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Did You Know?
What exactly is women’s empowerment? It is simply the giving
of power to the world’s women. This can be done by providing access to
education, giving a political voice, ensuring safety, and protecting human and
civil rights. Though half of the world is made up of women, it is that half of
the world that has the least amount of power.
There are many barriers that prevent women from having
power. Some of the main areas include violence against women, such as domestic
abuse and rape; female poverty; and gender equality in areas such as government
and the workforce. All of these issues stem from basic human rights, and much
of the barriers stem from discrimination against women.
In 1979, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Also known as
the Bill of Rights for Women, it has served to help increase the rights of
women worldwide by defining exactly what discrimination against women is and
creating standards for women around the world. However, some countries have not
adopted CEDAW, and there are some countries that have but do not abide by its mandates. In
fact, more than 45 countries have actual laws that discriminate against
women — yet many of them have adopted CEDAW!
So how do we as a people make women equal? How do those of
us who are women get ahead? It is not easy, but we know it can be done. Women
have been struggling for freedom and succeeding for centuries. Because of their
courage and unwavering dedication to obtain their freedom, many women can
now vote, hold public office, own property, and receive an education, and have
hundreds of other liberties that were not available to them before.
By
providing women with the tools they need to succeed — such
as adequate health care, education, fair pay for their work, child
care, and
safety — and working together internationally to change the way women
are viewed worldwide, we can ensure these freedoms for all women.
Discrimination must
end, and women must be seen as equals to be treated as such. The
adoption and
enforcement of CEDAW is an important step.
Visit the other pages in this section to learn more about empowering women — discover how to help young girls, mothers,
women of all ages — even you can create a better way of life so that women
worldwide will not simply survive but thrive.
As a global community, we can build a world of equality together.
Lesser Known Facts
Women make up half of the global population, but 1 billion
women — or one-fifth of the population — are the poorest people on the planet.
One
in three women will either be abused or raped in her lifetime. One out
of every seven married women will even be raped by her own husband.
Educated women are more likely to earn higher wages, and have healthier and educated children. Just one extra year of
school can increase a woman’s work wages by 15% to 25%. But of all the children
in the world not attending school, 70% are girls, and 75% of the 1 billion
people who cannot read in the world are women.
Every year, 5,000 women are killed by their own family
members in honor killings.
One in every seven girls in developing countries will get married
before the age of 15; 38% marry before the age of 18. Two million girls are forced
into marriage worldwide every year; between 25% to half of all girls in
developing countries will become mothers before the age of 18.
Only one-half of every U.S. cent of aid spent in developing countries is
set aside for just girls.
When women and girls receive income, they invest 90% of it
into their families — as opposed to 30% to 40% by men.
While women work two-thirds of the world’s working hours and make
half of the world’s food, they only earn 10% of the world’s income and own less
than 1% of the world’s property.
In Russia
alone, a woman is killed every hour due to domestic violence. Domestic violence
kills more women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, war, malaria, and traffic accidents; and it
is the largest cause of death and injury to women around the world.
Ten years from now, 80% of women in industrialized countries
and 70% of women globally will work outside the home.
Four million women and girls are kidnapped, or trafficked, and
made into sex slaves or servants every year. Another 60 million girls are
“missing” worldwide because of infanticide — or the killing of a baby because of her gender.
Women can face many threats at work, including: sexual
harassment, discrimination, physical abuse, and mandated pregnancy exams as a condition to work (or being
denied work if pregnant and/or having children).
Each year, 500,000 women die in childbirth. A woman dies
every minute from pregnancy-related causes — but most of these causes are
preventable.
75% of war fatalities are women and children.
Of all the world’s assets, only 1% are in the name of women.
Globally, 15% of parliament seats belong to women. The following countries have all had women as
their President, Prime Minister, or Premier at least once in the last century:
Argentina, Bangladesh, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Burundi, Canada, Chile, Dominica, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain,
Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel,
Jamaica, Malta, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Netherlands Antilles, New
Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Panama, Peru,
Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, South
Korea, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, and Yugoslavia.
While some countries balk at the idea of women rulers, the
idea is not new; kingdoms and tribes have had their share of women rulers for
centuries. In fact, some groups, called matriarchies, were ruled mostly or
completely by women. Some of these still exist today.
In some countries like Qatar where women wear the burqa,
it can be difficult to run for public office since these women cannot use
photos of themselves during their campaign.
Commonplace cultural violence against women in some
countries is a horror to other nations. In India, an estimated 5,000 women are
killed each year because their in-laws think that their dowries are not enough.
More
than 90 million African girls and women have been victims of female
circumcision or female genital mutilation; while 6,000 more undergo the "operation"
every day. These "operations" are especially difficult to combat because of the cultural
setting and local beliefs.
Some countries support mothers by helping with expenses or
child care, providing tax credits for children, and even offering money to women
who adopt healthy habits while pregnant, such as quitting smoking.
A woman’s menstrual cycle can be a barrier to empowerment.
Girls without access to sanitary napkins or clean facilities are unable to
attend school during menstruation.
Women can be attacked or killed in some countries for acts
that men would not be punished for, some examples include: adultery, refusing a man’s
attentions, or even being raped. In fact, some countries have little or no laws
that protect these women from being attacked with acid, stoned to death, or
punished in other horrific ways.
Women in the United States make 79% of the amount of money
that working men make; this is called the “gender wage gap.” Worldwide, the
gender wage gap is about 16%; this means that the average woman earns 16% less
than the average man. No country in the world has equal wages between men and women.
Abortion is completely outlawed in some countries, allowed
in some countries, and restricted in others; 78,000 women die each year from
unsafe abortions.
Typically, women in industrialized areas have less than two
children, while women in sub-Saharan Africa and west Asia have five or six children.
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