Archive for category: Women and Female Empowerment

information and Stories about woman and female empowerment.

, , ,

5 Organizations Fighting for Women’s Empowerment in India

Women’s Empowerment in India

India has a complicated track record when it comes to women’s rights and women’s empowerment. On the one hand, the country is home to a number of feminist icons like Kamla Bhasin, who has been advocating for female education since the seventies, but on the other, around 93 women are raped in India every day. In addition, even in 2019, nonconsensual sex between a husband and wife is not considered rape according to India’s penal code. It is also estimated that 120,000 Indian women a year will be victims of domestic violence.

Fortunately, a number of organizations are tirelessly working to put an end to gender inequality in India. These five organizations fighting for women’s empowerment in India are dedicated to uplifting and protecting women.

5 Organizations Fighting for Women’s Empowerment in India

  1. SEWA – Of the female labor force in India, more than 94 percent of workers make their living in the unorganized sector. Yet this demographic largely remains invisible due to the self-employed nature of their work. Since these women are not part of the mainstream salaried workforce, they do not have access to welfare benefits that laborers in the traditional workforce do, leaving them unprotected.

    Incorporated in 1972, the Self-Employed Women’s Association, or SEWA, is a trade union made up of poor and self-employed female workers that earn a living through self-run small businesses or their personal labor. SEWA aims to organize women so that they can attain full employment and all its benefits including social security, which is defined as health care, child care and shelter. SEWA stimulates full employment and female self-reliance by offering a number of services including health care, child care, banking through the Sewa Bank (a cooperative bank with credit and finance services), insurance via VimoSEWA (SEWA insurance), legal services and housing.

  2. Snehalaya – Snehalaya translates to “home of love” and is an NGO that was founded in 1989 in the Indian city of Ahmednagar. The NGO provides support to women, children and LGBT communities. Snehalaya specifically focuses on these vulnerable members of society that have suffered at the hands of HIV and AIDS, trafficking, sexual violence and poverty.

    Snehalaya has made great strides in raising awareness for these disadvantaged communities and continues to offer safe havens and escapes to women and children imprisoned in the cycle of poverty and abuse. Currently, the organization reaches more than 19,000 beneficiaries a year by offering services including:

    • orphanages for children rescued from the sex trafficking industry;

    • offices that offer emergency care for abandoned infants in addition to medical and psychological support for expectant mothers;

    • 30 emergency safe houses for women and children experiencing domestic violence;

    • 100 25-acre Himmaatgram Biofarms that provide sustainable produce for Snehalaya projects; and

    • a free telephone helpline for children and the public to help at-risk children that receives around 300 calls a day.

  3. NEN: North East Network – NEN is a women’s rights organization that was established in 1995 as part of the Beijing World Conference on Women. NEN operates mostly in North East India and focuses on women’s human rights and gender justice. NEN organizes training sessions, awareness programs, retreats, as well as short film and art competitions all with the goal of merging advocacy with activism. The organization continues to fight against gender-based discrimination while building support for government policies that promote women’s rights and increase female representation in political, public and community settings.

  4. Azad Foundation – The Azad Foundation is a professional feminist organization founded in 2008 that specifically works with resource-poor women living in urban areas in India. The Foundation provides opportunities for disadvantaged women to earn a livelihood as professional drivers and has trained hundreds of women since inception. The Foundation also trained and then employed the first ever female bus driver in Delhi.

    In total, the Azad Foundation has trained more than 1,800 women in a range of topics to including self-defense, sexual and reproductive health, basic first aid as well as map reading.

    The organization, which was founded in Delhi, has now expanded and has training centers in Jaipur and Kolkata. By offering training to women so that they can become professional drivers to earn a decent living, the Azad Foundation bolsters the economic status of underprivileged women while offering them the independence of self-reliance.

  5. MAKAAM – Mahila Kisan Adhikaar Manch: MAKAAM is a forum for female farmers’ rights that operates in 24 states in India. Even though women make up about 60 to 70 percent of the farming workforce in India, they only account for around 12 percent of landholdings. Since female farmers rarely own the land they work on, they are excluded from important support services provided by the government. However, MAKAAM seeks to empower female farmers by teaching them to assert their rights and gain ownership of their livelihoods and the natural resources that come with it.

These five organizations fighting for women’s empowerment in India are providing important support to all types of women in need all across the country. From female farmers to entrepreneurs and members of vulnerable communities these organizations are elevating an important part of Indian society that is often overlooked or disadvantaged.

– Isabel Fernandez
Photo: Pixabay

, , ,

Fighting the Global ‘Burden’ of Widows in Poverty

Widows in Poverty
Widespread recognition has increased the benefits that empowering women can create for impoverished communities. Yet improved educational and business opportunities for women have neglected the world’s 258 million widows, 85 million in China and India alone. Advocates cite the baffling omission of widows’ welfare from the U.N.’s sustainable development goals (SDGs) as evidence of a critical blind spot in aid efforts. Widows are shown to suffer disproportionately in measurements of poverty, with a minimum of 38 million considered extremely impoverished in 2015. This poverty level is roughly 15 percent of widows compared to the 10 percent of the general worldwide population considered extremely poor by the World Bank in the same year.

