Archive for category: Women and Female Empowerment

information and Stories about woman and female empowerment.

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Meet Flo

Meet Flo
When living in poverty, girls beginning the transition into puberty can face difficult challenges. Due to being unable to access affordable sanitary items, many young girls have to use reusable menstrual pads, and the process is often time-consuming and dangerously unsanitary. The lack of access to cheap and affordable sanitary products is a scary thought for many women, and for these young girls, it has consequences beyond hygiene.

In many countries with extreme poverty there are stigmas against puberty for women, and many young girls fear their menstrual cycle and will drop out of school in order to hide at home. The students from the Art Center College of Design created a solution to this problem.

Meet “Flo”, an invention that allows young women living in extreme poverty a multi-purpose device for more effectively dry, sanitary and discreetly concealed reusable menstrual pads. Flo was created by the James Dyson Foundation, which released a video explaining how the device makes periods safer and less disruptive to young women’s lives.

On the website, the James Dyson Foundation talks about what makes Flo so unique. A statement released states, “Girls will have access to dry, clean pads that can reduce illness and will be more comfortable, both physically and emotionally. Girls will be able to work around their menstrual cycle and be in control…By having control over their menstrual cycle, girls do not have to give up their dreams and can be empowered to pursue what they want to become.”

– Elizabeth Steadman

Sources: GOOD, Metro, James Dyson Award,
Photo: Flickr

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World Bank Grants $11.6 Million for Sahel Women

Sahel_Women
On April 23, 2015, The World Bank Group granted the Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend Project (SWEDD) $11.6 million, and an additional $23.2 million credit, to include Burkina Faso into the program.

Due to the political instability in Burkina Faso late October 2014, negotiations to add Burkina Faso to the SWEDD project were delayed. Currently, Burkina Faso is the sixth Sahelian country to be added to the project; others include: Chad, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania and Niger.

The Sahel region would gain a great economic boost from a demographic dividend through a rapid decline in fertility and infant mortality rates; the addition of Burkina Faso expands the effectiveness of SWEDD.

The program aims to increase access to reproductive, child and maternal health services for women and adolescent girls in participating countries in the Sahel region of Africa. SWEDD also intends to educate women on gender and their own reproductive health.

In Burkina Faso, the Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is 5.8. With only 15 percent of married women aged 15-49 using contraception the maternal mortality ratio, per 100,000 live births, is 300. Moreover, the under-5 mortality rate, per 1,000 live births, is 108.

The high fertility rate, which worsens population pressure, coupled with poor health services are preventing Burkina Faso from garnering the benefits from a demographic dividend.

Burkina Faso’s involvement in the Sahel Women’s Empowerment promises great outcomes. The issue of child marriage in Burkina Faso is linked to poverty, the tradition of gender inequality and lack of education.

Involving women in the working age population will accelerate Burkina Faso’s demographic dividend because comparably the number of dependents would be lower.

SWEDD will empower women in Burkina Faso through promoting their academic education, and involving more women in life-skills programs, making women more independent.

This will consequently decrease the child marriage rates, which are at an 86 percent prevalence in the Sahel region of Burkina Faso, and 76 percent in the East region.

World Bank Country Manager for Burkina Faso commented on the addition of Burkina Faso to the Sahel Women’s Empowerment Project saying: “Educating adolescent girls and improving health services for women will certainly reduce poverty and boost shared prosperity in Burkina Faso.”

– Marie Helene Ngom

Sources: The World Bank 1, The World Bank 2, Sahel Women Empowerment Outline, Burkina Faso Child Marriage
Photo: Wikimedia

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Launch of W20 for Women’s Economic Empowerment

W20
On September 6, financial leaders from the G20 countries met to discuss issues within the global economy. During this meeting, they launched W20, an engagement group focused on advancing women’s economic empowerment.

W20 will work in conjunction with U.N. Women, the IMF and other international bodies to promote women’s involvement in financial decision-making and monitor the G20’s commitment to women’s education and entrepreneurship initiatives.

Because G20 countries hold two-thirds of the world’s population and produce 85 percent of the world’s GDP, holding these countries accountable to their pledges for gender equality sets the standard for how women should be treated globally.

