| By John O’Shea
Printed in the Irish Examiner on International Women’s
Day, 8th March 2005
A stench-ridden straw hut in the remote Karo Kelo region of Ethiopia
provided one of my starkest memories of that horrendous Ethiopian
famine of 1984-85. And it continually serves to remind me of how
little the International Community cares for the lives of vulnerable
women in the Third World, on this, the UN International Women’s
Day.
On learning that the boss of the Third World agency which was providing
a measure of support to his starving fellow villagers, the chief,
ushered me towards his home suggesting that I avail of his hospitality
for the night. This was a signal honour (I was to learn subsequently).
Observing three women preparing for sleep outside the tukul (straw
hut), I quickly got the picture...his wives were being asked to
vacate their beds for the visitor.
On entering the tukul, I was immediately struck by the pungent
smell – and the sight of two cattle, on either side of the
“bed” convinced me that the chief’s set of values
differed substantially from the norm.
When the famine was at its most severe point in Ethiopia, mothers
sacrificed their own lives for those of their children - and yet
these cattle were considered more important than the wives of the
village chief.
The overall situation for vulnerable women in the developing world
hasn’t changed much - and at times I wonder if there is any
point in having an International Women’s Day. Talk alone and
conferences etc are of no benefit to the many millions of women
in the Developing World who toil selflessly in the interest of their
children.
What they need now is meaningful action from the International
Community.
Consider the following statistics:
§ In Syria a man who kills his wife after catching her committing
adultery is exempt from penalty.
§ In Lesotho, no immovable property can be registered in the
name of a woman.
§ Across sub-Saharan Africa, women face a 1 in 16 chance of
dying from pregnancy and childbirth, according to the World Health
Organisation.
§ In the developed world, less than 1 in 2,800 pregnant women
face the same fate.
§ Two thirds of the world’s 876 million illiterates
are women, according to the International Food Policy Research Institute
(IFPRI).
§ In some African countries, more than half of all women and
girls undergo female genital mutilation.
§ Common practices, such as allowing all the males of the
household to eat first, partly explain why 83% of women in India
suffer from iron deficiency anaemia. Not surprisingly therefore,
one-third of babies born in India are born with low birth weight.
(IFPRI)
Throughout its 27 year history GOAL has taken the view that to
get aid to children – it is best to work alongside concerned
women. In every tragic spot GOAL has visited we have found women
who will go that extra mile because they love their children and
the pity is of course that women are rarely to be found in positions
of control or authority. It’s time surely we had a revolution
for women. Until such time as women are in control of their own
destiny – the abject poverty from millions in the Third World
will continue unabated.
Perhaps some of the answers lie in education. By providing women
and girls with an education, the International Community can give
them the tools to gain economic power and the knowledge to begin
to improve life for future generations. Surely this is a battle
worth waging especially since the statisticians tell us that somewhere
between 75 and 80% of the Developing World’s illiterate population
are women.
Through the provision of education, we can give girls and women
the tools to gain economic power and the knowledge to begin to improve
life for future generations. This is a battle worth fighting for.
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