SlutWalk in India

"The heightened sense that women are at risk is in part due to the increasing friction between old cultural norms and new economic realities, says Sunita Kaistha, head of the Women Work & Health Initiative, a nonprofit based in New Delhi. The economic boom that has encompassed the country has brought more women out of their traditional roles in the home and into the workforce, particularly in urban areas. In New Delhi, Kaistha sees the rise in sexual violence as linked to the rise of women in the workforce. "The culture is very patriarchal, and it's still very difficult for people to accept girls working, traveling, going out at night," she says."

For the participants at the New Delhi SlutWalk, taking what was once an individual struggle for Indian women to the streets was an important first step. "People are talking about it. That's a start," says Singh. "People never used to mention rape or molestation as a problem. It used to be a crime, just like stealing someone's car."The alarming rise in violence may not mean that there are necessarily more incidents of harassment and rape but that they are finally being reported...
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2086142,00.html#ixzz1TppamcZQ

Education Response Paper

The accessibility of education is important but the quality of the education received is just as important.  In the case of Nigeria, even when girls have access to education, it does not often counteract, but rather perpetuates, the cultural tradition of patriarchy by causing girls to internalize these subordination values.  This creates a gap between the number of women who have received education and the number who utilize it in the work force.  Also, it supports an attitude towards education as irrelevant to women if they will not eventually use it in the labor force (Anugwom 131).  In addition, there is a trend towards educating women about anything but math and science in the curriculum of many schools.  The number of women who study and then teach in engineering, for example, is incredibly disparate to the number of men, in comparison to the much smaller gender gap in fields such as the arts (Ojobo 100).  Thus, in the case of Nigeria, despite improvements in enrollment and drop-out rates for women, education still remains inaccessible to some and, even if attained, does not outweigh some cultural factors in order to reach its full potential for development in political, social, economic, and health-related areas.

In Defense of Anti-Literacy.... (not really but proving the point that knowledge is power no matter how it gets to you))

The Power of Film: Bringing Essential Information to People In Need

   

Communities in crisis need knowledge and empowerment. FilmAid provides both, to millions of people suffering the effects of war, poverty, displacement or disaster. Films provide a way to reach many people at once, overcoming literacy boundaries, bringing forth information where it is needed and inspiring hope where it is lacking.

Since 1999, FilmAid has worked in partnership with other global aid organizations to bring critical information to more than 1 million people, in places as diverse as Macedonia, Kenya, Tanzania, Afghanistan and the US Gulf Coast.

FilmAid engages communities to shape the messages most needed for their survival and strength. We work with communities to create films and videos in their own voice, and to show these films in the most impactful and appropriate settings. FilmAid screenings range from intimate discussion of 40 people to large outdoor screenings, reaching thousands at one time.

HOW WE CHANGE LIVES:

FilmAid screenings reach more than 250,000 people annually. In 2008, we screened to individuals from Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda, Eritrea, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

FilmAid has completed a 5 part film series on hygiene and the prevention of malaria and cholera produced for the Somali refugee community. The films are being watched by thousands of Somalis living in Dadaab refugee camp where health is consistently compromised by overpopulation.

Women, girls and children receive special attention in FilmAid's programming. Each year, over 25,000 women and children attend moderated screenings focused on their critical informational needs.

Students from our Refugee Filmmaking Program have gained self-esteem by creating short films on their and their communities concerns and issues.

FilmAid International is a non-profit 501(c)(3) service-based humanitarian aid organization.

FilmAid is a Global Implementing Partner of the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency), and is funded by a variety of individuals, private foundations, corporations, international agencies and the US State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees & Migration.

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Khan Academy

Khan Academy - Free, online education for anyone. REALLY neat.

http://www.khanacademy.org/

It Begins with Me. It Begins with You. It Begins with Us.

It Begins with Me. It Begins with You. It Begins with Us.
Thoughts and Actions Around Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming


http://itbeginswithme.wordpress.com/


This blog was created to document UNHCR’s 2009 evaluation of the organization’s Age, Gender and Diversity Mainstreaming strategy and to encourage thinking, dialogue and action around the challenges and rewards of AGDM within UNHCR and beyond. You’ll find the mission, methodology and the milestones of our evaluation as well as posts about films, audio, books, paintings, programs, partners, news, op-eds… anything that helps add to our greater understanding of AGDM. We encourage feedback and contributions from our partners and friends and look forward to the conversation. Views expressed here are not the official stance of UNHCR.

Education Questions

1. What are your thoughts on the following: "The aim of educational policy should... be to give every person a chance of developing his/her inherent potential? Agree/ disagree? Is education enough to ensure that someone is actively able to develop their potential?

2. Do you think school will inevitably "encourage a drift of youth and talent to urban areas and... divorce young people from their community and culture?

3.In what ways have our readings over the semester supported or discredited the following? "Discrimination against women is 'ingrained in society' in many countries"

Discussion Qs

1) In the book chapter entitled "Women's Education in Developing Countries," there were many striking charts and stats. Something I found interesting was that Latin America women were relatively well-represented in the technical/vocational fields. I don't really know enough about that region to say why, however. I wonder if anyone wishes to comment on this. Also, along the same lines, why are women in other regions not well-represented?

2) In the same chapter, the authors note the importance of literacy. They stress the fact that, with retention rates often low, many female students in the developing world may not achieve functional literacy. The author alludes to the point that if the child does not achieve literacy, he/she has essentially not been educated. Do you agree?

3) In this class in the past, we've talked about how educating women definitely unlocks potential and therefore contributes to the overall productivity and wealth of a country. I thought an interesting point in the readings this week that I had not thought about was that not educating women actually limits men's potential as well. It's not only the country as a whole that suffers in uniquely financial terms, but it has a direct effect on men more specifically. Men are tied to women in many ways, and lifting up women in the areas of worker rights, productivity, and quality of life will inescapably affect men in the same areas. Everyone benefits?