In U.S. Elections, Global Women's Rights at Stake

Suffragettes, 1921 (via Wikipedia)

Two very different visions for the future of women around the world are on the ballot today as Americans head for the polls to decide between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The U.S. media has provided ample coverage of the so-called ‘War on Women,’ that is, the Republican initiatives that give fetuses and embryos more human rights than the pregnant mothers who carry them (Romney supports the “personhood” of a fertilized egg, which could, by law, charge pregnant women with murder if they have an abortion; or worse, demand that a woman carry a child to term even if her life is at risk). But little has been said about what a Mitt Romney administration means to women on a global scale. Romney’s website states:

Mitt believes that life begins at conception and wishes that the laws of our nation reflected that view. But while the nation remains so divided, he believes that the right next step is for the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade… Mitt supports the Hyde Amendment, which broadly bars the use of federal funds for abortions. As president, he will end federal funding for abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood.

Never mind that Planned Parenthood also offers birth control consultations, funding for breast and cervical cancer screenings, and free STD testing among other crucial services for those who cannot afford it. 

Candidate Romney’s agenda for reversing a woman’s right to choose is not confined to U.S. borders. If elected, he will reinstate the global gag rule, or Mexico City Policy, which will disavow any U.S. aid to family planning services that offer abortions. The gag rule also demands that family planning practitioners receiving U.S. aid remain silenced on abortion, no matter what the circumstances, thereby hindering free speech on an international scale. The European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development petitioned the U.S. Congress condemning the gag rule, stating that it “undermines internationally agreed consensus and goals."

Romney also believes in cutting off money for the United Nations Population Fund. Nicholas Kristof, author of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, says that he has witnessed the United Nations Population Fund’s valuable work in “supporting contraception, repairing obstetric fistulas, and fighting to save the lives of women dying in childbirth.”

According to Rutgers’ Center for American Women and Politics, voter turnout in presidential elections among women has been proportionately larger than that of men since 1980. Here’s to hoping that this trend continues, and that American women realize how powerful their vote could be for the future of other women, children, and families around the world.

Traversing India to Support Public Health Programs

 CORE Group's leadership, including Pinky Patel (fourth from left), in India.

CORE Group, a public health organization based in Washington, DC, has an admirable vision: a world of healthy communities, where no mother or child dies of preventable causes. An extremely dedicated and effective nonprofit, I recently interviewed Pinky Patel, CORE Group's Communication Manager, about their recent trip through India to visit, learn from, and support successful public health programs.


You recently traveled through India with CORE Group. Tell me a bit about why you all made the journey, some goals, and also some surprises.

This year, to meet the professional development and learning needs of the CORE Group community, we launched the annual Practioner Academy Community Health Workshop. This workshop is designed to bring together public health professionals from all over the world to spend a week visiting and learning from a successful community health project. For our first site, we selected the Comprehensive Rural Health Project (CRHP), founded in 1970 by Drs. Raj and Mabelle Arole. With the community always in mind, CRHP pioneered the principles of comprehensive, community-based primary care. Communities are encouraged to take health into their own hands through the support of the Village Health Workers (VHWs), community groups such as women’s groups, farmers groups, and adolescent groups, and the mobile health outreach team and CRHP hospital and training center.

Pinky along with women village health workers.

My role was to film the workshop and interview the participants, Village Health Workers, communities, and Comprehensive Rural Health Project staff to capture lessons learned and understand what makes this model so successful. 

I knew I would bear witness to some amazing stories and learn a lot, but I had no idea just how touching and inspiring so many of the women and girls would be. Each and every VHW has such a tremendous story of overcoming incredible challenges. They shared their stores with us about starting out as illiterate, low-caste girls, not able to allow even their shadows to touch another person. They endured early child marriages, early and sometimes dangerous pregnancies, abusive husbands and in-laws, and extraordinary poverty. Most reached breaking points that they barely overcame.

But, then they became a part of Comprehensive Rural Health Project's training program, which empowered and trained them to become VHWs, learning about life-saving community-based health approaches. They were trained to treat diarrhea, check for leprosy, provide pre and ante-natal care, and even perform safe deliveries in people's homes. They also addressed broad community concerns such as the low-status of women, the caste system, poverty, traditional beliefs, agricultural production, watershed development, and appropriate technology. Tackling the social determinants of health and empowering the whole community is the key to their success and central to the CRHP model.

Children, particularly girls, face great obstacles to receive education. 

Having close ties to India, do you feel that the portrayal of women and girl's is accurate in worldwide media? If not, what could be done to change or better illustrate a more accurate point of view and thus perception?

I was born in the States but have traveled to and throughout India many times. I believe that the media and even public health practitioners could do a better job of portraying and promoting the strength and potential of Indian girls and women.

