Last month, Jolkona held its third annual Give2Girls Campaign, in honor of International Women’s Day, and Women’s History month. We partnered with the Seattle International Foundation (SIF), with the goal of empowering, educating, and improving the lives of girls and women all over the world. Throughout March, SIF matched each donation to one of the 30+ projects that impacted women, up to $250 per donation. This was amazingly successful, and the campaign was fully funded, making over $5000 in just around three weeks!

The Give2Girls campaign had a truly global impact, affecting the lives of women all over the world. From $100 in Haiti, to $600 here in the U.S, to over $1600 in Nepal, each dollar helped to improve health and sanitation, and education. Here are some of the impacts that your generosity accomplished:

• 1 emergency blood transfusion provided in Palestine
• 2 technology classes provided in United States
• 9 girls received education support in Nepal
• 4 weeks of food provided in Afghanistan
• 4 women saved from honor killing in Iraq
• 16 months of oral contraceptives provided in Nepal
• 10 health kits provided in Somalia
• 30 books provided in Myanmar
• 40 people sponsored to a workshop in Kenya
• 7 women received education in Afghanistan
• 2 pre-natal examinations provided in Nepal
• 2 hygiene kits provided in Haiti
• 2 life-skill classes sponsored in United States
• 2 “safe birth” kits provided in Palestine
• 2 stoves provided in Costa Rica
• 16 girls received school supplies in Liberia
• 2 weeks of stipend provided in United States
• 12 girls rescued from servitude in Nepal
• 2 jobs created in India
• 2 postpartum classes provided in Japan
• 2 children received dental care in Bolivia
• 2 business literacy classes provided in Ghana
• 6 school girls received uniforms in Liberia
• 100 students received learning materials in Myanmar
• 4 women received bio-intensive farming training in Kenya
• 1 emergency medical kit provided in Palestine
• 2 uniforms provided in Nepal

We also featured interesting projects and organizations that made supporting and empowering women the center of their work.

• We featured MADRE, an organization that addresses the immediate needs of women in crisis. In conjunction with Give2Girls, 2 safe birth kits, and 1 emergency medical kit were provided in Palestine, and 4 women in Iraq were saved from honor killing.
• We also featured the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation’s project of funding higher education for women in Nepal. Last month, 9 Nepali girls received educational support.
• In addition, we talked about iLEAP’s International Fellowship Program, which brings women grassroots leaders to Seattle for leadership training. 2 weeks of stipend were provided through Give2Girls.

Even though March is over, you can still take the opportunity to donate to a project that supports women. Small donations can have a huge impact in the lives of women and on their communities, as they tend to reinvest 90% of the funding they receive. Through Lumana, you can fund a woman entrepreneur in Ghana with working capital, with a donation of $120 , or you can donate $50 dollars to provide a woman in Nicaragua with a bag of seeds, so she can feed her family . It is never too late to empower woman, as many face adversity every day.

The 3rd Annual Give2Girls Campaign was quickly and successfully funded through your support, enthusiasm, and generosity. With your help, Give2Girls 2014 can be just as successful. Thank You!

You can also help spread the word by liking us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter, and Pinterest.

Is a leader strongest on her own, or as part of a global community? Can you yourself produce the greatest good by sending information and resources one way, or is there much more to be gained through collaboration, and partnership? As you invest in providing training and vital networking to a woman already changing her local community, what can you learn from such an inspiring person?

One of the central themes of the Give2Girls campaign is that investing in women makes an incredible difference, as, on average, they return 90% to their families, children, and community. There are so many projects that positively impact women throughout the world. iLEAP’s International Fellowship Program takes an innovative approach to that idea, by empowering local women, and giving them the tools they need to be local and global leaders.

The mission of iLEAP is to create global transformation through inspiring and engaging social leaders across the world. With a network of non-profits, business, universities, and other associations linking the US, Latin America, Asia, and Africa, their training programs aim to collaborate with leaders, create regional networks, and international partnerships. The programs emphasize hands on learning so participants can work directly with the leaders in their field. They connect people in a range of sectors, ranging from global health, and human rights to education and sustainable agriculture.

The Program

As part of the International Fellowship Program, 10 to 15 Women grassroots leaders from across Asia, Latin America, and Africa are selected from a highly competitive pool to come to Seattle, WA, and attend a rigorous and comprehensive 8-week leadership training program.

• The training includes courses on topics like communication, technology and management.
• Helps them to build a network of local businesses and NGOs and other development organizations in their area of interest.
• Women learn about the interactions between NGOs, business and government agencies.
• Whilst honing their skills through the program, the women also have the opportunity to become involved in Seattle’s community, and make personal connections.
• They live with a home-stay family, attend events, and are sponsored by local organizations that work in the same area of interest so they can exchange ideas.

