The stories we hear of women in developing countries are often heart breaking – they’re the stories of struggle, of lack of empowerment – like the one from this past week about the Afghan woman expected to marry her rapist. It’s not only heartening and inspiring – but also incredibly important – when we hear [...]
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The Sacrifice of Our Veterans
Veterans Day is a time to celebrate the men and women who have worn this nation’s uniform and to honor their service. When the nation called and asked, “Who among you will step forward and defend the Constitution? Who will leave your families, your home in order to protect what we hold most dear?” it [...]
Mary Robinson and The Elders Make Child Marriage Prevention a Top Priority
When the 66th General Assembly of the United Nations convened in New York City in mid-September, those striving to get attention for specific agendas presented their causes at satellite conferences around Manhattan. Members of The Elders, a contingent of independent global leaders focusing on “peace and human rights,” made appearances at the Clinton Global Initiative [...]
Inclusive Decision-Making During My Trip to Afghanistan
I just returned from a two week trip to Kabul, Afghanistan, where I was working on a project focusing on reaching women as voters, candidates and election officials as the country plans for its next election in 2013. It was a challenging time for Afghanistan, as the attack on the US Embassy occurred right before [...]
When I Met Wangari Maathai
I met Wangari Maathai in 2007 after a lecture at a university. I don’t remember much of her speech, but I do remember the calm sound of her voice and how she continued to sign books far after her handler told her they really really had to get to the airport now. She was kind [...]
Warriors & Peacemakers: Innovative PBS Documentary Series ‘Women, War and Peace’ Explores Women’s Role in Conflict
As crystallized in the coverage of the North African revolutions, journalists, media pundits and the public often forget women’s participation in conflict and security. When people discuss war, they often don’t take women or gender into account. Women become the forgotten collateral. Yet they consistently play a pivotal role. Women govern and lead their communities, [...]
We’re Tweeting All Day for Day of the Girl!
In case you didn’t already know, today is Day of the Girl! A year- long campaign, Day of the Girl is a project of School Girls Unite, an organization working to advance the U.N. Millennium Development goals related to gender equality, universal basic educations, and human rights issues. While women and girls have come a [...]
The Global Gag Rule: What’s Next?
Pro-lifers don’t want their hard-earned money funding abortions. And many of them generally don’t want their hard-earned money going overseas to begin with. So they definitely don’t want their hard-earned money going overseas to fund abortions. The Global Gag Rule was originally implemented by President Reagan via executive order. It was then rescinded by President [...]
What’s Next for Women and the Arab Spring
Revolutions have consequences. Since the beginning of the year, we’ve seen longstanding and repressive regimes fall in North Africa, and continuing protests across the Middle East and Gulf. In real time, we are watching people struggle with how to structure new institutions, build democratic governments and rebuild (or build) a non-governmental civil society. They are [...]
7 Billion and Counting
On October 31st, the world’s population will reach 7 billion. With this historical milestone in sight, UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) has issued a call-to-action to renew our commitment to work for a healthier, more sustainable world. How women and girls become change-agents in their own lives and how we empower them is crucial to [...]