Thankfully, there are many campaigns trying to protect girls against the incredibly high rates of infanticide throughout India. Many of these campaigns are trying to educate parents, families, and communities on the potential of the girl child. As one young girl told me, "Girls are perceived as a burden from the time of birth until death. Yet, it is us that give birth, raise our children, care for our families, and work so hard to make life better for those we love. We are NOT burdens! We deserve the chance to live our lives."

Within the public health, what are the main concerns facing young girls, both rural and urban?

Girls in India face extreme discrimination yet show incredible resiliency.

Unfortunately, for many girls, it is a challenge to simply be born! With the high rates of female infanticide, many are never even given the chance to have a life. If born, many face horrible discrimination, extreme poverty, and incredibly tragic circumstances. Many are denied an education, forced into early child marriages and sexual encounters, give birth before their young bodies are even fully developed, and struggle to ensure the health and safety of their children amongst incredibly challenging circumstances especially if they are living in rural areas without access to services.

The low-status of women throughout India, and the world, MUST be addressed if we ever really hope to change the world. Empowering a girl not only changes her life, but every generation after!

Share one (or some) of the most meaningful stories you heard from females during various trips throughout India.

While everyone I have ever interviewed left a lasting impact on me, there is one story that genuinely broke my heart but also reminded me of how powerful a woman can be. For the sake of confidentiality, I will call her Ambika.

Ambika was forced into an early child marriage at the age of 12 to a man 21 years her senior. She was forced to have sex and became pregnant with twins by age 16. She struggled with the pregnancy and eventually lost one child- the boy- and was left with a girl, which was a death sentence for her and her daughter. Despite having NO control over the sex of her child, she was beaten and BURNED and almost died as a result of having a girl-child. Thankfully, she survived and escaped with her daughter. Amika is now slowly rebuilding her life. Despite enduring such horrible tragedies, she believes in a brighter future, especially for her daughter. She is determined to make that happen by teaching her daughter of her potential, providing her with an education and a healthy adolescence free from marriage or pregnancy.

Women of Kashmir and Drug Addiction

Recently, the Inter Press Service reported on the female drug addicts of Kashmir. Very little help is available for these women. Torn between international politics and local customs, women in Kashmir have become the victims of badly administered policy. As a result, their social standing, psychological welfare, and general health have greatly suffered as have their communities.

Many Westerners think of Kashmir as somewhere near Pakistan and Afghanistan where a bunch of terrorists may hide as they force their
women into hijabs. Although this image has been imposed onto Kashmiri women, their ancestry shows a different face -- and, for me, a very personal one.

My paternal grandmother was from Kashmir, but she didn’t grown up there. Along with the rest of my family, my great grandparents on both sides emigrated to Kenya mainly through forced British displacement when labor was needed for imperialist colonies. However, my great grandmother brought her customs with her and relatives of mine always reminisce of Kashmir being the Switzerland of Northern India. The women of Kashmir had equal rights with men and over 100 years ago they also had equal decree to land rights. This was sophistication heaven, so women like my grandmother were connoisseurs of perfume, with the Kashmiris adopting Persian methods of pressing roses for face oil and perfume. Different types of brewed teas were standard in most households. Many people, literate and illiterate, recited poetry in mixed gender settings. There has always been an influence of types of medicinal drug use. My grandmother talked about seeing men smoke hookas as a relaxing ritual. Herbs such as opiates were also used medicinally, and she talked about squeezing poppy seeds for the milk, which would then be boiled and used as a remedy to ease aching joints. When did ritual turn into the hardcore drug use found throughout Kashmir today?

The Abortion Debate: How It Infringes Upon Women's Health and Rights

A few weeks ago, The Lancet, a well respected medical journal, published a study reporting the trends of worldwide abortion from 1995 to 2008. The outcome was disheartening: Rates of unsafe abortion had increased from 1995 to 2008. Amidst sustained campaigning against abortion from religious organizations, the pro-choice study focused on the religious right and how deeply they are infringing upon a woman’s choice and negatively affecting women's health.

According to the study, banning abortion does nothing to reduce the number of women who attempt it. In fact, banning abortion actually increases the abortion rate, while it simultaneously makes the procedure much less safe for the woman. This results in an increase of women dying from unsafe abortions.

The fact is, there are many nonreligious reasons why women choose to have an abortion. There are multiple realities surrounding every woman's choice, all of which religious institutions rarely take into account. Any women facing an unplanned pregnancy takes into strong consideration her own health and having enough financial means to give birth to then raise a healthy child. (The United States, for example, has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world.) She thinks about the timing and spacing as well as number of pregnancies she wants to have. Length of pregnancy leave versus cost of childcare. Government support. Social programs. How much familial support is possible. Cost of education. The factors of how to assess quality of life and care are beyond extensive. Yet, strong themes also emerge when looking at abortion access and safety in the realm of religious argument.