This disparity is a result, in part, of the traditional practices of many cultures by which women continue to be seen solely as dependents of their fathers or husbands. Particularly in developing countries, a woman with neither is left with no support system. She becomes deemed a burden to society and, with no income to educate her children, contributes to continuing generations of poverty.

Treatment of Widows Around the World

Stigmas and traditional superstitions have a profound social and mental impact on women whose husbands have died. In many cultures, a widow is blamed for a husband’s death; in fact, many women face accusations of murder or neglect of their duties as wives. It is common for widows to be isolated and banned from participation in community activities and family events. In India, it is customary for widowed women to be prohibited from remarriage, with an appearance in public interpreted as ill-omens.

Human Rights Watch has identified common human rights violations against widows in Zimbabwe and other sub-Saharan countries. Some of the most widespread practices are the denial of inheritance, despite protected national and international laws, and ‘property grabbing’ in which a widow’s in-laws physically or verbally assault her in attempt to take her land for themselves.

Other customs termed ‘harmful practices’ by the U.N. include wife-inheritance, in which a woman is forced to marry her deceased husband’s relative, and ritual cleansing of widows through rape. In some cases, women have been forced to cleanse themselves by drinking water used to wash their husband’s corpse. All such practices run a serious risk of transmitting communicable disease, including HIV and Ebola.

Organizations Supporting Widows in Poverty

Aid organizations focusing on welfare for widows in poverty have expanded since 2000, but there remain only four main NGOs with the capacity to provide aid programs internationally:

  • The Loomba Foundation – When sexist stigmas in India isolated and shamed founder Lord Raj Loomba’s widowed mother without justification, he came to believe that the key to pulling widows out of poverty is gender equality. Since 1997, the Loomba Foundation has funded programs to educate widows and their children, promoted women’s empowerment in Africa and Asia and published the only comprehensive research on the experiences of widows in poverty.

  • Global Fund for Widows (GFW) – Acting as the financial base for partnerships with many smaller non-profits working in local communities, GFW has been working in Egypt, Tanzania, Nigeria, India and parts of Central America since 2008. GFW funds skills programs for widows, organizes employment opportunities and offers a Micro-Social Capital program that provides women with the means to start small businesses in their communities.

  • Women for Women International – Creating employment opportunities and economic independence is a small part of Women for Women’s approach to widows’ welfare. They work with women at local levels to educate them in political engagement with the belief that having confidence and a voice in their own affairs is the best long-term solution to the suffering of widows in poverty.

  • Widows’ Rights International (WRI) – WRI is an organization specializing in legal precedent for cases involving widows’ human rights. WRI works with the UNHRC, U.N. Committee on the Status of Women and national governments to create a policy for the benefit of poor widows and educate women about their rights. Their goal is to combat ignorance and therefore violations of human rights which they have condemned as “tantamount to torture.”

The ‘Widow Issue’

Data measuring the number of widows in extreme poverty, although limited and often unreliable, estimates a decrease of 22 percent between 2010 and 2015. Encouragement is visible in statements by former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon that presses U.N. member states to condemn harmful, traditional practices like widow-inheritance and burning in observance of International Widows Day (June 23rd).

Wider research is necessary to illuminate the extent and causes of widows’ suffering, but further efforts must target regions like South Asia, which report 50 percent of the world’s poor widows, as well as developed countries like Russia and the U.S., which in 2015 saw significant and as yet unexplained increases in the number of widows’ living in extreme poverty.

– Marissa Field
Photo: Flickr

, , , ,

10 Organizations That Help Women Around the World

Female Empowerment
Women face difficulties all over the world but especially in developing countries. Global nonprofit organizations play a key role in promoting female empowerment in areas such as education, health care and employment. They recognize that when you empower women, you empower entire communities and countries.

Here are 10 organizations that help women around the world.

