WOW - WomenAID Live - Empower Women

The Issues

"Discrimination effectively squanders human capital by denying one
half of humanity the right to realize their full potential."U.N. report, Oct. 12, 2005.

The dire global statistics on the plight of women are overwhelming:

Two-thirds of the world's 876 million illiterates are women
4 million women & girls are sold into prostitution each year
500 million will suffer from rape or attempted rape
Women and children make up 75% of the world's refugees
Of almost half of all AIDS cases worldwide, 70% in Africa are women
Women produce 80 percent of the food in Africa, yet receive 5% of food aid

Poverty

The greatest obstacle to ending hunger is the severe subjugation, marginalization, and disempowerment of women in many developing countries.

Hunger in the Midst of Prosperity

1 billion people live on less than $1 a day
8.76 million people a year die of hunger, and 75% of them are children.
With proper action, the deaths of 30,000 children every day could be prevented!
1 in 5 children live in poverty in America

"What makes this shortcoming tragic is that for the first time in history, the resources actually exist to end global poverty. Consider that Europeans and Americans spend just under $20 billion every year on pet food alone. For roughly the same amount, we could feed the starving". Craig Kielburger,. Free the Children.

Society Holds Women Responsible

Society holds women responsible for all the key actions required to end hunger: family nutrition, health, education, food production and - increasingly - family income. Yet through laws, customs and traditions, women are systematically denied the resources, information and freedom of action they need to carry out their responsibilities.

There are three distinct ways in which ending gender discrimination is critical to ending hunger.

Women's well being is key to the overall health of a society. Women often eat last and least, even when pregnant and nursing. Undernourished women give birth to undernourished children, and this cycle continues.
Women's productivity. Women produce 80 percent of the food in Africa, and more than 50 percent of the farm output in South Asia, yet they are largely denied access to the training, credit, tools and other inputs they need. They get 8% of Farm Aid.
Women's leadership. Given women's responsibilities, when they have a voice in the decisions that affect their lives, they are key change agents in setting the agenda for development. www.thp.org/women - The Hunger Project

Violence

Most people are shocked to learn that:

Millions die of infanticide in countries that value males over females.
3 million women a year lose their lives to gender-based violence.
4.8 million women are raped and assaulted annually in the U.S.
An estimated 130 million women living today have undergone Female Genital Mutilation, and an additional 2 million girls and women are being subjected to it each year.
The costs of intimate partner violence in the USA alone exceed $5.8 billion per year: 4.1 billion are for direct medical and health care services while productivity losses account for nearly $1.8 billion.

UNTIL THE VIOLENCE STOPS, presented by V-Day, the global movement to end violence against women and girls founded by Eve Ensler, took over New York City, putting women, their empowerment and safety directly on center stage. The festival issued a call to action to all New Yorkers, and to the world: Demand an end to violence against women and girls and become an active participant in ending it".

It would be wonderful to see mayors across the world follow Mayor Bloomberg's lead in N.Y.

Refugees

Women and children make up 75% of the world's refugees.

More than 35 million people in the world today have been forced to run for their lives. Half of them are children. Roughly 20 million are receiving assistance from UNHCR.

Over the past 15 years, the number of people crossing borders in search of a better life has been rising steadily. At the start of the 21st Century, one in every 35 people is an international migrant. If they all lived in the same place, it would be the world's fifth-largest country.

Around 12 million live in refugee camps, fleeing persecution, armed conflict, violence and murder.

Slavery - Human Trafficking

The United Nations estimates that about 4 million women and children are sold into sexual slavery every year.

4,000,000 women & children a YEAR!

In Europe, for example, 10 to 15 per cent of foreign prostitutes in Belgium were trafficked from other countries and sold into prostitution rings. More than 200,000 Bangladeshi women have been trafficked from 1990 to1997. And 5000 to 7000 Nepali women and girls have been illegally trafficked to India.

Education

Harnessing the energy of women is the greatest unused asset in the world.

The critical factor that can significantly contribute growth in global productivity is unleashing the potential of half of the world's population. This is constructive capitalism.

Women mean Business
In a five-year period the number of women-owned firms grew at twice the rate of all U.S. companies.

6.2 million women account for 28% of all privately held firms, and are generating $1.15 trillion in sales, employing over 9 million workers. Their employment and sales are growing at one and a half times the national average. While women hold only 6% of corporate leadership positions, women business owners are playing a pivotal role in positioning women on the leading edge of the new economy.

Health

HIV/AIDS HAS ESCALATED AMONG The Female population worldwide, and half of the 40 million people suffering from the deadly virus are women. The leading cause of transmission is heterosexual sex, but only a small percentage of women of childbearing age are protected by partners who use condoms.
More than 1.7 billion women worldwide are in their reproductive and productive years, between the age of 15 and 49

The millennium goals include the right to personal liberty and security, the right to decide on the number and spacing of children, and the right to the highest attainable health standards.