Why the program is important

Empowering women as leaders is vital to the UN Millennium Development goals of promoting gender equality, and encouraging global partnerships. Women bear the brunt of global poverty, due to gaps in income and education, as well as violence, and maternal mortality. Women leaders in developing countries are already taking steps to address these issues and lead the improvement in their communities. iLEAP’s fellowship provides these women with more in depth training and an international network of partners and mentors, so that they can continue their work more effectively, and with renewed inspiration.

The Give2Girls campaign is all about investing in girls and women, to create a better world tomorrow, and iLEAP’s International Fellowship Program is an incredible opportunity for determined and talented women grassroots leaders to network internationally, increase the impact of their work in their own communities, and become global citizens. Through amazing donations, Give2Girls has been fully funded, but a donation will still make an incredible difference. $100 provides the weekly stipend for a Fellow to stay in Seattle, and participate in the program. As a result, each graduate leaves with practical skills, and a global community of support. In turn, they contribute to sustainable social change.

You can also be a part of the Give2Girls movement by helping to spread the word by liking us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter (#give2girls), and Pinterest

We interviewed Awamaki, a partner that focuses helping women in Peru become economically sustainable through education and traditional crafts, as part of the Give2Girls campaign. They hope to educate the older girls of their weaving cooperatives to become future leaders through workshops that focus on skills like computer use, and to launch a Girls Leadership Program for 2014.

What’s the story behind Awamaki?

Awamaki was formed in early 2009, to support a cooperative of 10 women weavers from Patacancha, a rural Quechua community in Peru. Awamaki’s founders, Seattle native, Kennedy Leavens and Peru native, Miguel Galdo, worked together at Awamaki’s predecessor organization with the Patacancha weaving cooperative for two years. When that organization floundered and finally collapsed, Miguel and Kennedy formed Awamaki to continue their work with the weavers. Awamaki grew rapidly its first few years. We started a health project (now independent), ran an afterschool program, and tried on a number of other hats as well. Awamaki now concentrates its work in economic empowerment, education, skills development, and sustainable community tourism.

How did you become connected with Jolkona?

I had heard of Jolkona through the UW Evans School Public Affairs, so when Nadia emailed me asking for information, I offered to come down to the office. Face-to-face meetings are so rare when you work internationally and your funders, partners and donors are spread out all over the globe.

Can you tell us more about your project’s background and why it started?

Our women’s cooperative project started in the hands of another organization, CATCCO, nearly 10 years ago. The project’s founders saw that the Quechua weaving tradition was being lost, so they offered to buy weavings from high school aged girls in order to encourage them to continue to weave and also give them support for their studies. Since then, our focus has shifted from mostly textile tradition revitalization — though that is still an important aim — to economic development through women’s access to economic opportunities and income. We have created a number of other projects towards that aim, including knitting, sewing and spinning cooperatives, as well as a homestay family association and a Spanish teachers cooperative to work with the many volunteers and travelers that come through the town where we are based. All our projects come from a need identified by the community and an opportunity identified by our international volunteers and staff, who have the ideas and expertise necessary to connect marginalized community members with the opportunities afforded by the international tourism markets.

What kind of lasting change does the project hope to engender?

We aim to give women the skills and market access they need to directly improve their incomes. We believe that income in the hands of women is the most effective way to lift rural families and communities out of poverty. We hope to create cooperatives that are models of self-sufficiency and financial sustainability, allowing women to be empowered agents of change, investing in the health, education and well being of their families and their communities.

We also aim to create cooperative business models that respect and revitalize local traditions and ways of life.

 So say I make a contribution to the project, can you explain a little further the impact that is achieved?

Awamaki’s projects allow the women we work with to access economic opportunities and earn a significant income that they then invest in their families and communities.

Our donors and supporters play a crucial role in our work. As a successful social enterprise, 78% of our funding comes from earned program income–sales of fair trade products, income from our sustainable tourism program, and volunteer and service travel program donations. This income covers our core operating expenses entirely.

Since we are devoted to working with the most marginalized women and communities in the area, however, the success of our programs–and the improved income and well-being of our women–rests on the extensive administrative support, skills trainings and capacity-building workshops we provide to the 150 women and families with whom we work. We leverage 100% of donations to provide this support and to fund program start-up and expansion, such as organizing and training new cooperatives that become self-sustaining after our initial investment

 We love stories at Jolkona. Do you have a favorite impact story you can share?

Graciela is 17. She lives in the remote high Andean community of Patacancha. When she was 13, she became pregnant. Girls don’t usually finish school in Patacancha; girls who are mothers definitely don’t finish school. Graciela’s parents were upset by her early pregnancy, but they enrolled her in Awamaki’s weaving cooperative program, then just starting. Income from the Awamaki project allowed her to support the child while she and the child’s father — only barely older than Graciela — finished school. Last year, he graduated from high school, and they moved into a one-room adobe home that they built near her parent’s home. Graciela continues to support her young family with income from the Awamaki project. Though only 17, she is one of our most skilled weavers. Her son, Rolando, is a healthy, energetic four-year-old.

In a nutshell, why should someone give to this project?

Donations are the crucial link between the enterprise and the social part of what we do. We multiply your donation many times over by creating self-sustaining solutions to poverty.