10 Organizations that Help Women Around the World

  1. Women’s Global Empowerment Fund
    This nonprofit organization was founded in 2007 and works to provide women in Uganda with access to microcredit loans, business and leadership development training, literacy, health initiatives and more. Karen Sugar, Women’s Global Empowerment Fund Founder, created the organization with the idea that microfinance, when bundled with educational programming, can increase the potential for women’s empowerment and success.
  2. Center for Reproductive Rights
    The goal of this organization is to help promote a world where women are free to make their own decisions about kids and marriage. The organization strives to create a safe space where women can make these decisions without conflict. According to its website, the Center for Reproductive Rights is the only global legal advocacy organization dedicated to reproductive rights.
  3. World Pulse
    World Pulse makes the list of organizations that help women by using the power of technology and social media to connect women worldwide. They are a social network that gives women the opportunity to connect, unite, share, launch movements and run for office. Overall, World Pulse’s goal is to create a world, online and off, where women can flourish.
  4. The Girl Effect
    Through the idea that creativity empowers, The Girl Effect builds vibrant youth brands. The organization operates globally, from places like Ethiopia to the Philippines, to help girls and women worldwide share their stories of growing into adulthood through mobile platforms. Through self-expression and community support, The Girl Effect believes that every girl can begin to value herself, build quality relationships and get access and education about things she needs.
  5. Global Fund for Women
    The Global Fund for Women supports and advocates for groups led by women who demand equal rights in their communities. This organization fights for some of the most important ingredients for women’s human rights: reproductive rights, freedom from violence, leadership and more.
  6. New Light
    New Light is an organization that provides children of sex workers with a safe haven—especially at night time. The organization is located deep inside the red-light district of Kalighat, Kolkata. New Light has grown from caring for nine children in the year 2000 to 250 children of many different ages currently. The organization provides education, healthcare, nutritional support, a recreational facility, HIV/AIDS care, income opportunities for the mothers and residential care. New Light also fights against gender-based violence.
  7. Global Grassroots
    The mission of this organization is to promote leadership in women and girls in their communities. The goal is to educate women on Conscious Social Change, which is a methodology that “employs mindfulness throughout the process of designing a social solution.” Global Grassroots works to create a world where all women and girls have the ability to pursue their own dreams and ideas and turn them into something impactful in their own community. There are two main programs: Academy for Conscious Change, which works with marginalized and impoverished women in post-conflict regions and Young Women’s Academy for Conscious Change which is for young women who are between high school graduation and university enrollment.
  8. Global Goods Partners
    Global Goods Partners’ (GGP) goal is to provide artisan jobs for women. This not-for-profit social enterprise has partnered with over 60 artisan, women-led organizations throughout Asia, Africa and the Americas. GGP invests all of the proceeds from product sales to provide training, funding and sustainable market access.
  9. BRAC
    BRAC fights against the obstacles that prevent children in developing countries from receiving a quality education including violence, discrimination, displacement and extreme poverty. Although BRAC works to help every child, the organization focuses especially on women and girls and making sure they have the ability to take control of their own lives. The organization provides educational programs in six countries, boasting the largest secular, private education system worldwide. There are more than 900,000 students enrolled in BRAC primary schools all over the world.
  10. CAMFED
    The Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) is an international non-profit focused on supporting marginalized girls to succeed through education. CAMFED, which is African-led has supported approximately 2.6 million children to go to school. There are 120,000 women involved in their alumnae network that multiplies donor investments in girls’ education.

– Malena Larsen
Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Donate Bras to Help Women in Developing Countries

Donate Bras
Undergarments are an everyday article of clothing for women in thriving and wealthy countries. However, in developing countries, bras are often a rarity. Rather than throwing out gently-used undergarments, it is worthwhile to donate bras and make a difference for women in rural and poor communities. In addition to empowering women, the recycling of bras saves money and resources, uses less water and energy and creates a lower carbon footprint. The second-hand clothing market also provides affordable clothing and encourages global entrepreneurship. The following four organizations offer this option for making a difference to developing countries, women and girls and the environment.

I Support the Girls

I Support the Girls’ mission is to help women and girls regain self-respect and dignity by providing them with feminine products. The organization collects and disburses donations of second-hand bras to national and international women and girls who are homeless, refugees, escaping domestic violence and more. Whatever the struggle and wherever the location, I Support the Girls’ goal is to make sure every woman has access to feminine necessities. To date, it has collected approximately 500,000 bras to women worldwide and donated to more than 500 shelters and organizations.

The Bra Recyclers

“If it doesn’t fit… recycle it” is the mission of The Bra Recyclers, LLC. The Bra Recyclers has donated approximately two million gently-used bras to more than 100 domestic and international organizations. Along with supplying undergarments to women in need, it collects and donates bras in hopes of reducing the number of bras in landfills. In addition to supporting girls and women who are escaping domestic violence and human trafficking, the company also donates to breast cancer survivors who lack adequate health insurance.

Free the Girls

This nonprofit organization works in El Salvador, Mozambique and Costa Rica with on-the-ground partners. The goal of Free the Girls is to equip girls and women with the ability to earn an income selling bras in the second-hand market. Free the Girls works to turn gently-used bras into economic opportunity for women in these developing countries. After being featured on CNN’s Freedom Project in 2012, the organization gained the ability to ship more than 30,000 bras to Mozambique, and the number of women in its program grew from three to 24.

Your Smalls Appeal

An organization that started in 2016, Your Smalls Appeal’s goal is to help women and girls in Africa. It collects and donates bras and feminine products for women in impoverished areas in The Gambia, a small country in West Africa. The organization receives and distributes all styles and sizes of bras and sends them to those in need. Additionally, in rural areas of Africa, girls often miss school while they are menstruating. With the help of menstruation kits from Your Smalls Appeal, girls can continue to attend school with dignity and cleanliness.