While more investment is one key to improving the lives of girls and women, the greatest success in promoting reproductive health is in enlisting male community leaders:

"Clerics in Saudi Arabia have banned fathers from forcing marriage on their daughters; traditional monks in Cambodia have spoken out on HIV prevention; and national and state officials in Brazil have encouraged men to help end violence against women".

Media

Women's Issues almost never make the news.

The World March of Women marched around the world in 2000, on International Women's Day, in a call to action to end poverty and the violence against women. Millions of women joined hands around the world.

The second historic march took place in 166 countries on October 17, 2005, the U.N. International Day to End Poverty.

The first march was briefly mentioned in some countries. The second March never made the news at all. It's as if it never happened. This speaks volumes in itself.

A feature documentary and TV special on the global rise of women's leadership and the state of the world's women.

Read More

A Women's Movement for Humanity

An old Chinese proverb says, "Women hold up half the sky." For too long women's wisdom has remained largely in the background of world events, and recent history starkly reveals the consequences that arise when the voices of half the population are repressed.

If humanity is serious about creating conditions for the adequate wherewithal for survival of all peoples on a global scale, then obviously such a brave new world must begin with incorporating that other half of the sky.

The reality of poverty, race, class and gender inequality in the U.S., and in the world, must be addressed.

Mostly, all it takes to bring about serious change is an enlightened leadership. But first you have to get through to people in the clearest way possible - that this kind of sex discrimination is no longer acceptable to the world community - that the leadership must change to meet the reality of a new world. Or itself be changed.

This in short is the message and raison d'etre of the WomenAID LIVE! Concert.

Take Action

WomenAID Declaration
Help create a U.N. Agency for World's Women
Email WOW to a Friend

We've got to realize that the future lies in the hands of you and me. It's up to us. We've got to start changing now. We haven't got that much time.
Dr. Jane Goodall

Political Will Needed To Meet The Millennium Goals

"In 2003, donor governments spent $69 billion (U.S.) on development aid. That same year, global military spending totaled approximately $1 trillion. Given this disparity it is clear that the cost of meeting the (goals) is more a matter of political will and commitment than scarce resources".
Olivia Ward

A review of the Millennium Development Goals shows that they have fallen short - millions of women are still dying annually from preventable complications of pregnancy, as well as abuse and neglect, which highlights the low priority placed on women's lives. - U.N. Population report 2005

Nicole Kidman, the Goodwill Ambassador for UNIFEM, the U.N. Development arm for women, is raising awareness on the infringement of women's human rights, with a focus on violence against women, probably the most pervasive human rights violation against women.

Violence against women is one of the most widespread violations of human rights. It is not specific to any particular country or culture or continent, but is to be found in virtually every community on this planet. For the benefit of all humanity, it cannot be allowed to persist.

Angelina Jolie, Goodwill Ambassador for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), has helped to raise the profile of women refugees who are forced to deal with widespread violence, rape, and mutilation.

Julia Ormond, United Nations Goodwill Ambassador on Anti-Trafficking and Slavery, urges nations to make the fight against human trafficking a priority, now.

Trafficking is one of the most egregious violations of human rights in the 21st century.

Empowering Women as Social Change Agents.

Watch the Video

Women AID Live!

Julia Ormond

We must use the power of the media to transform what is, to what is the promise of the future.

It is our hope to raise the awareness required to build on the momentum started by Live8, to help mobilize a Global Movement to end poverty, AIDS and violence against women - a powerful call for positive social change for the betterment of all humankind, inspiring us with a renewed sense of purpose and hope for the future.

Advancing Women's Leadership in the 21st century.

Health

Michelle Bachelet
President of Chile
Women's leadership is clearly gaining momentum around the world.

Witness the recent election of the first female heads of state in Liberia, Germany, and Chile, and others.

When women leaders bring their voices, values, vision and leadership to the table alongside men, the debate is more robust and the policy is more inclusive and sustainable. How is this being played out on the world stage?

92% of Americans said they would vote for a qualified woman for president. The likelihood of a woman being elected President of the U.S. is greater than ever.
Lee Kravitz, Parade

Countries seeking new leadership and implementing democratic change nationally are increasing the number of women in politics by legislating equal representation.

Rwanda, post the atrocities of the Rwandan genocide, made it a law that 49% of the country's political representation had to be women. To this point, they have done a remarkable job of turning the country around. Incredibly, they rank #1 in women's leadership in the world today.

Yet with all the gains women have made in North America in achieving equality, the U.S. ranks 69th in the world in terms of women's representation in national legislatures or parliaments, out of 187 countries, as of March 2006.


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