Double your impact through the Give2Girls campaign, and donate to Awamaki today.

You can also be a part of the Give2Girls movement by helping to spread the word by liking us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter (#give2girls), and Pinterest.

MADRE is a partner with many projects involved in the Give2Girls Campaign. Given the many essential services they provide for women internationally, as well as the many opportunities for donation, we wanted to feature their background and work. We interviewed them about their past work, and what they hope to accomplish.

What’s the story behind MADRE?

Almost thirty years ago, MADRE was created to meet the immediate needs of women and address the underlying causes of the crises they face. In 1983, at the height of a war in Nicaragua, women there extended an invitation to a small group of women in the United States to witness and discuss the atrocities committed by the U.S. funded, contra militia. What they saw horrified and angered them. They were shown entire communities – day care centers, schools, and hospitals – destroyed by bombs. Upon their return to the United States, the women, led by Founding Director Kathy Engel, began MADRE to aid the women and children of Nicaragua’s Atlantic coast. Grounded in the concrete work of collecting humanitarian aid for Nicaragua, MADRE offered ways for people to join together to demand alternatives to destructive policies, at home and abroad.

Although created to address this specific crisis, the leaders of MADRE recognized the necessity of focusing on the universality of women’s roles and oppression as a key to building lasting partnerships between women from different communities. To this day, they continue their commitment to international women’s rights and welfare, and have provided 30 million dollars-worth of material support to their sister organizations worldwide.

Today, MADRE works in partnership with grassroots women’s groups in Afghanistan, Colombia, Guatemala, Haiti, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Nicaragua, Palestine, Peru and Sudan to advance women’s human rights by meeting urgent needs in communities and build long-term solutions to the crises women face. They support three overarching program areas: Peace Building; Women’s Health/Combating Violence against Women; and Economic and Environmental Justice. They work towards a world in which all people enjoy the fullest range of individual and collective human rights; in which resources are shared equitably and sustainably; in which women participate effectively in all aspects of society; and in which all people have a meaningful say in policies that affect their lives.

So how did you become connected with Jolkona?

We came across Jolkona in a search for additional fundraising opportunities for our programs with women and families worldwide, and jumped at the chance to participate. Our partnership began in 2009. Now, we have eight active projects on Jolkona.

One of your projects is providing health kits to women and children in Gaza. Can you tell us a bit more about the project and how it’s going currently?

After the recent escalation of violence in Gaza, MADRE and our local Palestinian partner organization responded by bringing urgent medical care to injured civilians, particularly women and children. Thanks to donor support, MADRE was able to send two disbursements of funds to the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. In Gaza, PMRS operates four clinics, four mobile clinics, two physiotherapy centers, one assistive device center and individual relief services. During the recent escalation of violence in Gaza, all PMRS centers and teams were equipped to offer emergency health services and disburse medication. Their local positioning and knowhow allowed them to deliver emergency care to vulnerable neighborhoods in Gaza where the need is greatest. PMRS also held psychosocial support sessions for children traumatized by the recent violence. Sessions were held in schools and activities include therapeutic games and coloring.

What kind of lasting change does the project hope to engender?

The support of donors provides emergency medicines and supplies during this crisis, which has saved lives. Providing care now will better equip Palestinians to weather the crisis and rebuild their communities in the future.

To create lasting peace in the region, we need to demand an end to Israel’s blockade of Gaza, the occupation of Palestinian land, and safety from armed attacks for all people in the region. We’re committed to pushing the Obama administration for a human rights-based policy in the Middle East. But in times of crisis, the most urgent thing is to heal people’s suffering.

So say I give $10 to the project, can you explain a little further the impact that is achieved? 

During times of violence, your gift will bring urgent care to wounded and traumatized children and families in Gaza, who have no other source of help. Continued support of this project will better equip Palestinians to effectively manage crises as they arise and rebuild their communities in the future.

We love stories at Jolkona. Do you have a favorite impact story you can share?

In the wake of the most recent period of violence between Israel and Palestine, MADRE received a letter from our sister organization, K’inal Antsetik A.C. (Land of Women), in Chiapas, Mexico. They heard about our work in Gaza and decided to help in whatever way they could. Their letter expressed solidarity with women and their families affected by violence in Gaza. Remembering the support they had previously received from MADRE, the women of K’inal Antsetik A.C. offered words of kindness as well as money they had personally collected to aid us in our work. This embodies the spirit of MADRE – grassroots organizations from around the world coming together to ensure that that all women receive the resources they need to thrive in the most trying of circumstances.

In a nutshell, why should someone give to this project?

When you give to MADRE, you can be sure you’re making a concrete difference in the life of a woman who is struggling to build a better future for herself and her family. Whether you’re helping build a clinic, feed a child or deliver emergency aid after a disaster, you can feel confident that your gift will be used in a smart, efficient way. At MADRE, a full 88 cents of every dollar you give go towards our lifesaving programs with women and families.

