief programs currently operating in Greece to reduce poverty.
Conclusion
While Greece may not have the most startling poverty rates, there are still many people at risk of extreme poverty. However, with continued support from organizations like the ones mentioned above, poverty in Greece is on track to reduce.
– Micaella Balderrama
Photo: Flickr
Female Genital Mutilation in Thailand
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is the practice of partially cutting or eliminating a female individual’s genitalia. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this tradition does not present any beneficial effects for women and can put them in danger due to unsanitary-cutting practices.
Muslim communities in Thailand (5-8% of the total population) consider FGM a ritual practice for female newborns after birth. Thailand’s health ministry turns a blind eye to cutting and relates the practice to culture; thus, it does not emphasize the harm that FGM causes.
Type IV Female Genital Mutilation in Thailand
Female genital mutilation in Thailand falls under type IV of the WHO classifications system. It is the least dangerous invasive process; it still involves cutting, incising and piercing of flesh, but it does not remove the clitoris.
Other types, I and II, involve partial or total removal of the clitoris and labia. Type III involves the vulva being sutured closed, meaning that during intercourse and childbirth, women must be cut open, creating life-threatening scenarios.
Practitioners argue that the consequences of type IV FGM are the least severe and that people should not consider it mutilation. However, Nawal Nour, the director of the Global Women’s Health Center at Harvard Medical School, argues that type IV can still create short and long-term consequences, from excessive bleeding and difficulty urinating to infertility.
Understanding the Risks
An issue Thailand faces is that practitioners believe smaller cuts are less harmful. In reality, they are just as dangerous; even a smaller cut inflicts pain and carries a high risk of infection. Botched jobs can lead to hemorrhage, infection, sepsis and death.
WHO has stated that invasive intervention of the female body violates the human rights of girls and women. Additionally, FGM reflects deep-rooted inequality between the sexes and the violation of minors. In Southern Thailand’s Yala, hospitals have nurses and doctors who regularly cut the genitals of newborn Muslim girls.
Since no one documents cutting in Thailand and the procedures occur during infancy, some women do not know they have experienced FGM until much later in life. Thus, most women who have undergone the procedure do not see consequences, leading some women to think that it is not harmful and helps reduce sexual desire.
Women and girls remain the most vulnerable populations worldwide, partly due to gender inequity and sexual and gender-based violence. Although the practice is against WHO guidelines, Thailand’s government has not prioritized prosecuting FGM.
Solutions
The Asian Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) is fighting to end female genital mutilation. ARROW’s goal is to engage with religious scholars who can influence communities positively and urge governments, including Thailand’s government, to end FGM. Advocating for change should help stop girls in Thailand and across Asia from undergoing the procedure. The global focus of FGM has ignored Asia; ARROW’s work to eliminate FGM can change this and cause fewer women to be victims of cutting.
People across the globe practice FGM every day, both secretly and openly which results in women suffering painful consequences. Although people have traditionally thought of FGM as a practice that occurs in African countries, women in Asia are subject to the same pain. However, with the help of NGOs like ARROW, female genital mutilation in Thailand should disappear.
– Yv Maciel
Photo: Flickr