THE NEEDS: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Need #3: Prevention of Domestic Violence against Women

The belief in male superiority in a vast number of cultures often leads to violence towards the weaker sex. “Between one quarter and one half of women have been abused by a partner. Only 44 countries specifically protect women against domestic violence (Meroff 51).” Women are often, hit, kicked, cut, burned with acid, raped or killed by their husbands, fathers and sometimes even a mother or in-law. They are beaten primarily because they do not do exactly as ordered by their husband or father. Sometimes, in primarily Muslim countries, a husband will attack his wife if she does not have dinner ready, or refuses to have sex (Meroff 53).

Zoya Najabi, from Kabul, Afghanistan, was married off to a sixteen year old boy when she was just twelve. Since that time, Zoya was consistently beaten for faulty housework by her husband and her in-laws. They would tie her to a bucket and dunk her into the well, leaving her half-drowned and freezing. The worst of it came when Zoya inadvertently kicked her mother-in-law during one of these punishments. Her husband flogged her with an electric cable until she was unconscious. Through all of this, Zoya remained staunchly tied to her misogynistic culture. She said in an interview, “I should not have been beaten because I was always obedient and did what my husband said. But if the wife is truly disobedient, then of course the husband has to beat her” (Kristof 68-69).

Oftentimes, cases and cultures like this leave a woman feeling helpless and hopeless, and the majority of cases of domestic violence go unreported to the police. In some cases, this is because spousal violence is not a criminal act by law, such as in Swaziland or Uganda (Meroff 52). The situation is even worse in some places, such as Pakistan. Shershah Syed, a doctor in Karachi, mentioned, “When I treat rape victims, I tell the girls not to go to the police... because if a girl goes to the police, the police will rape her (Kristof 84).”

In many countries, girls are also victim to ritual genital mutilation. This is a cultural practice which is regarding as typical when “coming of age” in Africa and much of the Middle East. The young girl is held down while a knife of piece of glass is used for the circumcision. In these cultures, a girl is considered unclean and will not be married off until she is operated on. The consequences of this often include: Infections, obstruction of menstrual flow, infertility, increased risk of HIV-AIDS, psychological trauma or kidney damage. Many women also report that on their wedding nights their husbands had to use a knife or piece of glass in order to cut a wider opening for sexual intercourse (Meroff 76-78).

Help On The Way:

Unfortunately, the issue of domestic violence is more difficult to fight with organization and programs. There are some that exist, such as the The National Coalition Against Domestic Violence and the National Domestic Violence Hotline, both organizations fighting domestic violence in the United States. Prevention of violence is a very personal matter and women need to be taught that they do not have to put up with abusive relationships. This is easier said than done, especially in developing countries where everything is working against a woman who wants to escape a violent home. That is why shelters exist in developing countries, and others are slowly appearing worldwide.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, www.ncadv.org

National Domestic Violence Hotline, www.ndvh.org

THE NEEDS: EDUCATION

Need #4: Equal Education for Women

In families that don't have money to send all their children to school, parents will make sure the boys get an education first. For example, if a school charges for books or admission, and the family doesn't have much money, they will send the boys in the family to school first. Out of the 300 million children in the world who do not have access to an education, 200 million are girls. In Yemen, for example, twenty percent of students were females and ninety-two percent of women over 25 can't read (Meroff 55-56). Even if a girl is able to go to school, she may be forced to leave to get married, do chores or make money for the family.

Even if she is exceptionally bright, if the family begins to suffer economically they may pull her out to save money and may even sell her or marry her off to save themselves the cost of feeding her. Or a daughter may feel it is necessary to find work to help her parents through their financial crisis. For example, Srey Rath of Cambodia, traveled to Thailand when she was promised a job as a dishwasher (Kristof xi). Girls are often promised jobs in locations far away from their families, which end up being a trap. I will cover more on this practice in Need #1. This works in a circular motion against women. They are denied education so they can't get work, so they can't pay for their daughters to get an education. Although there are still high numbers of illiterate men across the world, it is much easier for men to exit this cycle by engaging in physical labor, plus they can make more by doing the same amount of work as women and they are more likely to be sent to school than their sisters. This reinforces the belief that men are better than women.

Help On The Way:

When it comes to education, there are organizations that are working to provide schools, as well as perform initiative programs, or bribes, to get girls to go to and stay in school. In 1993, Ann Cotton started the Campaign for Female Education, also called Camfed. According to their webpage, “Camfed has fought poverty and AIDS by educating girls and empowering young women. More than 645,400 children in impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi have benefited from our innovative education programs.” Their results show that the girls they educate are likely to make up to 25 percent more money and invest ninety percent of it into her family, making Camfed's work a circle of empowerment for women.

What Do You Think?

Works cited:

Campaign for Female Education, www.camfed.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

THE NEEDS: EMPLOYMENT

Need #5: Equal Employment for Women

According to estimates, women represent about seventy percent of the world’s impoverished (UNIFEM).Women are not given the opportunity to make money for themselves or their family in many nations. They are usually restricted to homemaking roles, and if their husband is lazy or dies, then they are unable to make an income. This may also prevent them from leaving abusive home lives, because they know they could not make it on their own without a job or with an extremely low-paying job.

Women who can work make less money than men. “They are often paid less than men for their work, with the average wage gap in 2008 being 17 percent. Women face persistent discrimination when they apply for credit for business or self-employment and are often concentrated in insecure, unsafe and low-wage work (UNIFEM)”. This is not merely a trend in developing countries, but around the world, even in developed countries that claim to give women equal rights. According to one source, women hold only one percent of the entire world's assets (Meroff 112).

Saima Muhammad was a shame to her husband. She couldn't have a son and since her husband did not work, she was constantly being beaten for her inability to have a child who could provide for the family. At the end of her rope, Saima turned to an organization that gave her the finances to buy beads and fabric and begin an embroidering business. Once she began to bring in money, her husband no longer beat her. He even decided that having girls was not so bad, they were not as weak as he thought they were (Kristof 185-187). Women are capable and willing to be a part of the working world if they are provided with the opportunity. However, many women cannot have jobs if they don't have an education.

Help On The Way:

Camfed works to empower women as they enter employment. They are helpful in their launch of a Seed Money Program, which loans small amounts of money to girls who are trying to get their foot in the door of the business world (Camfed).

Another program that helps women to start their own businesses is the Kashf Foundation. Kashf was founded by Roshaneh Zafar, a Pakistani woman. She was fortunate to grow up wealthy and empowered and uses her gifts to pioneer micro-financing in Pakistan. The program gives sixty-five dollars to a woman who is willing to invest. Women's businesses grow more slowly than men's and face complications, such as being taken over by a man, but the micro-financing revolution is a new and growing idea (Kristoff 188). The basic premise is that is a woman is contributing to her family income, she will be more valuable to her husband and she will be able to provide for herself and her children. It does not work to simply pour money into the homes of poor families, as most of it will go into the hands of the husband do with what he pleases. Micro-financing uses small loans to ensure that women themselves are building their self-worth, and that the money cannot be used for other purposes.

Organizations like this are growing more popular in America, as a way to contribute to the efforts to fight poverty overseas. Americans can donate and will be repaid by the business owner without interest. A friend's church has taken the initiative to invest its church building fund into one such organization, and many other churches and Christians are following suit by investing their money in micro-financing.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Campaign for Female Education, www.camfed.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

UNIFEM, United Nations Development Fund For Women, www.unifem.org