Now is your chance to double your impact through the Give2Girls Campaign, and donate to MADRE’s project in Palestine.

You can also be a part of the Give2Girls movement by helping to spread the word by liking us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter (#give2girls), and Pinterest.

With the Give2Girls campaign launched, and in the midst of Women’s History Month, it is more relevant than ever to explore the ways that we can empower women across the world. There are so many challenges that women in developing countries face, however, understanding which solution has the most significant impact for these women can, in itself, be a challenge. Can a single factor increase literacy, reduce extreme poverty, and reduce gender inequality? Yes, and the answer is higher education.

Having graduated from university rather recently, higher education is still very much on my mind, and all the highs and lows it brings with it. Did I spend a lot of time worrying about increasing tuition, getting the best grades I could, and other standard concerns? Of course I did. But now that I have been released, do I feel empowered, like I have all the tools I need to be successful? Once again, of course. Was I extremely fortunate to have these opportunities in the first place? Absolutely. However, many young women do not have the same access to higher education as I did. Of course with enough help, that can be changed. Projects, such as the Bo M. Karlsson Foundation, which works in Nepal, can begin to alleviate some of the severe global inequality of higher education. 

What is the problem?

In Nepal, where the cost of a higher education institution or technical school is around $500 for a year of schooling, the cost is still prohibitive. Many – mostly women – cannot afford it, even when it would drastically improve their ability to participate in the workforce. In addition to the cost, many women experience difficulty obtaining a higher education due to cultural restrictions, and because they lack a basic education in the first place. In a country where many women marry before the age of fifteen, and have a significantly lower literacy rate than men, the opportunity to gain a higher education is certainly a rare opportunity. Unfortunately, many women who are hungry for the chance to further explore their education are unable to do so.

How can we change this?

The Bo M. Karlsson Foundation is aiming to turn around the trend of undereducated and under-empowered women in Nepal by funding higher education. The project helps women access basic amenities such as transportation, Internet, books, room and board, and tuition.
Why is this project so important?

• Providing for a higher education for women in Nepal not only aids with greater opportunities, but also alleviates extreme hunger and poverty. 
• Better educated women have marry later, and have fewer children
• With the training to access jobs in higher paying fields, women will significantly increase their earning power, and will be able to reinvest their added incomes for their families. 
• Giving women the same access to higher education would help to alleviate gender inequality. 
• Women would be better able to access high-paying jobs in male-dominated fields, such as engineering.

Through a donation of as little as $25, which would be doubled up to $250 through the Give2Girls campaign, a young woman in Nepal can have more opportunities than ever to have a career, gain a better quality of life for her and her family, and become empowered.
Give today.

You can also be a part of this movement by helping to spread the word by liking us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter (#give2girls), and Pinterest.

On the eve of International Women’s Day, I attended a sold out screening of the film, Girl Rising. The energy in the theater was thick with anticipation and empowerment. As the film began, a hush fell over the crowd. Embracing every second of this amazing film, I learned of 9 girls from 9 different countries- Afghanistan, Haiti, Peru, Nepal, India, Egypt, Cambodia, Ethiopia and the Sierra Leone. Each girl faced with different life challenges from child marriage to abandonment, from the lack of education to violence, and much more. The main theme throughout is the power of education and how so many girls, millions of them, lack educational opportunities.

My heart swelled with sadness and disappointment as each story comes to life. Feelings of hopelessness overwhelmed me and my faith in mankind began to dwindle- how could so many girls be denied their right to freedom, to education, to choosing for themselves? And slowly, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, each girl showed strength and a fierceness that will not die. Each girl overcame her obstacle and displayed grace, light and pride in doing so.

As a mother of a young baby, my view of the world has changed this past year. Issues such as free and available education to every day safety become a common part of my every day thinking. In the film, Wadley a bright 8 year old Haitian girl is troubled as her world is changed forever after the terrible earthquake in Port au Prince. An estimated 80% of schools in Port-au-Prince were damaged or destroyed during the earthquake. Prior to the earthquake, about 40% of children were unable to pay school fees. Only 60% of Haitian children have the opportunity to attend primary school and only 20% go to secondary school. About 50% of all Haitians are literate.

With constant drive and fearlessness, Wadley returns to the makeshift tent school house every day, even when turned away because her mother could not pay the school fees. “I will come back every day until I can stay” she proudly reports. To Wadley, education is the key to her success in life and developing mind. Eventually, she wins and the teacher allows her to stay. With my child always on my mind, I pondered “What would I do if education wasn’t free or available for my young child? Would I send him to the local school house every day to try to be accepted?” Absolutely!

Statistics for education among young girls in developing countries is staggering:

• Around 11 per cent of young people between the ages of 15 and 24 are classed as illiterate.
• Worldwide, around 776 million adults and young people over the age of 15 cannot read or write – just under two thirds of them female.

- Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development

• Studies show that every year of schooling increasing a girl’s future earning power by 10 to 20 percent.
• Less than half a cent of every development dollar goes to programs specifically for girls, particularly those ages 10-14.
• Girls make up more than half of the world’s 143 million out-of-school youth.