Virginity, Teen Pregnancy, and Scholarship

School girls in Sierra Leone

Bo, Sierra Leone's second largest city has started a new scholarship program to keep girls in school. The only catch...they must remain virgins through their educational career to keep the scholarship. City councilman Mathew Margao said the scholarship will ensure that “80 percent of school going girls keep their virginity until they finish their educational life”. Margao added that, “the council will hire female medical personnel who would prove the authenticity of the girls virginity”. The council started the scholarship in response to a reported rise in teenage pregnancy from the Ministry of Gender and Social Welfare. There were 500 reported secondary school pregnancies in Kailahun a town to the east of Bo.

Pregnant teens in Sierra Leone face greater risks at childbirth. They accounted for 40 percent of all maternal deaths in 2008. Family planning experts say that sex education and contraceptive use do more to reduce unplanned pregnancies amongst teens. But in Sierra Leone where 70 percent of pregnant teens are already married one might argue that these pregnancies are planned. Even the youngest teens in Sierra Leone sometimes look forward to becoming mothers. They are unaware of the risks they might face during childbirth or the possible neonatal affects on the baby. Those teenage moms who do survive the ordeal of losing a baby are sometimes eager to try again. Our culture tells us that losing a baby at birth is either God’s will or caused by witchcraft.

Many parents sometimes encourage older, wealthier suitors for their teenage daughters. This is not to say that young girls don’t date boys their own age. But many young women , especially from low income single parent households are encouraged to find men who will provide for them financially.

While the idea that the government in Bo believes it lawful to violate the bodies of young women with its virgin scholarship is problematic, the real question of how to effectively combat teen pregnancy in Sierra Leone still remains.

When the powers that be conceived 'free healthcare for expecting mothers and children under 5', it was simply to fight the nation's discouraging maternal mortality rates. It was not a holistic women’s reproductive health policy to address all aspects of women’s health. Sierra Leone’s private and public health systems have yet to adequately address the issue of teenage pregnancy so politicians in places like Bo have to find their own solutions.

The most ostentatious efforts to target teenage pregnancy by NGOs or the Ministry of Health are limited to outdated bill boards warning girls to refrain from getting pregnant least they become drop outs with no opportunities. The health NGOs and the public health system refuse to acknowledge that teenage girls in Sierra Leone will discover  and experiment with their sexuality much like girls all over the world. Teenage girls in Sierra Leone will have sex with boys their age and with men much older than they are. Some will do so of their own free will while others will be seduced by wealth, status, etc.

Teenagers need to be properly educated and counseled about the consequences of being sexually active in a modern world. They need to have access to contraceptives. I once interviewed a young woman in Freetown who said she didn’t use condoms because she was afraid it would get stuck in her stomach. Who is going to teach her otherwise? Politicians like councilman Margao?

Breast Cancer Awareness Month: For Women Globally.

Breast Cancer is a type of cancer that predominantly affects women. One in eight women will receive a diagnosis of breast cancer. It affects women of all races and is most prevalent in women over 50 years of age. There are risk factors such as age, genetics, medication, and environmental exposure to certain toxins that can increase or exacerbate risk.

Risk factors can vary depending on race, environment, and culture. For example, a study by the World Cancer Research Fund attributed the drinking culture in Britain to the higher incidence of breast cancer in women. This was compared to women in East Africa where women have virtually no exposure to alcohol. The highest incidence rates are in women in the West including the United States, United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and Canada. However, ethnic women in western countries are also at a greater risk. The World Health Organization (WHO) attributes this increased risk in the West to the lifestyle.

Regardless of location, women should be taught to be aware of any changes in the breast. For some women it is uncomfortable touching or looking at their bodies, so health educators have begun to address this through creative resources that are inclusive to all women.

Worldwide Gynecological Awareness Month: Interview with Dr George Sawaya

Every year over a million women worldwide are diagnosed with a gynecological cancer. September is Worldwide Gynecological Awareness Month, which incorporates the awareness of the following five major cancers: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar. 

Women in all parts of the world are at risk of gynecological cancers, but this risk is exacerbated in areas of the world where access to prevention and treatment is low. Over 80% of cervical cancer cases occur in the developing world, and lack of regular Pap smears and other interventional measures may contribute to this statistic

To cap off Worldwide Gynecological Awareness month, I spoke with Dr. George Sawaya, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco. His current research is in cervical cancer screening with particular interest in new technologies, cost-effectiveness and utility, novel approaches to population-based screening and risk communication. Dr Sawaya has also served on the cervical cancer guidelines committee for the American Cancer Society and the US Preventive Services Task Force.


Ruby Singhrao: Death from cervical cancer is high in many developing countries but lower in North America, Europe and Australia. What measures have been taken in these countries to reduce the risk of cervical cancer?
Dr George Sawaya: The United States has had widespread screening for cervical cancer using the Pap smear since the 1950’s. The risk of cervical cancer is driven by how much screening is available in the population, at least for now. We don’t know yet what the effect of HPV vaccination will be on cervical cancer, so currently the cornerstone of prevention is ] early detection of pre-cancerous lesions with treatment before they turn into cancer.