A commonplace article of clothing to one woman is life-changing for another. Whether for personal comfort and dignity or financial advancement, worldwide access to undergarments is crucial. The four groups above work to decrease waste worldwide, create jobs in developing areas and empower, comfort and support women, wherever they are located.

– Malena Larsen

Photo: Flickr

,

The Importance of Female Disaster Responders

The Importance of Female Disaster Responders
Within the aid sector, female disaster responders are essential to ensuring the concerns of women and girls are heard and met. Women and girls are particularly vulnerable during crises, facing risks that male responders may not even consider that can happen. Additionally, a lack of local female responders may reinforce gender inequalities. In certain regions of the world, however, women are coming together, taking charge of disaster response efforts and helping their communities prepare for and respond to crises.

The Forgotten Effects of Disasters

A recent study by the International Federation of the Red Cross on three Southeast Asian nations- Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines, found that sexual and gender-based violence increased after disasters. Sexual harassment, sexual assault, child marriage, child sexual abuse, domestic violence and human trafficking all increased in the aftermath of natural disasters.

Often, those in charge of the disaster response do not take into account these risks when designing shelters and evacuation centers. It is crucial that these facilities have separate areas for men and women, provide separate, lockable bathroom facilities and have adequate lighting.

The Importance of Female Disaster Responders

Having female disaster responders increases the likelihood that these issues will be considered and addressed. International aid groups need to work to increase the number of women who are deployed to participate in the disaster response. Having female staff can help make communication with local women easier, and ensure that women’s concerns are being met.

This can be difficult, however, as female responders face additional risks and concerns, including safety, security and access to personal hygiene products. To mitigate these concerns, the safety of female responders always needs to be taken into account when designing living arrangements and women need to be encouraged to speak up about sexual harassment or assault. Women should also be encouraged to speak up about hygiene needs, and all staff needs to be trained to be open and understanding about these issues.

Involving local women in response efforts is also crucial. Suzy Madigan, the senior humanitarian advisor for gender and protection with CARE International, stated: “By not understanding what are the protection risks facing women and girls and, crucially, what are the solutions that they themselves would suggest, then we’re failing 50 percent of the population that we’re trying to serve.”

Madigan also warns that not including women in disaster response efforts can “reinforce barriers and discrimination.” In certain communities, women may already be generally excluded from decision-making, so if humanitarian groups are only working with men, they are both reinforcing this inequality and ignoring the needs of women.

Femlink Pacific

In certain areas of the world, women have started forming female-led disaster response organizations for their communities, breaking down gender barriers and ensuring the needs of women are met. Female disaster responders in Fiji provide a perfect example of this and their work can potentially be used as a model for other locations. The southwestern Pacific averages seven tropical cyclones every year between November and April. Recent cyclones have been particularly devastating, with three Category 4 cyclones in the Pacific between November 2016 and April 2017.

The Women’s Weather Watch program, run by a women’s media organization in Fiji, Femlink Pacific, maintains a network of 350 women across the nation. They use this network to communicate weather reports to women in different communities and provide advice for preparing for the coming weather. Women working with Femlink Pacific connect with other women in their communities and may even lead meetings for local women to help educate them. For example, Fane Boseiwaqa leads monthly meetings for 60 women in the area. She says that women are leaders, but they have to have access to adequate information and communication.

It is not always easy for female disaster responders to get their voices heard by the wider community, however. While doing their part to prepare for disasters and help their neighbors, women are often sidelined. Sarojani Gounder, a member of the Femlink Pacific network and local district councilor, stated: “Nobody comes and asks the women what you want or what you need. There’s nothing.”

In response to this, women have begun organizing on their own, taking the initiative to form women-based groups. When there are shortages in food and supplies, women have proven themselves to be the most effective first responders, as they are more likely to work together for the betterment of the whole community. Selai Adi Maitoga, a member of the Femlink Pacific network, stated, “Men don’t ask the neighbors. But the women, we talk to each other. That’s why women are the first responders.”

The initiatives of female disaster responders in Fiji can provide a model for disaster response elsewhere, exemplifying the importance of getting local women involved in preparing for storms and providing aid in their aftermath. The knowledge that local women have about the needs of their communities is crucial to any disaster response. Where possible, efforts to include local women should be made, helping to bring women’s concerns and needs to light and adequately address them in the aftermath of a disaster.

– Sara Olk

Photo: Flickr

,

Advocates Empowering Kenya’s Female Maasai

Kenya’s Female Maasai
As is often the case in many poor global communities, Maasailand has a culture of gender inequality. The majority of Kenya’s female Maasai are enslaved by cultural belief systems, denying them from achieving basic human rights. Fortunately, there are advocates working to change this reality and improve women’s rights in Maasailand, Kenya.