- Girl Up, United Nations Foundation

What can you do to encourage the Wadley’s of the world to fight for their right to be educated? What can you to do lift up women and girls around the world? What can you do to encourage equal rights for all? Through Jolkona and the Give2Girls campaign going on right now, projects and causes all over the world need your donations so organizations can continue the strong work and empowerment, helping so many girls in this world. And for a limited time, the first $2,500 in donations made towards women and girls will be matched by the Seattle International Foundation. So give what you can, give today! Educate girls! See Girl Rising! Find a screening here.

Jolkona is proud to be a part of this movement to support and empower women through the Give2Girls campaign. You can also be a part of this movement by helping to spread the word by liking us on Facebook, and by following us on Twitter (#give2girls), and Pinterest.

To celebrate and participate in Women’s History Month, we’re proud to be launching our third Give2Girls matching campaign, running through the rest of March – starting today! We’re dedicating twenty four days to improving the lives of thousands of women and girls around the globe. This year we’re partnering with our local champions of change, the Seattle International Foundation.

How does the campaign work?

Give to any of our 30+ projects related to women or girls, and we will match your donation, dollar for dollar, up to $250 per donor! Even better than that, though, we will double your proof! So donate $15 to provide workshops and other business opportunities for Peruvian women, and we’ll not only match your donation, but we’ll send you two impact reports. The campaign is being matched up to a total of $2,500.

Why this campaign?

Here are just some of the reasons:

• Out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 percent are girls.
• An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary school: 15 to 25 percent.
• When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children.
• When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.
• The total global population of girls ages 10 to 24 – already the largest in history – is expected to peak in the next decade.
• One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18; 14 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth in developing countries each year.
• Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide. Compared with women ages 20 to 24, girls ages 10 to 14 are five times more likely to die from childbirth, and girls 15 to 19 are up to twice as likely, worldwide.
• Approximately one-quarter of girls in developing countries are not in school.

(statistics taken from girleffect.org)

I’ve said this many a time, and I won’t apologize for saying it again: at Jolkona it is necessary that we talk about statistics, of course. Statistics give us the overarching picture. But what fuels the fire that drives us is the story behind each statistic – the individual. And this is what we want you to see. This is why we give you, the philanthropist, not just the chance to change statistics, but to actually glimpse into the life of the individual behind the statistic by seeing exactly how your donation makes an impact.

Our Give2girls campaign is not about changing statistics; it’s about changing people’s lives. So let’s do that.

Here are 4 ways for you to take action today:

1. Make an investment in women and girls. Choose from over 30 different projects that support women and girls and give to girls today. 
2. Get Educated. Learn about the history of Women’s History Month and then learn about investing in women for poverty alleviation. We like the Girl Effect and UN’s womenwatch. 
3. Watch the film Girl Rising made by the inspiring 10×10. Find a screening here.
4. Spread the word. Support this movement by sharing the importance of investing in girls for poverty alleviation and share our campaign. Tweet using #Give2girls.

We all know it, “awesome” is one of the most exhaustively misused words in the English language. A video on the internet of a man falling off a chair goes viral, racking up 1 million hits in a day. This is, apparently, awesome. No, this is not awesome. If something is awesome, it is supposed to inspire awe. It should elicit a reaction of overwhelming admiration. Chances are, if something is truly awesome, you might find yourself speechless, which is why it took me one hour to find the opening line to begin this post. The Give2Girls campaign was awesome.

To celebrate and participate in Women’s History Month, we launched our second Give2Girls campaign, which ran for the full 31 days of March. Our aim was to empower girls and women the world over. We wanted to write our own chapter in the story of women’s history. This year, with the invaluable help of CRAVE and Women@Google, we had a bountiful matching fund of $6,000. Our goal was to raise $12,000. It is with much excitement – and awe – that I can announce that the total raised was:

$25,061

We are so thankful to everyone who participated – everyone. To those who donated, to those who blogged, to those who tweeted and re-tweeted, and to those who gave up their time and energy. A very special thanks must be reserved for Zanoon Nissar and Jessan Hutchison-Quillian for their munificent contribution to the matching funds. The awareness you’ve created and the impact you’ve made has been monumental. So to all of you: way to be feminists!

See the impact for yourself:

I’m a man and I’m a feminist. But I will admit that when my wife (my then girlfriend) first told me she was a feminist, I rolled my eyes and thought, “OK here we go!” As a reaction, it wasn’t malicious, neither was it misogynistic. But it was dismissive, and it was certainly deeply ignorant. Ignorance is the key word here. Because, at the time, my idea of feminism was mostly pre-conceived and – surprise surprise therefore – largely wrong. For me the word feminist only conjured up images of cantankerous women burning bras and hating on men. To be honest, I felt quite threatened by feminism.

But let’s define feminism.

feminism [fem-uh-niz-uhm]
noun 1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.