RS: So it seems that cervical cancer is one of the few gynecological cancers that can be prevented.
DR GS: Yes, cervical cancer is the poster child for gynecologic cancer prevention since it aims to detect and treat pre-cancerous lesions., Screening for colorectal cancer works in a similar way. Screening for breast cancer, on the other hand, aims to detect early cancers, so the benefit is mainly in preventing cancer deaths.

On Gynecological Awareness Month

Every year over a million women worldwide are diagnosed with a gynecological cancer. September is Worldwide Gynecological Awareness Month, which incorporates the awareness of the following five major cancers: cervical, ovarian, uterine, vaginal, and vulvar.

Women in all parts of the world are at risk of gynecological cancers, but this risk is exacerbated in areas of the world where access to prevention and treatment is low. Over 80% of cervical cancer cases occur in the developing world, and lack of regular pap smears and other interventional measures may contribute to this statistic. This series will explore these types of Gynecological cancers, compare western treatments to those in the developing world, as well as highlight resources for women. An interview with Dr. George Sawaya, Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences at the University of California San Francisco will also be included.

Secretary Clinton says women’s health “must be at the top of the agenda”

To watch video or read full text of Secretary Clinton’s remarks on global women’s health, click here.

If you live the United States, you see them everywhere: pink ribbons on t-shirts, hats, cars and even on professional football players’ jerseys. But breast cancer – and other women-specific cancers – is indeed a global epidemic.

A new initiative that combines resources from several government and corporate entities aims to combat these health issues in developing countries. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently helped launch the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign in Washington, D.C., heavily emphasizing the importance of women’s health.

“If we want to make progress on some of the toughest challenges we face in global health—fighting HIV, preventing childhood deaths, improving nutrition, stopping malaria, and more—then investing in women must be at the top of the agenda,” Secretary Clinton said in her remarks. She went on to highlight the crucial matriarchal role women play in developing countries, providing labor, food and child care for their families.

“The conclusion is clear that if we want to make a difference when it comes to investing in health, then we must invest in women,” she said.

A secondary objective of the campaign is to prevent new cases of HIV, which has been shown to increase the risk of cervical cancer. Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon will be focused on developing areas of the world, with partners working with local governments to provide cancer screenings, education and human papilloma virus vaccines.

Joining forces on Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon are a variety of partners, including the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the United Nations and various pharmaceutical companies that will provide vaccines to regions in need. An initial focus will be on sub-Saharan Africa.

What do you think it will take to reduce levels of women-specific cancers in developing countries? What additional regions do you feel direly need these services, outside sub-Saharan Africa?

Health and Cultural Impacts of Female Genital Mutilation or Cutting (FGM/C)

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a cultural process that involves the cutting of the female genitalia. Although it is widely known as FGM, in the field prefer to address it as "cutting," so that the stigma of mutilation is not endowed upon women who have undergone this rite.

FGM is mainly practiced in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. Its presence has been historically documented over thousands of years and it transcends religious affiliations. Until recently, many people in the West attributed to a practice of tribal communities. However, this is not always the case, because tradition seems to prevail regardless of social status. In the increasingly global community in which we live, the custom of FGM is often brought over with migrants who move to Europe or the United States. Young girls of immigrants may be sent back home on holiday to undergo the rite or a cutter, the person who performs the rite, may be in the community.

The awareness of FGM in the West has posed new problems both around cultural understanding and health management toward these female immigrants. In the West, FGM is generally viewed as a barbaric, cruel, and unnecessary procedure for women and girls. This view is valid and the World Health Organization (WHO) has also put weight behind eradication of the procedure. However, many people fail to acknowledge that communities practicing FGM do so out of custom. It is not seen as an act of punishment. This may be difficult to digest, but communities who do this to their daughters do so to preserve their honor in marriage. The cutting, and sometimes sewing, is what a man expects when he marries to ensure his wife’s honor has been preserved. Without this seal of approval a woman can be rejected and in parts of the world where a woman’s livelihood depends on her allegiance to a man, not having undergone this violation can result in a life spent in solitude.

Tears are wiped from the face of a 9-month old following her circumcision
Copyright: Stephanie Sinclair, New York Times

From a health perspective, the complications resulting from FGM are often not openly discussed in communities due to respectful discretion. Yet, the complications are often severe and can be lifelong. Cutting any of the vulva tissues causes intense pain; women can die from hemorrhage; and shock from the procedure is common. Then, there is the risk of infection. Most FGM is not practiced in sterile conditions, a blade may be used on a number of girls. Some cutters employ the alternative of sharp stones or broken glass. There is also the psychological trauma that these girls suffer and may continue to be affected by as women. Finally, there is the possibility of long-term complications. These can range from painful or blocked menses, difficulty in passing urine, urinary tract infections, infertility, increased risk of fistula and, finally, increased risk of maternal and child morbidity due to obstructed labor.