The launch included speakers such as the U.N. Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri, IMF Chief Christine Lagarde and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Generally, speakers remarked on the connection between women’s economic empowerment and the well-being of a community, and thus a country. In the words of Davutoglu, “If the women are smiling… you can be sure that their country is happy.”

With the 2014 pledge from the G20 to improve gender equality in the labor force, international bodies and governments have much to do, and the assistance of W20 will be a critical resource in guiding their success.

If the goal is reducing the gender gap in labor force participation by 25 percent, more than 100 million women will be added to the labor force. To do so, issues of maternal health, unpaid care work and access to education must be addressed.

In addition, the recently-passed Sustainable Development Goals include gender-sensitive targets in 12 of the 17 goals, adding further significance to the launch of the W20.

“Addressing the significant underinvestment in gender equality and women’s empowerment is critical in and of itself,” Ms. Puri said at the launch.

“The W20 has the potential to influence economic governance and promote gender-inclusive economic growth in a more potent way than has ever been possible in the G20 until now.”

The W20 will be led by Gulden Turktan, one of the founders and the president of the Women Entrepreneur’s Association. The two-day inaugural summit will be held on October 7-8 in Istanbul.

– Priscilla McCelvey

Sources: UN Women, US News   

Photo: Wikipedia

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Opportunities Bloom for Women in Gaza

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The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Job Creation Program (JCP) gives women in Gaza the opportunity to work from 6:30 a.m. -12:30 p.m. on a carnation farm, which in turn, allows them to support their families.

A typical day begins with women picking flowers in the cool hours of the morning before later retreating into their tents. There, flowers are carefully bundled into decorative bouquets to be exported and sold at local Gaza markets.

According to an article in the UNRWA, 34-year-old worker Ghanda Na’ana’ has finally found a way to provide for her children in the absence of a husband through her employment with the farm.

“The chance to work here is life-saving for me. I am truly happy to be able to work on this farm together with other women. My husband left me three years ago for another woman; I am the only one who supports my children. We survive because of the food assistance we receive from UNRWA,” she says.

An overarching goal and initiative of the UNRWA JCP addresses the problem of female unemployment while also supporting the agricultural sector of the region.

The UNRWA aims to improve the “quality and output of production by increasing manpower to assist with planting, maintenance and harvesting crops while reducing labor costs, which presumably translates into a reduction of market costs for the consumer and ultimately contributes to local food security.”

According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, in the first quarter of 2015, female unemployment in Gaza reached 55.2 percent. This can be attributed to the 2007 blockade which limited exports, obliterating trading opportunities with the rest of the world and severely affecting the agricultural sector of the region.

Raza Hijazi, the owner of the farm where Ghanda works, formerly employed 20 laborers before he was forced to reduce that number to only three. With the 2007 blockade, his business opportunities dwindled as he could no longer export his flowers to Europe. Only with support from the UNRWA, was he able to increase his business and number of employees.

Overall, the JCP has significantly improved the livelihoods for many since its inception in 2006 when 18,385 opportunities were created in the agricultural sector alone (6,350 for female and 12,035 male). Of this number, 2,571 were counted for in the carnation sector.

As of 2014 the UNRWA has calculated that “a total of 20,545 refugees were employed through the JCP, and UNRWA injected US$ 18.1 million into the Gaza economy. In the first quarter of 2015, the Agency created 12,646 JCP opportunities and injected US$ 7 million into the Gaza economy.”

With tremendous efforts currently underway by UNRWA’S JCP, hope is alive for both business owners and women seeking jobs in a country with one of the highest levels of unemployment in the world.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: UNRWA, Reuters
Photo: alarabiya

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NEMA Issues Delivery Kits to Displaced Pregnant Women

NEMA
Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), issued 410 delivery kits to internally displaced pregnant women housed at camps in Maiduguri, Borno State. Among the delivery kits were a wax print and infant feeding bottles along with a mattress, a blanket and a net for the expected newborns.

The kits also included a baby bag, diapers, a basket, a towel, baby soap, and supplements for the mother such as milk and cocoa drink. The supplies come at a vital time since some of these women are due to give birth in late August or September.