What about feminist?

feminist [fem-uh-nist]
adjective 1. advocating social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.

So feminism is the doctrine for equal rights for women, and a feminist is someone who advocates that doctrine. Nothing scary about that.

photo credit: Flickr, Jay Morrison

The thing is, deep in my heart I knew the burning bras and the cantankerous hating parts of my definition were probably an exaggeration, or at least an exiguous minority. So that left me with just the women part. But for as long as I can remember, I’ve always been a sympathizer for gender equality. So what was my problem then? The answer is simple: the fear of otherness. Or to put it more soberly, prejudice. I felt threatened by that which was unknown to me and by that which was different to me. This is the heart of all prejudices.

There was something else curious about this, though. Why did I only envisage women when I thought about feminism? Probably because the only people I saw, read, or heard about in the media who had anything to do with feminism were all women. Feminism was a movement for women run predominantly by women. No wonder, then, feminism seemed so other to me; it was other.

And herein, I believe, lies one of the great barriers to gender equality: there are not enough men advocating feminism. If feminism is about gender equality, then both genders must fight for it. Otherwise how is it equal? Because, men, you can’t say you believe in gender equality if you’re letting women do all the work.

I’m convinced that feminism will continue to be misunderstood, and therefore dismissed by many, unless more men stand up and count themselves as feminists. Because if feminism remains a movement for women by women, then the inescapable laws of prejudice will mean that men will always fear it.

Lessons to be learnt from this (especially for men) :

1. Feminism is simply about gender equality

2. Own up to your prejudices

3. Become a feminist; advocate women’s rights

You can advocate women’s rights in the simplest of ways. Giving to our Give2Girls campaign, which seeks to empower disadvantaged women the world over, is one method. Help us reach our goal of $20,000 donated. Be a feminist here.

The Give2Girls campaign has been fully matched and we have raised an incredible figure just shy of $13,000! But although the matching part of the campaign is over, the campaign isn’t! We still have 10 days remaining for Women’s History Month and our goal is to reach $15,000. And with UN’s World Water Day coming up this Thursday, March 22nd, we wanted to highlight our Give2Girls Clean Water project run by MADRE.

Your donation provides essential tools for building water construction systems for women in Kenya. In doing so, you help bring clean water and a sustainable water system to the community, as well as empowering local women to participate in income-generating activities.

Give to the Clean Water project here, provide a community with the source of life, and help us reach our campaign goal.

Know your facts on water? Here’s an excellent infographic about why we must stop wasting water. Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink.

Infographic by Seametrics, a manufacturer of water flow meters that measure and conserve water.

Give to the Clean Water project here. Empower women, Give2Girls.

photo credit: Flickr, Simon Tucker Photographs

Education is a basic human right that should be exercised fully in all nations, but for many girls in India, attending school is not an option. A girl’s education is an essential starting point in establishing equality everywhere. Despite the Indian Constitution guaranteeing equality before the law and non-discrimination on the basis of sex, India remains a patriarchal society. Male inheritance and property ownership, early marriage, dowry, honor crimes, lack girls’ education, witch hunting, violence against women, and trafficking are all serious issues in the country. There are schools, but most girls do not attend, often because of religious reasons or cultural pressures.

A study conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau states that three out five girls receives primary education versus three out four boys. There should not be differences in the numbers of such a basic, universal human right. The law of the land makes it clear that both boys and girls have an equal opportunity to attend school from the age of six through fourteen, and that primary education is a fundamental right (Indian Constitution, Art 21). If the constitution does not make it clear enough, there is also an article in The Universal Declaration of Human Rights defining that education is a universal human right (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art 26). Girls are not receiving equal access to primary education in rural India and therefore are not achieving equality.

In this report, I want to focus on rural India and will examine the main reasons why girls have been kept away from receiving a complete primary education.

Limited access to laws and rights

The laws governing education in India are remarkably similar to the laws of western nations.  These laws are accessible to the citizens of India, but many of the citizens are unsure of how to properly live them out and where to go with complaints. Complaints usually fall on deaf ears and the citizen is told that there is equal access but that they are not fully utilizing it. It is a catch-22 situation.

In addition to national laws, there are also international laws that also govern these states. These laws, however, are harder to access for the average citizen. The citizens are only able to access these laws through local NGOs. However, the NGOs are not usually located in rural India. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights has a clear article outlining that the access to education is a basic human right (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art 26). These declarations should give more power to the government to provide access to education to all children.

Education is the crux

The impact of education on girls is extraordinary. Education sustains human values. It forms the foundation for learning and critical thinking. Education also provides skills for girls to become more self-reliant and provides them with more opportunities. Thinking into the future, education also provides them with the knowledge to manage health problems. A girl understanding her own body can make the difference between an unwanted pregnancy and an illegal abortion. Having the knowledge beforehand is crucial to saving and protecting lives.