Women Gather for a Cutting Ceremony
Copyright: IRIN - Integrated Regional Information Networks

In traditional settings, herbal remedies and rest would be used to alleviate the symptoms. In the West, women may try health clinics to access treatment. This poses another problem: immigrant women often face a multitude of barriers preventing them adequate access to healthcare to begin with. Many women who have tried to access treatment express the cultural incompetency of health professionals who often judge the practice and express visible horror at the sight of their genitalia. Health professionals in the West have often not seen genitals that have been cut, and some minority women may feel too timid to even see a doctor. Furthermore, health professionals may not have an understanding about what the consequences of FGM are or how to effectively deal with the problems resulting from the procedure. Education on the topic among health professionals remains a highly specialized field and enough information has not trickled down to more generalized health professionals

On the upside, clinics have been formed in communities of immigrants to specially address health problems from FGM. On an international level, work from UNICEF, WHO, and other global health agencies as well as celebrity campaigns such as Waris Darie through the Desert Flower Foundation have helped reduce -- and sometimes eradicate --FGM from communities where it is practiced.

Through appropriate dialogue and education, communities can continue to make progress in this area as should the medical community.

HPV Stigma in Women of Color

When the English celebrity Jade Goody found out she had cervical cancer at age 27, there was an outcry of sympathy in the UK, as well as a stampede of young women rushing to the clinics. Most didn't know why they were heading to the clinic, but they knew they needed a pap smear, and they hoped that if they got this procedure done, it would mean they wouldn't die of cancer.

Goody, a darling of reality TV, found out about her cancer diagnosis on Bigg Boss, the Indian equivalent of the show Big Brother. She was on the show to try to make amends for previous crass and racist statements she made about the Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. (Goody herself was mixed race--half white and half West Indian.) Once diagnosed with cervical cancer, Goody immediately flew back to London where the general public worried, empathized and supported her in her journey.

The reaction in India was completely different. Members of the public went so far as to burn effigies of Goody. Many thought that she deserved to die for insulting Shetty, and she was being punished karmically by this devastating disease. Those who knew about the link between HPV (a sexually transmitted infection) and cervical cancer suggested that she had brought the disease upon herself.


But the attitudes of Indian men and women toward Goody's disease raises questions about the kind of support available to Indian women who have HPV. Because most forms of cervical cancer are linked to HPV (which is sexually transmitted), there are moral and ethical implications for women diagnosed with cervical cancer, especially in countries or cultures where monogamy and virginity-until-marriage is the norm. A study by Cancer Research UK looked at attitudes of HPV testing among Indian, Pakistani, Afro-Caribbean and White British women, and found that all of the women were confused about whether or not cervical cancer was linked to a sexually transmitted infection (in most cases it is). While all the women surveyed said that if they were diagnosed with HPV they would suspect their husbands of infidelity, only Indian and Pakistani women surveyed expressed fears that they would be blamed for contracting the virus from a man other than their husband.

In Health and Hope: Girls on the Run Teaches the Power of Positivity

Last Saturday Girls on the Run Manhattan converged at Asphalt Green on the Upper East Side to complete their 5K race in culmination of their Fall 2010 season. With 17 sites throughout New York City and 200 girls, the East River and Carl Schurz Park was filled with active, healthy girl runners in pursuit of finishing a champion.

Earlier in the week, I had trained with the Girls on the Run (GOTR) team pictured here at Sisulu-Walker in West Harlem. When Sisulu-Walker opened in 1999, it became New York City's first public charter school. Named after two African leaders, Walter Sisulu, who is acknowledged as the father of the South African anti-apartheid liberation movement, Sisulu was also responsible for recruiting Nelson Mandela into the African National Congress (ANC) in the 1940s where together they grew the ANC into the most prominent human rights organization that fought for the liberation of black South Africans. The school's name also honors Dr. Wyatte Tee Walker who is an internationally recognized pastor, author, lecturer and advocate for human and civil rights. He was executive director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference under Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

Stretching in the gymnasium and then running along Harlem Meer in Central Park during their final practice before the race, the Sisulu-Walker GOTR team shared they were nervous, but also ready for the 5K. Each week the lessons accompanying the Girls on the Run program feature training runs, but also focus on topics ranging from peer pressure to bullying and trust to healthy eating habits. Cheyenne who is asthmatic and was known as "The Quiet Storm" last season when I coached her, because she will often quietly catch up and pass teammates, told me that this season she still found every lesson to be her favorite. Seated together in a circle when I asked each member of the Sisulu-Walker GOTR team why they loved coming to practice, they voiced communally how contagious the program's positivity. In fact, almost every girl shared that what she loved best about GOTR is how positive it is.

