Women Hold Up Half the Sky

Women's rights and torture are the gross moral injustices of our time.













"In a large slice of the world, girls are uneducated and women marginalized, and it’s not an accident that those same countries are disproportionately mired in poverty and riven by fundamentalism and chaos. There’s a growing recognition among everyone from the World BankJoint Chiefs of Staff to aid organizations like CARE that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism."

"We came across an obscure but meticulous demographic study that outlined a human rights violation that had claimed tens of thousands more lives. This study found that 39,000 baby girls died annually in China because parents didn’t give them the same medical care and attention that boys received — and that was just in the first year of life. A similar pattern emerged in other countries. In India, a “bride burning” takes place approximately once every two hours, to punish a woman for an inadequate dowry or to eliminate her so a man can remarry — but these rarely constitute news."






"In many poor countries, the greatest unexploited resource isn’t oil fields or veins of gold; it is the women and girls who aren’t educated and never become a major presence in the formal economy. With education and with help starting businesses, impoverished women can earn money and support their countries as well as their families. They represent perhaps the best hope for fighting global poverty."


So what can you do?


1. kiva.org. Find a female entrepreneur to support on this micro-lending site. Add in your loan, as little as a few dollars, to get these women the supplies to start a small business that will not only earn your investment back, but also create a new life for their families. After you've given, pick up one of these handy widgets for your blog or facebook page to encourage your friends to help too.


2. gems-girls.org. According to a recent study, at least 300,000 children and adolescents are prostituted every year in the United States. Excuse me, but WTF?! Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS) works with girls ages 12-21 who have been sexually exploited, empowering them to leave the sex industry and develop to their full potential. GEMS also fights to change perceptions and laws that allow teenage girls to be arrested for prostitution (instead of their clients being arrested for statutory RAPE? Hello!).

3. oneacrefund.org. This organization makes it possible for families -- largely headed by women -- to farm local land and earn profits for a brighter future. Working in Kenya and Rwanda, your donation goes to seeds and fertilizer, farm education and market access. Giving just $20 per month supports a family of six for a year, and the personal stories you'll find on the website will make your heart swell. Find out about more ways to help here. It just takes a little bit of what you already have.

Imagine if...

Your evidence in court counted for half that of the opposite sex.

You couldn’t take a job without your partner’s approval.

Your partner ‘disciplined’ you, and the law allowed it.

As a woman living in Iran, this would be your life.

The Campaign for Equality has set up a petition for those outside of Iran...We are working with them to achieve one million signatures. If you’ve yet to add your voice, please do so here.

You can also find out more about women’s rights in Iran and campaign on their behalf.

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JAG