Education does impact human development, as mentioned, along with economic development but the greatest impact is on democracy. Education is the only way a girl can be an informed citizen, leading the way for her to having her voice heard in society.  Education also provides a better overall quality of life. Research has shown the life expectancy rises by as two years for every one percent increase literacy (U.S. Census Bureau 1998). When women have a voice there can be changes made to existing laws changing the future for young girls.

photo credit: Flickr, karathepirate

4 reasons why girls are pulled out of school

The first reason why girls are pulled out of school is because of family responsibilities. Girls provide free labor at home for the family. Home is also where they learn to be a better housewife. Many girls are kept at home because it is a better payoff than going to school. Having the girl attend school is not valuable to the whole family. This problem is lucidly evident in India, even in urban areas, but more prevalent with poorer families. Girls can be found doing everything from farm work to household chores.

The family plays a central role in a girl’s life and shaping her future. Respect is given to elders in all situations and no decision can be made without consulting an elder. This often leads to the practice of arranged marriages. The decision is entirely up to the family and the girl often does not even see her future husband until the day of the wedding. Compared to American norms, individuals growing up in India are much more dependent on their families, especially parents.

The second reason why girls are kept from receiving a primary education is because they are pulled out early to protect family honor. This also can affect the dowry when the girl is married. The boy’s side of the family can raise the dowry if they suspect she has been in school with boys during puberty. The practice of dowry is illegal, but laws are not always implemented. If the dowry cannot be paid, the bride runs the risk of being ruined, or worse, being killed. Honor killings are prevalent among the poor.

The third reason for inequality during primary education is because girls can’t attend school due to inadequate facilities. Schools are unable to provide safe and sanitary facilities for young girls to attend, and with the population increasing at a rapid speed the priority for new facilities is given to boys. In many cases, though, this is exacerbated by basic infrastructural problems: roads, running water, and electricity are often scarce.

The fourth reason girls are kept from school is because of the shortage of female teachers. The problem can be solved, but it starts with first educating girls so they can aspire to be teachers. The government, however, does not see this as a problem and continues to deny that there is gender inequality within the education sector. There have been efforts, as listed earlier, by the government to enroll more girls but this has not been for the nation of India, but rather for international recognition and numbers.

The Solution

All of these contribute to the issue of unequal access to education for girls along with many more issues. These four issues have many underlying issues that contribute to the overall problem. And to solve this issue we can look to three conclusions: NGOs and nonprofits, and the government’s response.

First, NGOs and nonprofits can offer the most helpful solution to this problem because of grassroots movements across rural India. Many of the past efforts have come from reviewing previous reports. NGOs and nonprofits work at a local scale where a difference can made, whereas the government has worked on a larger scale with less success.

Second, the government’s response can help the whole process of providing primary schools for girls. The Indian government has recognized the problem has been slow to act on the issue. As mentioned earlier, education is not a priority for the government right now; rather the government is focused on the economy. Without girls being involved in the future economy, the government is taking a risk and putting the issue off for another generation.

Be a part of the solution. Give to these four projects:

• Rural India Development Fund provides education for children in India. Go to Jolkona project 89.
• Volunteers Association for Bangladesh provides education for children in Bangladesh. Go to Jolkona project 136.
• Barakat, featured in this month’s Give2Girls campaign, provides education for girls in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Go to Jolkona project 6 and Jolkona project 103.

The loss of life is brutal. The estimates are catastrophic. Every year 365,000 women die of pregnancy related complications. Every year 3,200,000 infants die from mostly preventable conditions. Every year 20,000,000 unsafe abortions are performed, virtually all because of unwanted pregnancies. 20 million. It is horrifying. This can be changed. Take a few moments to look at this infographic. Click to enlarge it. Enlarge the parameters of your understanding. Engender change below.

Here are four projects featured in our Give2Girls campaign which are right now changing the lives of mothers and infants the globe over:

• iLeap tackles postpartum depression for women in Japan. Make a difference here.
• MADRE nourishes the needs of rape victims in Haiti Displacement Camps. Support the women of Haiti here.
• Himalayan Healthcare runs essential family planning clinics for women in Nepal. Keep a clinic open here.
• Calcutta Kids ensures healthy children by protecting vulnerable mothers in India. Protect these mothers here.

There is still time to double your difference with our matching campaign. Go to our campaign page for more information.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and share the love with your friends.

Tweet using the #give2girls hashtag.

Image credit: http://susanpolgar.blogspot.com

Women have been ethically and emotionally suppressed throughout history. But even today, women make up 70% of those who are living in poverty. This is likely due to women’s shrinking employment rates over the years. 66% of illiterate adults are women as well. Tony Cade Bambara said, “revolution begins with the self, in the self.” Empowerment can fuel an entire community when one person decides that what they have to say is important. Amidst such inequality and lack of resources, women continue to transcend difficulties with grace,attitude, and determination. It is notwonder why March 8 is a day dedicated to lighting your revolution of the self. Join Jolkona and I in celebrating the power of the human voice and what we are capable of:International Women’s Day is here!