Sisulu-Walker coaches Jayme Heffler and Kristen Kawecki also spoke about how vibrant the GOTR atmosphere. Kristen came to Girls on the Run after seeing it featured in Health magazine while Jayme wanted to reach young girls. In an interview, Jayme shared, "I want to give back and I want to help these girls find themselves and their inner 'runner.' I love their energy, enthusiasm, and how they have each found their positive cord. I tended to be a non-athletic, yet energetic young kid, and found my sports later in college. Exercise and healthy eating are my mantras and I want to help these girls learn the importance at a young age. I also want to help them love themselves. GOTR is an amazing program for young, impressionable girls."

Holly Carmichael, race director for the Manhattan GOTR chapter and a former coach, recently related that with childhood obesity on the rise, the Girls on the Run program hopes to inspire lasting change in response to a national epidemic. "We are not only helping these little girls see the value in healthy habits, but we are developing in them a sense of agency around their health and teaching them to be resourceful in finding space to be physically active. We hope that these habits become ingrained in them, and that they continue to develop them as they grow into young adults."

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Overweight and obesity in children are significant public health problems in the United States. The number of adolescents who are overweight has tripled since 1980 and the prevalence among younger children has more than doubled." With 16 percent of children age 6-19 years overweight and with minority populations being vastly more effected, the Girls on the Run program map reflects how they have stepped up their growth to have a presence in the majority of U.S. states in response. And, the plan is for the GOTR program to continue to grow.

While racing alongside Alexis (pictured above second from right), I listened as her GOTR running buddies cheered and supported her. I held her hand then hat, just as I did in the practice before the race when she asked me to run beside her on race day. I remembered how many of those 56 miles during Comrades 2010 in South Africa I ran for these GOTRM girls, for all little girls, to raise monies for SoleMates, the charity leg of Girls on the Run International, but in hope for all girls' true empowerment.

Girls on the Run's mission is to educate and prepare girls for a lifetime of self-respect and healthy living, and as race director Holly cheered each girl when she crossed the finish line on Saturday, she saw it happen.

One GOTRM girl was dragging at the beginning of the finish line chute. You could see - even from a distance - that she was exhausted. I thought she was going to start walking, as many of the girls do, but hoped she didn't as she was so close to finishing! All of a sudden she perked up, her posture changed, she smiled, and she sprinted to the finish line with such control and dedication and pride. It was an overwhelming moment of accomplishment, certainly for her, but also for all of us bystanders and her supporters. Her family squealed, I cried, and she just smiled. Certainly, GOTRM trains girls to run a 5K and so we are immensely proud that she completed it with such strength. But this was also an example of how many girls, if provided the opportunity to shine, will do so.

In that moment, another Girls on the Run champion was born.

Photo credit: Kristen Kawecki

MAKE CHANGE: On Human Rights Day Help Pass the Child Marriage Act

All over the world December 10 celebrates Human Rights Day in ode to the signing of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris in 1948. Yet, even as the achievement of basic human rights for all has yet to be reached, advocates and organizations work toward policies that move humanity closer to that goal. Recently, the U.S. Senate passed the Child Marriage Act which according to the organization CARE, "ensures that child marriage is recognized as a human rights violation, develops a comprehensive strategy to prevent child marriage and empower young girls, integrates child marriage prevention approaches throughout U.S. foreign assistance programs and scales-up proven approaches and programs to end the practice."

As per Forbes blog, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was a surprise guest recently at the TEDWomen Conference in Washington, D.C. where she shared, "Women’s and girl’s rights are a prosperity issue and a peace issue. That is why we need to integrate women’s issues into discussions at the highest level. Not just because I have a personal commitment or President Obama does, but because it is in the vital interests of the U.S."

However, even though the legislation passed in the Senate, now the goal is to pass it through the House of Representatives. Why so important?

The Girl Effect cites there are 600 million adolescent girls in the developing world. As their brilliant video illustrates, when an adolescent girl is "educated through secondary school, she’ll bring 25% more income into her family. When she’s healthy, her community’s health will improve as maternal mortality and child malnutrition drop, and HIV rates decline. She will drive 70% of agricultural production. She is an unrealized economic force, accelerating growth and progress in every sector."

Yet, if she is married at a young age her chances fade fast. According to CARE's action page, "Child brides have a diminished chance of completing their education, resulting in limited opportunities and income-earning potential later in life. These girls also are twice as likely to be beaten or threatened with violence by their husbands compared to girls who marry later in life. In addition, child marriage is usually accompanied by early child bearing, placing young girls at risk for complications during and after childbirth."

Take action here.

Photo credit: The Girl Effect

Racing Toward Human Rights for Women

Stark truths open Women for Women International's Stronger Women, Stronger Nations Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) report, Amplifying Voices of Women in Eastern Congo. "Despite the signing of international peace agreements, a deadly 15 year war continues in DRC. International organizations estimate that between 3.5 and 5.4 million of excess deaths have occurred. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the DRC is 'the worst example of man's inhumanity to women.'"