Intimate Portrait of Kenya’s Female Maasai

Even in the 21st century, many Maasai women are not educated or only have a partial education. Young women are usually forced into marriage by their fathers into more privileged communities in exchange for cattle and cash. All Maasai girls are subject to a cultural tradition known as the cutting ceremony. It is an annual rite of passage in which girls’ clitorises are cut to signify their transition into womanhood and to mark daughters eligible for marriage. Despite the fact Kenya has outlawed genital cutting to prevent the deaths of even more young Maasai girls, male tribal elders continue to enforce the ritual.

According to the Lööf Foundation, a Swedish nonprofit organization working to improve the lives of international youth, the Kenyan Maasai community lacks adequate health care and Maasai women must travel long distances to receive medical treatment or give birth. The foundation reported that approximately 75 percent of Maasai women give birth on roadsides because the nearest health centers are too far away and that each year one out of every 10 Maasai women and an estimated 20 percent of Maasai infants die during roadside deliveries.

Maasai women can never divorce, except in extreme cases of physical abuse. They are prohibited from remarrying, even if they are widowed in their teens, and merely become the property of one of their husband’s brothers. They will be one of many wives and bear many children, regardless of their health or ability to provide for them.

However, there are various organizations that are working for improving the rights of Kenya’s female Maasai.

Organizations Empowering Kenya’s Female Maasai

  1. The Lööf Foundation is constructing the Kenswed Maternity and Health Center in Ngoni, Kenya. The center will provide both prenatal and antenatal care, as well as general health care to the public and sexual education to youths. The foundation hopes the center will reduce the high maternal and infant mortality rates.
  2. The Maasai Education, Research and Conservation (MERC) Institute works to preserve the Maasai culture and community. It partners with various types of organizations and the Kenyan government to ensure Maasai people’s empowerment and to establish social policies that will create benefits like universal clean water access. MERC co-founded the Maasai Girls Education Fund and also supports schools dedicated to girls’ education.
  3. The Maasai Girls Education Fund (MGEF) provides scholarships to all Maasai girls. Scholarships are all-inclusive and cover everything from uniforms and books to personal hygiene supplies. MGEF also offers performance monitoring, counseling and provides community education workshops to address the social customs and cultural beliefs inhibiting girls’ education. Workshops are open to anyone with the authority within the community to influence cultural change. MGEF provides business training and seed grants to rural Maasai women. Upon completing their educations, girls have the economic independence and ability to assert their rights as women. The goal is to increase female education enrollment by giving them the necessary tools to economically better their families and educate their children.
  4. Katy Leakey, the proprietor of Fair Trade Winds, started The Leakey Collection, a line of jewelry created by Maasai women to help their families combat the financial hardships resulting from prolonged droughts. The jewelry is made from reeds that would otherwise be burned to plant grass for cattle feed. The reeds are cut, dyed and crafted into bead-like pieces called Zulugrass. Her business model enables Maasai women to be entrepreneurs, not employees. These women take Zulugrass kits back to their communities and employ others to assist them. This newfound empowerment is enriching the lives of Kenya’s female Maasai by making them happy, independent and resilient.

The Story of Nice Leng’ete

As children, Nice Leng’ete and her older sister, Soila Leng’ete, would flee their homes during genital cutting season. Then one year, Soila did not run. Nice kept reminding Soila they were fleeing for a purpose, but despite Nice’s pleas, Soila still surrendered herself to the centuries-old custom. The trauma Soila endured ingrained itself in Nice’s memory. She made her life’s mission to protect other Maasai girls from the same fate by founding a program that travels to villages throughout Maasailand collaborating with elders and girls to form new, symbolic rites of passage in place of cutting. According to a January 2018 New York Times report, Nice Leng’ete had saved 15,000 girls from genital cutting thus far.

Kenya’s female Maasai experience heartbreaking living conditions that are a direct result of cultural beliefs and traditions that consider women as less valuable. Due to these reasons, the Maasai women are forced into marriage and a life of manual labor. However, the power of change shall not be doubted, and for Kenya’s female Maasai, the proof lies in the advocates working to improve their lives forever.

– Julianne Russo

Photo: Flickr

, , ,

Women’s Aid in Malaysia: Women’s Aid Organization

Malaysian Women
In the country of Malaysia where 30 million people are affected by widespread poverty, human trafficking, crime, a growing Islamic movement, as well as numerous other misfortunes, women are the most affected by these problems. In some Islamic cultures, there is an outlook that Muslim women should be subservient, submissive and should not have equal rights. However, compared to other Islamic countries, women’s aid in Malaysia has been a much greater success.

In this Southeast Asian country, there have been significant developments in the fight to protects women’s rights. One such organization that has joined this fight is the Women’s Aid Organization. This organization is challenging the antiquated views of women as well as helping to end violence against women and work towards equality between men and women.