International Women’s Day began as a social and political event designed to bring greater awareness of the need for women to have equal rights among men. Over decades of monumental change, the meaning behind this day has grown into so much more than just a governmental responsibility: each person who celebrates brings a unique aspect to what International Women’s Day truly means.

International Women’s Day Australina recorded thousand of people’s reactions and ideas about what this day means to them. Here is one such voice:

“International Women’s Day is now, of course, a day of celebration. A day when women can get together, celebrate being women– all [that] they’ve come through with a reminder of how much further there still is to go. I know that International Women’s Day didn’t start that way, it started as part of an industrial struggle[;] while there’s still a lot of struggling to be done I think there should be a strong emphasis on celebration.”

Here at Jolkona, we believe that recognizing today is vital for the advancement of women, and for celebrating the power women have brought and will continue to bring to our planet.

With CRAVE and women@google by our side, the Give2Girls campaign is our revolution to generating dynamic awareness and change within global communities. We are providing girls and women on every inch of planet Earth with a chance to grow confident, grow strong, and grow wise. No matter which Give2Girls project excites you, we will match your donation made on the site up to $500 per person until our $6,000 match runs out! Find your favorite project to give to on the Give2Girls campaign page.

Did we mention you will receive proofs for both of the donations? Share your story with family and friends when we update you with how your generous impact has transformed a woman’s life.

We would like to thank our very own volunteer Zanoon Nissar for spear-heading the campaign this year and raising our matching fund! Check out her video to learn why she believes in this campaign:

RSVP for our virtual event and help tell your friends about the Give2Girls campaign.

Get a Give2Girls gift card for a friend.

Follow us and share our updates on Facebook.

Tweet using the #give2girls hashtag.

viagra

Don’t invest in women and 150 million people could starve. FACT. This infographic illustrates perfectly just one of the myriad reasons why we must invest in women. Be it on our own heads if we don’t. Let’s not allow it to get to that point; Give2Girls.

Give women farmers in Sudan the resources, the education, and the chance  to be more productive here or provide sustainable bio-intensive farm training for women in Kenya to help them improve their yields  here.  Or look for our other projects with the Give2Girls logo

to see how you can empower the women of tomorrow by giving to the girls of today. Donate to any of these and we will match your donation up to $500!

Go to our campaign page to find out more.

Tell your friends about the Give2Girls campaign.

Follow us and share our updates on Facebook.

Tweet using the #give2girls hashtag.

How’s your knowledge of women’s history? Honestly. I’ll be the first to hold my hand up and say mine is a little patchy. Well, if you’re anything like me, then this month of March is your chance to change that. March is Women’s History Month – a world-wide movement that looks back and celebrates the tenacious achievements of women in our history, with a mind to looking forward and increasing awareness of the great distance that is yet to be traveled to achieve gender equality.

Introducing the Give2Girls matching campaign

To celebrate and participate in Women’s History Month, we’re proud to be launching our second Give2Girls matching campaign, running for the whole of March – starting today! We’re dedicating thirty one days to improving the lives of thousands of women and girls around the globe. Like last year, we’re partnering with the indefatigable CRAVE, a networking organization committed to connecting and promoting women entrepreneurs.

How will the campaign work?

Give to any of our 20+ projects related to women or girls, and we will match your donation, dollar for dollar, up to $500 per donor! Even better than that, though, we will double your proof. So donate $40 to educate one girl in Afghanistan for ten months, and we’ll send you the proof for how two girls have been educated. The campaign is being matched up to a total of $6,000.

Why this campaign?

Here are just some of the reasons:

• When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children.
• An extra year of primary school boosts girls’ eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary school: 15 to 25 percent.
• When women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40 percent for a man.
• The total global population of girls ages 10 to 24 – already the largest in history – is expected to peak in the next decade.
• One-quarter to one-half of girls in developing countries become mothers before age 18; 14 million girls aged 15 to 19 give birth in developing countries each year.
• Medical complications from pregnancy are the leading cause of death among girls ages 15 to 19 worldwide. Compared with women ages 20 to 24, girls ages 10 to 14 are five times more likely to die from childbirth, and girls 15 to 19 are up to twice as likely, worldwide.
• Approximately one-quarter of girls in developing countries are not in school.
• Out of the world’s 130 million out-of-school youth, 70 percent are girls.

(statistics taken from girleffect.org)

For too long women have been over-looked. Their worth within society, communities, and families has been woefully neglected. And the true absurdity of this is that the roles they play within these spheres are of paramount importance. But we’re not here to bemoan the past; we’re here to change the future. So let’s do that.

What can I do?

1. Educate yourself. Give a bit of your time to learning about the past and women’s history. You can start here at womenshistorymonth.org. Then, learn about the present. The sites are numerous, but here are a couple we like: girleffect.org and the UN’s womenwatch.

2. Spread the word. Share what you learn and share our campaign with your friends, families and social networks. Tweet using the hashtag #give2girls.

3. Change the future. Support the Give2Girls campaign and invest in the women of tomorrow by giving to the girls of today!

Empower women and girls the world over here.