This past Saturday morning my 2010 racing season ended in a race with the Women for Women International's Run for Congo Women UK team in Greenwich Park, London. Pictured here together we ran in support of acknowledging these harrowing facts, but also to motivate change for Congolese women. Since 1993, Women for Women International has globally supported over 275,000 women with training, over $21 million in direct aid, and over $67 million in micro-credit loans. In June 2010, the organization gained my attention while in South Africa post-Comrades while researching and writing about the public health of women and girls during the 2010 World Cup. Then, I kept thinking to myself, "If this is the continent's best for women, what is the worst?"

The Democratic Republic of Congo. In July, upon arrival back from South Africa to Paris, I pledged to Kate Hughes, Policy and Campaigns Officer for Women for Women International, that I would build Team Congo Paris in support of Run for Congo Women.

A Paris Team's Run for Congo Women

Racing together in the Paris Versailles, 20K de Paris, and finally the 6ème Foulées Villenogarennoises in Parc des Chanteraines, Team Congo Paris surpassed our fundraising goal of 1,000 GBP. This was due to the exceptional work of our top fundraisers and runners Alice Phan and Colleen Obrist along with supporters like the AMPE and the FCA and myriad other amazing male and female runners.

Alice Phan came to Team Congo Paris early on and ran almost every race and supported every endeavor. In fact, she raced beside me on November 7 with Colleen Obrist in the 5K at Parc des Chanteraines asking questions about Colleen's journey to run for Team Congo Paris. Diagnosed with MS in 2008, Colleen's sheer willpower is a testament to overcoming life challenges. In a recent interview, she shared, "People often say that it is too bad what happened to me, what a pity, etc., and yes, having MS is hard, but my problems seem trivial when compared to what some people have to live through in this world on a daily basis. My health situation and my future may be unpredictable, but at least I am not living in abject poverty, or fear that someone in my family is going to die, be raped, tortured, humiliated, or terrorized. There is not much I can do for my disease, but I will help others while I am still able."

On November 7, Alice then also raced beside me and Jennifer Hart in the 10K through pouring rain. With a degree in Women's Studies and a Master's in Sociology and also one in Personal Training, Jennifer, a personal trainer and owner of Hart Total Fitness, was triumphantly running five months after the birth of her second child. Yet, she had resumed running only four weeks after delivery and she completed La Parisienne at 3.5 months post-birth in just 44 minutes.

Years ago, Jennifer first heard stories about Congo while overseeing a series of workshops on gender and war at the University of Toronto. Recently, she shared how they affected her. "Some of the stories would make me cry, make me angry, and make me down-right fed up with the world. When I left school and began working, my charity work dropped and I missed it but didn’t know where to turn to help out in Paris. Then I had a daughter and I remembered some of the horror stories of women and children being raped and killed, and my life changed. I saw a posting by Kate Stence about Run for Congo Women and it took me less than 3 seconds to say, 'I want to be a part of that.'"

A London Team's Run for Congo Women

In Greenwich Park last Sunday, as I walked over to claim my race number in the UK Run for Congo Women's final race of the season, I began looking around for other women and men runners who were also racing with the UK team. Their team had raised over 8,000 GBP. I introduced myself to runners and then met devoted runner Chris Jackson, who has completed 11 marathons for Women for Women for International this year alone. As I stood before him, I took in again how profound I find his efforts.

On November 7, the same day Team Congo Paris raced our final race of the season together, Chris completed the New York City Marathon in 2 hours and 55 minutes. But, he shared how he felt so much support. "Loads of people I didn’t know seemed to know who I was?!? But there was also so many people along the course just telling you to keep going and that you were doing great. This gives you such a boost. I think the best moments were enjoying the views and how quiet, it was on the bridges, because all you could hear was foot-fall, but as you started to get to the other side of the bridge, you’d slowly get hit by this roar from the crowd. I really couldn’t believe how many people were out watching... Absolutely stunning."

That's exactly how I had felt watching the female elites cross the finish line at the Athens Classic Marathon on October 31 while in Greece.

As the first women crossed the finish line, the BBC reporter next to me was taping my ecstatic cheers. Yet, I wanted to share with him that he had to understand that Greece was the marathon's point of origin 2500 years ago. So many of us as athletes run marathons knowing the mythic story of the Greek soldier-runner who was a messenger running from the battlefield of Marathon to Athens to announce the Greek's victory, then died from exhaustion upon arrival. However, what many of us may not know is that every year for the past 28 the Athens Classic Marathon is run in memory of Grigoris Lambrakis, a brilliant athlete, scientist, politician, and pacifist who in April 1963 helped organize the Greece Pacifist Movement. As an advocate of social justice, Lambrikis had participated in myriad international meetings on peace yet his life ended shortly after a march in May 1963 due to deadly beatings.