The north-eastern Nigerian Borno State has been the worst affected in the conflict against the Boko Haram insurgency which began in 2009. Sani-Sidi, NEMA’s director general, says insurgent attacks have displaced many people, leading to the creation of 23 IDP camps in Borno State.

“In all the camps in the state, 60 percent of the IDPs are women and children classified as vulnerable and needing more support,” he said. “As a result, 410 pregnant women were selected [to receive delivery kits] out of 1,980 identified pregnant women in 13 female IDP camps in Maiduguri.”

Aid from NEMA comes a month after a July donation by Deluxe Childbirth Services coordinated in partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Population Fund, and two USAID projects – THE Expanded Social Marketing Project in Nigeria and the Targeted States High Impact Project.

During this donation, UNFPA’s Ratidzai Ndhlovu underlined an expected high in births among Nigerian IDPs, stating that there would be an expected 60,000 births by the end of 2015.

According to UNICEF, a Nigerian woman’s chances of death during pregnancy and childbirth are 1 in 13. Additionally, newborn Nigerian mortalities, which occur among the first week of life, make up about one-fourth of total deaths of children under five years of age.

A majority of these deaths arise from complications during birthing or pregnancy, which serves to highlight the importance of maternal and newborn health care access, especially within vulnerable and displaced populations.

– Jaime Longoria

Sources: Premium Times 1, Premium Times 2, UNICEF

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Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project Improves Lives

Women Dream
For those who have lost everything, self-help groups may provide a shoulder to cry on. Unfortunately, these groups ultimately offer little relief in providing jobs on a daily basis for many who remain unemployed. Sometimes it is only through financial assistance from outside projects that hope for the future can begin.

The Odisha Rural Livelihoods Project, or Tripti, was launched with the goal of improving the socio-economic status of the poor, especially disadvantaged groups such as women. The project began in 2009 throughout 32 blocks in 10 coastal districts of Odisha.

A $70 million loan from the World Bank started the implementation of the Odisha Poverty Reduction Mission. Its aim, however, had more than just one objective.

“The Project was designed to improve livelihoods of deprived women by building and mobilizing community institutions, creating community investment funds, and providing specific livelihood funds,” states an article by the World Bank.

With this in mind, the process for eligibility within this program was ultimately carried out by examining income levels and assigning individuals to different categories such as good, average, poor and the destitute.

By providing financial assistance through loan relief, many women would have the opportunity to provide in new ways for their families.

Currently, the project has seen five successful years and over time has supported over 929,000 households covering around 78,460 self-help groups. More than 60 percent of these benefitting the most vulnerable, rural poor communities.

Recognizing that the livelihood of the people is based on agriculture, Tripti aims to implement their program through an executed partnership with the local NGO and agricultural department.

Through this program, “community members are directly involved in seed production, processing and marketing. The seeds produced are then marketed locally among the SHG members to ensure easy and affordable access to quality seeds for the farmers.

The Project has initiated a program under which 1,800 farmers have been mobilized into Producer Groups to develop five different varieties of paddy seeds, which have a high demand in the local area. The seeds are then certified by the Odisha State Seed 3 Certification Agency. In 2014, 1,900 metric tons of quality seeds were produced,” reports the World Bank.

Tripti supports the promotion of agriculture through a program, which encourages households to create kitchen gardens by utilizing patches of grass and growing vegetables and other herbs. This will help communities meet the nutritional needs of their families.

Ultimately, this project has lifted women and their families out of poverty and sparked an economic recovery within regions devastated by natural disaster. This project is helping to give regions a chance for success.

– Nikki Schaffer

Sources: World Bank, Odisha
Photo: Irri Org

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She Leads Africa: Supporting African Women in Business

She Leads Africa: Supporting African Women in Business
South Africa has the highest rate of female entrepreneurship in the world; however, the majority of the female-led startups are small-sized, individual-owned business. In order to foster female-led high-growth startups, She Leads Africa (SLA) provides African female entrepreneurs with the knowledge, financing and networks.

