Rich Country, Poor Children

The other night I watched a disturbing report on 60 Minutes about newly homeless children in Florida who were living in vans and cheap motels, studying by candlelight, and getting ready for school in public bathrooms. A large segment of these children were living with parents who made a comfortable living and owned homes just two, three, or even one year ago.

Now I am not a naïve U.S. citizen -- I know that the poverty rates in the wealthiest nation are at record highs, and the middle class is disappearing. Women, once employed at a higher rate than their male counterparts, are now facing the same unemployment rates as men. According to a recent story in the New York Times, the portion of American women at work declined to 53 percent in February, the lowest levels since 1988.

I have accepted that the jobless rate may remain the same, or possibly rise as projected, for a few more years. But I cannot accept the fact that our children are starving as our economy is booming and our bankers are reaching record profits.

According to the 60 Minutes report:

The government considers a family of four to be impoverished if they take in less than $22,000 a year. Based on that standard, and government projections of unemployment, it is estimated the poverty rate for kids in this country will soon hit 25 percent. Those children would be the largest American generation to be raised in hard times since the Great Depression.

I then discovered something greatly disappointing about my country: since its inception in 1989, only two countries have not ratified UNICEF's Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) -- the U.S. and Somalia.

On the presidential campaign trail, candidate Obama expressed a strong interest in ratifying the global initiative; in 2009, his administration then claimed the U.S. would sign on. That was two years ago, and we now have a rising poverty rate that will affect 1 in every 4 children.

Can our policy makers at the very least begin the process of attaining higher standards of living for our children and future generations?

According to UNICEF's site, the CRC:

"...highlights the unalienable rights of children. It establishes that governments will, to the best of their ability, ensure that all children have adequate shelter and a safe living environment, nutritious food, clean water, health care, and education. It grants children the opportunity to voice their opinions and concerns. In essence, the CRC requires governments to protect the humanity and value the potential of all children."

The Obama administration has a lot of policy decisions on the agenda that are surely taking a precedence over the CRC. But without prioritizing the millions of voiceless children suffering right now, the country is not prioritizing its own future. To tell your legislators to ratify the CRC, sign this petition.

Women Make a Huge Impact on Protests in Egypt

A demonstrator kisses a soldier in Cairo. Image courtesy of Lefteris Pitarakis, AP.

"Whoever says women shouldn’t go to protests because they will get beaten, let him have some honor and manhood and come with me on January 25th...If you have honor and dignity as a man, come. Come and protect me and other girls in the protest. If you stay at home, then you deserve all that is being done, and you will be guilty before your nation and your people. And you’ll be responsible for what happens to us on the streets while you sit at home."

Twenty-six year-old Asmaa Mahfouz said these words just one week prior to "The Day of Anger" protests against the Mubarak regime, in an online video, her face shown plainly to the world.

Her video was said to spark a large segment of the demonstrators; and, according to the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights, 20 percent of those demonstrators were women. Some estimates put that number at around 50 percent. But even if those figures were lower, the presence of women activists in the Egyptian public sphere -- whether virtual or seen in Tahrir Square -- is unprecedented.

“Female participation is at an equal standing -- just like male participation -- and female demonstrators are not shying away from marching despite the tear gas,” said Amr Hamzawy, a research director at the Carnegie Middle East Center, to the New York Times. “It’s very impressive,” he said. “It’s not about male and female, it’s about everyone.”

A large female presence in the streets of Cairo--with little to zero sexual harassment reported--should not be seen as insignificant. Though women have protested alongside men in the past, reports of government confrontation targeting women are common. While covering a trial in 2005, journalist Mona Eltahawy noted that she was inappropriately touched by a police officer.

“Many women have experienced much more horrendous attacks,” she said. “It was very saddening, but also gratifying that these young women were prepared. They would say things like wear two layers of clothes so that if they rip off the first, you’re still dressed. No zippers. Carry a can of mace. If you wear a headscarf, make sure you tie it this way and not that way and wear two. … They [women] were determined because the purpose of these assaults and targeting women, obviously, is to shame these women and to terrorize them…These young women will not be scared away. We are standing up for our rights to be active and equal members of Egyptian society, which, again, gives me hope looking forward.”

The gains made for women's rights have yet to materialize in the world of politics, but the outlook is certainly optimistic. While Mubarak was in office this past November, Al Jazeera reported that a new law had been passed by the People's Assembly to allow 64 more seats in the house for women. If changed from its current status of only four seats, the law could mean an increase of 1,500% more women making decisions affecting the lives of all Egyptians. In the 1970s, a quota had been established to create more seats for female legislators, but it was repealed in 1986.

With enough momentum, the presence of women demonstrators in Cairo may be seen as a major turning point for gender equality in Egypt. A time when Egyptians chose a higher standard of living for themselves, with women leading the way.

Intervention in the Streets

A group of Blank Noise activists take over a bus in 2003. Image: flickr

In America, when a man directs unwanted attention towards a woman or initiates sexual advances, it's called sexual harassment. But in Northern India, the term is "eve teasing," and it's getting a strong backlash thanks to a coalition of female artists called Blank Noise. Last month, several women from various cities joined forces to share their experiences and walk the streets together. Calling themselves "Action Heroes," the women became both activists and performance artists.

Blank Noise began in Bangalore, as a student art project, in 2003. Mimicking the "Take Back The Night" movements in the United States, the group unites large groups of women and encourages them to walk the streets at night as a collective, making a statement to the men who could otherwise harass them individually. Participants "Reclaim the Streets" in other ways as well: from spray painting the testimonies of sexual harassment victims in public places, to wearing clothing bearing anti-harassment messages.

MAKE CHANGE: Camfed

IMOW recently conducted a survey asking for feedback from the users of our website. We wanted to know what people liked, what they didn't like, and what they wanted to see more of--and we heard a resounding "MORE!" from hundreds of people who wanted the Museum to offer ways to take actions and make changes around the world.

Well, here is our first step toward satisfying that request: Our "Make Change" feature. Every week, we'll use this column to feature a way to get involved and make a difference in the lives of women around the world.

For our inaugural offering, we wanted to highlight the work of one of our amazing partner organizations: Camfed, the Campaign for Female Education, which focuses on battling gender inequity and HIV/AIDS in Africa by investing in young girls and women. They do incredible work.

Now here's where you MAKE CHANGE: Sign up for Camfed's mailing list by clicking here. Yep, that's it! This simple action will provide a year's worth of pencils to girls in Africa. To recap: Your email address = a year's worth of essential learning supplies for girls in need. How easy, and awesome, is that?