The Women’s Aid Organization

The Women’s Aid Organization (WAO) was started, courtesy of Tan Siew Sin, the first Minister of Commerce and Industry in Malaysia, who donated a cash reward of RM 30 thousand to establish a shelter for battered women and their children in 1979. This shelter was eventually made into what is today the Women’s Aid Organization.

The vision of this organization is for violence against women to be eliminated. Its mission statement is “to promote and create respect, protection and fulfillment of equal rights for women. To work towards the elimination of discrimination against women, and to bring about equality between women and men.” Women’s aid in Malaysia has been largely influenced by this organization.

The objective of the Women’s Aid Organization is to provide protection, shelter and counseling to women and their children in the case of mental, physical or sexual abuse at any given time. The WAO also takes on research into the factors that play a part in the inequality of women.

Additionally, the organization advocates with government organizations and NGO’s to abolish factors contributing to the subordination of women through law, policy and organized reforms. It strives to provide a better understanding of the issues of violence against women and the underlying inequalities that they face on a daily basis.

Programs in the Women’s Aid Organization

The Women’s Aid Organization has three main services available to help women and their children in times of need.

  1. The first service is the Refuge, which operates as a shelter for abused women and their children. The Refuge is the center for WAO activities to educate women about domestic violence and women and family concerns, which are inevitably associated with this issue.
  2. The second service is the Child Care Centre, which is a place for children of former WAO’s residents who are going back to work and starting their lives over. The children of these women are cared for, either full-time or during the mother’s work hours, and provided an education at local schools along with recreational activities.
  3. The third service is social work, which is the center for advocacy on behalf of the women and children needing help. This section provides services to help women through legal, medical and welfare departments and ensure they are being treated fairly.

These services give women and their children the support and protection they need. Through the combination of these programs and several other services offered through the WAO, an extremely supportive system is created for maltreated women to use whenever it is needed.

Women’s aid in Malaysia has come a long way because of the WAO. Compared to other Islamic countries, this country is more progressive in its approach to the issue of women’s inequalities. Through more organizations like this one, women’s rights will become more of a priority for the authority figures of Malaysia. Aid is very much so needed in this Southeast Asian country, but much more so for women, whose odds are stacked up against them because of the way they have been seen in society for so long.

– Megan Maxwell
Photo: Flickr

, ,

Poverty and Oppression of the Women in Tajikistan

Women in Tajikistan
For a small country in Central Asia, Tajikistan makes U.S. news relatively frequently, often because the lives of women there differ from the U.S. norm. Those living in the area have suffered from political turmoil and poverty. While the news often focuses on the modern oppression of women, the mistreatment of women in Tajikistan stems from a larger injustice, centuries of poverty in the country that has affected women more than men.

Religious Oppression for Women in Tajikistan

Recently, the news has highlighted that Tajikistan’s Ministry of Culture published a “Book of Recommendations” for women’s attire. In the book, models display what the country deems appropriate attire for many occasions, setting standards for work and many social events.

What particularly incited opposition from many was the book’s overt advisement against Muslim and Islamic clothing, like the hijab, as well as Western clothing, which was deemed too scandalous. Furthermore, in 2017, the Tajikistan government instituted a policy of texting women reminders about wearing traditional clothing. This followed the government’s efforts in 2016 to close shops selling women’s religious clothing.

Additionally, the Tajikistan government created a law requiring traditional attire and culture at important events, such as weddings and funerals, officially banning “nontraditional dress and alien garments.” In August, the month it became law, 8,000 women wearing hijabs were stopped by government officials and told to remove their religious garments.

Maternal Mortality Rates for Women in Tajikistan

Tajikistan is one of the world’s poorest countries. Thirty-two percent of Tajiks live in poverty, but in rural areas, that number rises to 75 percent. Consequentially, women face staggering maternal mortality rates with 65 women out of every thousand dying from pregnancy or childbirth. In fact, mortality rates for both mother and infant are higher than any other country in Central Asia, a region already significantly behind Western standards.

This lag correlates with the upheaval faced by Tajiks since the responsibility for healthcare had changed hands so many times in the past. Tajikistan was part of the Soviet Union from 1929 to 1991. Then, shortly after gaining independence in 1991, Tajikistan suffered from a brutal civil war that not only claimed tens of thousands of Tajik lives but also crippled the healthcare system, contributing to such high maternal mortality rates.

Caring for the Home and Family

Political upheaval abruptly caused women to become household managers without any aid, leaving them to struggle with poverty. The civil war crippled industrial and agricultural production, the latter of which the country’s economy depended on almost entirely. Since then, nearly 1.5 million Tajik men have left the country to seek employment elsewhere, often leaving wives in charge of the home and children. But, unfortunately, households headed by women are significantly poorer than those headed by men.