In Africa, female entrepreneurs face four major barriers to their success in entrepreneurship: unequal access to education, limited access to financing, constricted traditional stereotypes, and limited access to networks. SLA supports female entrepreneurs through hosting annual business pitch competition and building a community for female entrepreneurs.

Women in Africa don’t have equal chances to get an education since the primary level, which makes them lack business knowledge and work experience to create high-profit companies. Since 2014, SLA has hosted an annual pitch competition to identify the most promising African female entrepreneurs.

The finalists can get six-week training and business plan development with experienced mentors, who are from premier consulting, finance and venture capital companies. Moreover, SLA also creates an online platform for potential female entrepreneurs to share their business knowledge.

The unequal treatment does not only show in education but also in financial access. According to the report by SLA, women face fewer options, higher interest rates, and shorter terms when they look for loans. Thus, SLA’s pitch competition offers winners more than $55,000 in cash and kind prizes, including legal services and office supplies.

Besides the support in financing, SLA creates valuable networking chances for female entrepreneurs. By now, more than 380 entrepreneurs from more than 27 countries apply for a coveted finalist spot. The pitch competition has been a platform for African female entrepreneurs to network with other entrepreneurs and look for investors and mentors.

In a male-dominated society, women are always valued by their domestic contributions. However, with the popularity of SLA pitch competition, people raise the awareness of female entrepreneurship. In the 2015 Entrepreneur Showcase, six finalists were selected. On the final pitch competition, they will compete for a $10,000 prize and access directly to investors and international media attention.

“We are excited about our second cohort of young African female entrepreneurs for mentoring, training and investment and if I must say so myself, they are quite dope,” said Afua Osel, co-founder of SLA.

SLA emphasizes the role of the female in economic development. According to its Press kit, SLA is “a social enterprise dedicated to ensuring that women are not left out of Africa’s Growth Story.” Starting from a feminist concept, by offering them training and business development, providing financial support, enlarging their social network and rise social approval, SLA is the forefront of supporting African women in business.

– Shengyu Wang

Sources: Black Enterprise, SLA 1, SLA 2, SLA 3
Photo: Flickr

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Improving Education Levels for Women in the Middle East

women_in_the_middle_east
Women in the Middle East are subjected to extreme patriarchal systems that often deprive them of their human rights and their dignity. In 1995, Dr. Golnar Mehrah a UNICEF education consultant published a report titled “Girls drop out of primary school in the Middle East and North Africa.”

In his report, Dr. Mehrah set out to discover why despite the fact that girls’ enrollment rates had increased significantly since 1985, girls were dropping out before the 5th grade. In this report, he found that there existed a gender disparity in the enrollment of girls in primary school in the Middle East and North Africa. The primary reason for both male and female dropouts in the Middle East and North Africa region was poverty.

Their parents pulled them from school in order to help with domestic and agricultural tasks. In many cases, there were a lack of basic programs for students such as an available teacher for a given grade. In some villages in the Middle East and North Africa regions lack educators past a certain grade level making it difficult for students to be promoted to the next grade.

A report by the Population Reference Bureau on the Middle East and North Africa region sheds light on the challenges that women face in the region. Two key factors highlighted in the report was the MENA culture and the oil based economy. The report shows a clear gender biased toward men in the region.

In the report, women were asked if they could only afford to send one child to a university and they had a son and a daughter who would it be. An overwhelming majority of the women said they would pay for their son over their daughter to go to school. The statistics were shocking with 39 percent in favor of the son going on to higher education and only 8 percent in favor of the daughters.

There is a clear son preference in Middle Eastern culture that has privileged them with certain advantages in their society. In certain places in the MENA region this gender biased is enforced by a set of codified laws. This trend is slowly changing with the rise of women activists in Islamic society who demand better treatment for women.

Recently a news report from U.S. News and World Report shows a rise in enrollment rates for women in several countries in the Middle East and North Africa region as of 2014. The current global score for the Middle East and North Africa region is 31 which is actually higher than the global average of 30.

As foreign aid and development enter the region, many MENA countries are seeing the economic benefits of breaking away from rigid tradition and encouraging women’s participation in education. Egypt, in particular, is making great strides toward women’s education.

