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The African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP)

The African Women's Entrepreneurship Program (spearheaded by Hilary Clinton) was created in conjunction with the US/Sub-Saharan African Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the US Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. AGOA was enacted to increase trade opportunities for Sub-Saharan nations and help them integrate into the global economy.

The women involved in AWEP are successful business leaders and entrepreneurs in their countries; they are inspirational leaders for other women and they are proof of the merits of education. AWEP aims to increase the number of these women and provide more opportunities for women who own businesses and land. The program invites these women to the US to meet with legislators and business leaders in order to network with others and gain support for and advice on their businesses at home.

Women in Afghanistan

Today's post is about a CNN article featuring Afghan journalist Farida Nekzad (found here). The article discusses the challenges faced by all Afghan news agencies, many of which receive death threats or experience actual violence towards them. Nekzad has faced several death threats and one attempt on her life nearly succeeded. A bomb exploded in her driveway one day and she was consequently ostracized by her neighbors---forced to move elsewhere and keep a low-profile for her own safety.

Despite the odds, Nekzad (along with her husband and two-year-old daughter) have formed an online news agency called Wakht ("Time") dedicated to uncovering forbidden truths and controversial stories all over Afghanistan. Furthermore, the agency also has several women among their staff. Women in Afghanistan have very little rights, despite a new constitution adopted after the Taliban was overthrown in 2001. The article cites a mere 14% of Afghan women are literate.

Afghanistan itself has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world at 28.1%. According to Nekzad, women "are uneducated and away from education." There are some whispers of a movement for women's rights, but the truth is that there is no guarantee that women will be safe if such a movement should arrive. Under Taliban rule, strict Muslim behavior and dress codes were enforced, and women still have very low status today.

It's amazing that Farida Nekzad has accomplished all that she has. I'm sure she is an inspiration to other Afghan women and she is taking a necessary risk in training more female correspondents for the field. Small steps like these will hopefully lead to a liberated female population in Afghanistan.

More on Child Marriage

Child marriage poses a huge problem for young women in many developing countries. When girls do not have the automatic right to education (or do not have the means to go), their only remaining role is that of a wife and mother. Before a young girl becomes an economic burden to her family, she is married off, sometimes at ages as young as 12 and 13---and oftentimes to much older men.

The UN Foundation and related UN organizations are working in places like Ethiopia to help educate women and give them an alternative to getting married. Usually, the issue is either that there is no school for girls to attend, or there is no economic incentive to go. The UN program in Ethiopia is fixing both these problems by providing the girls with a school and also a $25 economic incentive for every year a girl stays in school.

Think about it, $25. That is all it takes to keep a young girl in school and change the course of her life. For more information about the child marriage issue and the program in Ethiopia, watch the video below.

UN Women News

“Where we fail to capitalize on the potential and talents of one half of the population, we also squander the potential to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, environmental degradation and violence." Michelle Bachelet, Executive Director of UN Women

UN Women executive director Michelle Bachelet gave an opening statement at the annual session of the Executive Board of UN Women on June 27th, 2011. In her speech she touches upon many of the issues surrounding unequal opportunities for women, most of them economic.

She mentions that by allowing equal access to land resources, there would be an estimated 100 to 150 million less starving people. She also mentions the economic effects of domestic violence and how some countries are factoring it into their losses (the US is estimated to lose about $5.8 billion annually in lost productivity and health costs associated with domestic abuse).

Some might see it as a callous way of looking at women's issues, but in a competitive and capitalistic international arena, portraying these issues economically may be the only way to see results.

Follow @UN_Women on twitter!

Battling Discrimination

One of the main causes of the disparity between literate boys and girls throughout the world is gender discrimination. It takes place in many developing and developed countries such as China, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Algeria, Egypt and Morocco where boys are valued more than girls. Many girls are aborted before they are born, or face abuse and malnutrition once they are. In these cultures, girls are seen as inferior and as an economic burden to the family. Ironically enough, they are seen as an economic burden because they are uneducated and so they cannot go out and get jobs to help support the family. It is a vicious and deadly cycle that could be stopped if only girls were provided educational opportunities. The discrimination in these countries (also some of the most populated countries) has created a global gender disparity. Naturally, there tends to be more women born than men, but studies have shown that there are some 100+ million girls "missing" (aborted), 50 million in China alone [1].

Women who are not educated will be abused and discriminated against their whole lives until they assume the mother role that they have no choice but to pursue. This sometimes means child marriages and teenage pregnancies for many girls. The lack of education and opportunities for women in these countries are arguably what keep these countries from being more wealthy and developed. No developed and successful country has gotten that way without educating their women. Equal opportunity for all and equal rights to education are what make a country and a population successful. When will these developing countries catch on? They will have to overcome their cultural hurdles first.

Video Spotlight: "Make it Right for Girls"

The Global Campaign for Education (GCE) made this video outlining the benefits and challenges that women face in regard to getting an education. There are millions of girls who do not attend school because they can't pay for it, or it's too far from them. They need to earn money and help provide for their families. Without education, women often face violence, hunger and HIV; but with it, they help build stronger families, economies, and a better world altogether. This video touches on but a few of the issues surrounding women's education, but it's touching and well-presented. The visual elements also help to make this issue more real for people who are far removed from these issues.

GCE was founded in 1999 as an international coalition of organizations aiming to provide education for all. Specifically they target governments and hold them accountable for fulfilling their education goals and promises to their populations. The campaign encompasses millions of individuals and thousands of organizations in hundreds of countries all united by the goal of providing education for all. Since 2000, GCE has helped approximately 40 million more children attend school. (Source: "About GCE")