Representation and Education for Women in Tajikistan

Female representation in government has remained below international standards because of the poverty caused by political upheaval. Only 12 of the 62 legislators in Tajikistan are women. Those who do make it into politics are often stuck in the lower ranks with little to no opportunity to rise to levels where they can create change.

Private Muslim schools educated the majority of the country’s population from early 1800 until the 1920s when The Soviet Union secularized education. However, with independence came a decreased government budget for education as the private funds disappeared. Moreover, women either have to marry young or are too busy working and, therefore, do not have an opportunity to receive an education.

Improvements Being Made For Women in Tajikistan

Due to The Soviet Union’s systemized education, literacy rates grew, and that shift in norms has continued to benefit men and women in Tajikistan. Additionally, in the two decades following independence, poverty rates have dropped, suggesting a growing stability. In fact, in 1999, 81 percent of the country lived in poverty, and in ten years that number has almost halved to 47 percent. Additionally, extreme poverty decreased from 73 percent in 1999 to 14 percent in 2013.

The U.N. has been working in Tajikistan to improve conditions for women since 1999 by empowering women and promoting gender equality. Furthermore, local and international stakeholders have been given a way to provide activities for women, such as the Rapid Emergency Assessment and Coordination Team (REACT), which helps train women to respond in disaster situations.

Hope for a Better Future

Therefore, beyond the uproar over women’s clothing being regulated by the government lies a deeper historical injustice due to poverty. Women have had little control over Tajikistan’s laws that have targeted them and a lack of access to education that prevents this fact from changing.

Despite concerning media coverage, possible improvements for the lives of women in Tajikistan exist. As stability grows, the potential exists to improve the budget for healthcare and education and, therefore, reduce poverty. Backed with proper healthcare and educational opportunities, women will have the ability to gain access and opportunities to dictate the laws of their country, such as those about their clothing, by becoming more active in the political sphere.

– Charlotte Preston
Photo: Flickr

 

, , ,

The Importance of Female Entrepreneurs

female entrepreneursIn countries like the United States, female entrepreneurs account for 46.8 percent of the total businesses. The majority of these businesses are classified as small businesses, having fewer than 500 employees, but they generate almost $500 billion in payroll annually. This situation is worse in developing countries since women’s rights are not fully achieved and the opportunities for women to develop their own businesses are much more difficult to come by.

The reasons for Fewer Female Entrepreneurs

Why are there still fewer amounts of businesswomen than men not just in developing but in developed countries as well? Although developing countries may advocate more for women’s economic development, little is actually being done to provide more opportunities to change it. Since women’s failure rates are not that significantly different from those of men, researchers believe that gender bias is at fault and, thus, inhibiting the growth of women in the economy.

There is evidence that suggests that there are many reasons for the differences in the attitude about gender in business. One reason is that women and men often have different socioeconomic characteristics. If economists were to reform education, wealth, family and work status, those differences would disappear.

The Obstacles for Female Entrepreneurs

Africa remains one of the most successful leaders for efforts regarding female entrepreneurs. But, even the most successful countries still lack leadership, capital and professionalism, not to mention the inability to find affordable solutions in regard to childcare.

Countries like Japan have taken these shortcomings and transformed them into positive aspects of the economy. Womenomics is the idea that the advancement of women and economic development are necessarily linked. This philosophy is becoming widespread among developing nations. In Japan, these sorts of reformations can be credited to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Since taking office, Abe has generated a larger female labor force rate than that of the United States.

Some other countries have also made several reformations propelling womenomics. Jordan has increased women’s enrollment in schools by 37 percent. Turning these rates into economic success, however, still remains a challenge. Many studies suggest that economic growth for women needs to be viewed as desirable and attainable for the majority of society.

Female entrepreneurs also struggle with the duality of a society that places more value on a familial lifestyle. For example, a woman may own a business, but her time at work is often limited by her duties at home. Data in developing countries assert that many women leave the business lifestyle to return to familial duties.

A study regarding the results of holding executive positions for women in Norway revealed that the majority of people believe there should be established quotas to include women in management in companies. The results of the pole were 74 percent in favor of those quotas. Later studies showed that as women in the workplace reach a certain age, the stigma associated with their work duties do too.

Curbing the Stigma

Shifting the thought process among thousands of different demographic structures isn’t easy, but it is clear that the majority of the world needs higher female entrepreneurial participation rates. Reforming education, wealth, family and work status are not projects that take only months to complete, rather they need a comprehensive and flexible government that is willing to take on the challenge for years to come.

There are several ways to start thinking about reforming the factors for female entrepreneurs. Creating workshops to propel female economic empowerment is a start. The United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) is doing just that. They are working to find projects for investment as well as provide training to work under the Women’s Economic Empowerment Index (WEEI).

By ending the stigma associated duties deemed appropriate for females, both developing and thriving countries can further increase the chances of positive economic outcomes. Education and awareness programs are important components to overcoming these gender-related stigmas.