– Robert Cross

Sources: Public Reference Bureau, UNICEF Report, US News and World Report
Photo: Open Equal Free

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How The Water Project Empowers Girls

water_project
In many rural communities throughout sub-Saharan Africa, hundreds of people are unable to access safe, clean water, suffering from several different diseases and illnesses as a result. Relying predominantly on women and girls to walk miles away from home to collect water – dirty water that makes them and their families sick – the communities are gender biased and women are not considered as important as men.

Unclean water and gender inequality limits the potential of many people and communities, and contributes to the cycle of extreme poverty.

The Water Project, however, is determined to change this. A nonprofit organization that brings sustainable water projects to communities in sub-Saharan Africa, The Water Project provides those communities with access to clean water and the means to maintain proper sanitation.

Admirably, the organization seeks to instill hope in suffering communities by making clean water the norm. Clean water improves health, breaks down poverty and supports education.

Lack of access to clean water and proper sanitation, however, is the primary reason that girls drop out of school. They spend valuable learning time walking to streams or ponds to gather water, only to eventually drink it and get sick. The Water Project, however, empowers girls by bringing safe, clean water to their communities.

In addition to improved health conditions, clean water strengthens opportunities for quality education. Access to safe water ensures that girls remain in school, which opens the door to future careers and earned wages. Because women reinvest up to 90 percent of their income back into their households, compared to 40 percent by men, this is imperative.

The efforts of The Water Project have inevitably taught communities to see the value of women and potential of girls. It has unlocked a generation of leaders. Education provides endless opportunities, but clean water liberates, encourages and inspires.

– Sarah Sheppard
Photo: The Water Project

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Rwandan Parliament Seeks to Increase Maternity Coverage

Maternity coverageIn March, the Government of Rwanda approved a bill granting mothers full compensation while on a 12-week maternity leave. If implemented, the Maternity Leave Benefits Scheme would increase maternity coverage by 80 percent for the second half of their leave from the workplace.

Throughout the spring, the bill moved through parliament but was temporarily tabled in the House because of other pressing issues. Members of parliament are set to discuss this important legislation in the next few weeks, though, according to an article in Equal Times.

Because of the current system, many Rwandan women on maternity leave return to the workplace after just six weeks because they cannot afford to lose 80 percent of their compensation for that time.

Minister of Finance and Economic Planning Claver Gatete said that the current plan is not conducive to supporting a mother and her child both socially and financially.

The new legislation will have employers compensating mothers for the first six weeks and a social security fund covering compensation for the second six weeks. As an insurance scheme rather than a government fund, the additional compensation will come from a new income tax.

Public and private sector employees will make a 0.6 percent contribution of their salary to the insurance scheme in order to cover the costs of this fund. Contributions are set to be taken through the existing Rwanda Social Security Board, but the scheme funds are set to be distinct from other social security funds.

There is widespread support throughout Rwanda for this legislation, many calling this bill “long overdue.” Dominique Bicamumpaka, president of the Congrés du Travail et de la Fraternité — Rwanda (CONTRAF) was quoted in Equal Times, explaining her and other campaigners’ support for this legislation.

“[CONTRAF was] involved in the whole process and we encourage all the citizens to embrace this new initiative wholeheartedly because when a woman gives birth, it is not only for the family but also for the society,” she said.

If adopted, this bill will improve living conditions for mothers and their newborns, while also giving mothers more value and credibility in Rwandan society.

Many Rwandans consider this legislation a major step toward improving working conditions for women throughout the country. However, advocates such as Andre Mutsindashyaka, secretary general of the Rwanda Extractive Industry Workers Union, hope that this is just the first step of many other adjustments in making the workplace more mother-friendly.

“We are trying to make it easier for mothers, especially that nursing, by finding ways how they can work but also look after their babies,” he was quoted in Equal Times.

“So far, there is a plan that we hope to launch in five years, which will see each office have a daycare centre where mothers can breastfeed their babies. So far, some places like [the Rwandan Tea Authority] are providing [daycare facilities] and we hope that eventually, every office can do the same.”

– Arin Kerstein
Photo: Flickr