Financial Inclusion

Governmental structure and large economic aid can advance female economic empowerment too. “We’ve known for a long time that access to financial services can be a powerful driver to help people lift themselves out of poverty. With a concerted push from governments, the private sector, and multilateral institutions including the World Bank Group, we believe we can close this gap,” said World Bank President Jim Yong Kim in a meeting attempting to accelerate the growth of women’s empowerment.

The World Bank also states that simple financial education can greatly increase the chances of creating female entrepreneurs. There are so many aspects that can improve. For example, according to the World Bank, fewer than 10 percent of women in developing countries own a bank account. Access to financial institutions is an essential part of a successful business, which is why the organization started the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative. This initiative will provide financing opportunities for women who own businesses in developing countries.

Donations from the World Bank Group, education and female empowerment workshops to end stigmas are some of the best ways in which the women can become involved and empowered in the workforce. It won’t happen quickly, but when it does, the economic benefits will surpass previous stigmas surrounding women in business.

– Logan Moore

Photo: Flickr

, ,

Girls’ Education in Guyana

GuyanaIn April 2018, Global Partnership for Education (GPE), an international organization devoted to advancing childhood education, reaffirmed its commitment to improving education in Guyana with a $1.7 million grant. This grant intends to strengthen the Early Childhood Education Program, which strives to improve literacy and numeracy levels in several remote regions of the country. Backed by the GPE and The World Bank, this grant will also positively contribute to girls’ education in Guyana.

Literacy and Numeracy Results

The results of these efforts are notable in literacy and numeracy scores among nursery school students. The percentage of students attaining a level of “approaching mastery” or higher in emergent literacy assessments rose from 39.58 percent to 68.30 percent between 2016 and 2017. Similar gains occurred in emergent numeracy levels, in which the percentage of students achieving a level of “approaching mastery” or higher rose from 41.91 percent in 2016 to 77.03 percent in 2017. These gains indicate significant improvements in boys’ and girls’ education in Guyana.

A Gender Gap in Education

According to certain indicators, girls’ education in Guyana has grown stronger than boys’ education. In June, the University of Guyana hosted a symposium on the underperformance of boys in the Guyanese education system. During the symposium, Dr. Mairette Newman, representative of The Commonwealth of Learning, noted three key statistics, which indicate a widening gender gap in Guyanese education:

  1. Girls outperform boys in literacy tests, once they transition into higher grade levels.
  2. Boys are more likely to drop out of secondary school than their female counterparts. (In early education, the ratio of boys to girls is one to one. However, at the secondary school level, the ratio is two to one, in favor of girls).
  3. Boys are less likely to transition into tertiary education programs.

According to Dr. Newman, girls normally have an advantage, since teachers prefer “female” qualities in the classroom, such as the ability to work well in groups and be introspective. All of these factors contribute to girls outpacing boys in the Guyanese education system.

Gender Barriers

While the symposium touched on this gender inequality in education, it did not address how these inequalities and gendered expectations also affect girls’ education in Guyana or limit girls in society. Though growing numbers of Guyanese women succeed in school and participate actively in public life, significant gender-related barriers still exist.

The Guyana Empowered Peoples Action Network (GEPAN) explains that children take on specific gender roles early in life. While girls take on household tasks, society encourages boys to be independent, as future “providers.” These gender roles continue into adulthood and expose women to limitations and violence in Guyana. For example, in 2014, UNICEF reported that at least one-third of Guyanese women experience sexual violence. These barriers and violence make it difficult for women to reach their full social and economic potential.

Women’s Empowerment

Luckily, Guyana’s First Lady, Mrs. Sandra Granger, has already begun to address these gender-related issues. Last month, she held a Girls’ Empowerment Workshop, designed to inspire and empower girls (ages 10-15), encouraged girls to pursue non-traditional career paths and fight through prejudices to achieve their goals. As the First Lady emphasized, education is the first step to empowerment for women, which will strengthen economic development. For the First Lady, women’s empowerment and girls’ education in Guyana are crucial to the future success of Guyana. This movement for women’s empowerment also goes beyond the First Lady’s initiatives.

In April 2018, the Ministry of Public Telecommunications launched a program for girls and women in Information and Communications Technology, a field dominated by males in Guyana. The program, Guyanese Girls Code, is a free, three-month course which teaches beginning coding and programming to girls (ages 11-14). Over forty girls enrolled in the initial class. According to Cathy Hughes, the Minister of Public Telecommunications, the classes strive to bring women into the ICT sector and give them opportunities to gain the education they’ll need to succeed. Hughes hopes that bringing girls into the ICT sector will offer new perspectives and talent, which will be crucial for advancing Guyanese society.

Thus, education and women’s empowerment in Guyana are intimately linked. For women’s empowerment to advance in Guyana, education must remain a priority. With the support of organizations such as GPE and World Bank, Guyanese leaders strive to continue strengthening education and addressing gender inequalities in the classroom and society.

– Morgan Harden
Photo: Flickr