"Peace and development go hand in hand," according to a campaign message sheet given to me today by Natasha Baranowski, Global Campaign Officer for Women for Women International's Join Me on the Bridge Campaign which advocates that stronger women build bridges of peace. Held on International Women's Day, last year the Join Me on the Bridge Campaign inspired 108 events and attracted around 20,000 participants in about 20 different countries. Next March 8, 2011, marks the 100th Anniversary of International Women's Day.

Overall, what can a runner -- or any individual -- do to help inspire change and help "race" toward human rights for Congolese women? Kate Hughes, coordinator of the London Run for Congo Women events, recently shared her thoughts. "I would ask the runners to keep talking about the conflict in DRC. Just because you have stopped fundraising doesn't mean that you have to stop raising awareness. Make sure that everyone you know, knows that you ran for Run for Congo Women and why it was that you felt so motivated to do that. Tell your friends and family, tell your local radio station or local press, just keep speaking about Congo until the violence and exploitation stops."

On December 5, Chris Jackson races the Luton Marathon, marathon 12, to support Congolese women. You can read about his last race of the 2010 season on his blog. At Gender Across Borders, you can read my article Traversing Truth: Running and Writing Female Rights.

Photo credit: Women for Women International

Haiti Post-Quake: Cholera Outbreak

From The Economist, a Haitian mother and her child's health are in intense need due to the cholera outbreak 40 miles north of Port-au-Prince. Before the outbreak, the safety of women and children, the need for focus on long-term strategies in the tent cities, putting up water points, lights in the latrines, staying goal-oriented in terms of long-term moves versus camp eviction were all gaining higher importance. Yet, as of last week Haiti was again reminded how hard their country's short-term recovery because of cholera alone.

According to the Economist, "The [Cholera] outbreak originated in the Artibonite valley, 60km (40 miles) to the north. By October 27th more than 300 people had died and more than 4,500 cases were confirmed, according to the Haitian Ministry of Health."

However, as per most major news sources the outbreak is one that needs attention and comittment due to the fact Haiti remains a country in heavy and immediate crisis.

Photo credit: The Economist

Haiti Post-Quake: The Past Ten Months and Counting

On January 12, 2010, Haiti was ravaged by a catastrophic 7.0 earthquake that extensively damaged the country's main city of Port-au-Prince. By January 24, over 52 aftershocks were recorded that measured at least 4.5. Ten months ago exactly, on January 20, the New York Times published Aftershocks, by Évelyne Trouillot sharing those first days post-quake.

The family has set up camp in my brother’s house. I live just next door, but it makes us feel better to be all in the same house. My brother, a novelist, is writing his articles; I am writing mine. From time to time a tremor will make us pause and run back outside, just in case, to be safe. I wonder how long we will have to be so cautious, and I long for normalcy.

We sleep; we listen to the radio; we exchange information. Mostly, we have been trying to stay alive and sane since that Tuesday afternoon a week ago when the earthquake changed our lives forever. It doesn’t help that the earth continues to convulse. Just this morning, we felt another tremor, the most violent since the earthquake itself. Let us hope it did not cause more deaths and damage.

In an already impoverished country, the level of displacement due to this cataclysmic environmental disaster escalated to epidemic proportions. With 230,000 deaths at least, 300,000 injured, and 7.8 billion dollars in damages, in August Her Blueprint published Haiti: Displacement, TB, and Progress?, which cited over 1.2 million people were living in tent cities and that safety and health concerns for women and children were fast-becoming a highly relevant issue post-earthquake. Although Évelyne Trouillot's eloquent Aftershocks calls in vain hope for the short-term aftershocks themselves to not bring more death and damage, what kind of long-term aftershocks are the country facing and what kind of strategies are evolving to protect the most vulnerable?

Six Months Post-Quake

Recently, I spoke with Joanne Blakemore who arrived to Port-au-Prince, Haiti on June 12, the quake's six month anniversary. With a background in third-world travel, humanitarian causes, and relief work, Joanne had done Katrina hurricane relief work as well in Mississippi.

"I was in Haiti pre-hurricane season. Commercial enterprise seemed to be functioning. Children seemed not to be starving. But, I thought it made Biloxi, Mississippi [post-Katrina] look like West Chester. The tents these women and children are living in are miniscule. You can’t stand up in them."

Outright distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and health and safety concerns was the tone coming out of the camps when Ms. Blog broke the story along with AWID of MADRE's report, Our Bodies Are Still Trembling: Haitian Women's Fight Against Rape, and its findings regarding rape in the tent cities.

"Six months after the earthquake in Haiti, we see a continued crisis of safety and security in the displacement camps that has exacerbated the already grave problem of sexual violence. We found that women are being raped at an alarming rate-every day-in camps throughout Port-au-Prince. The Haitian Government, the UN, and others in the international community have failed to adequately address the situation. Women, especially poor women, have been excluded from full participation and leadership in the relief effort."

Enter acknowledgment of one of the biggest challenges of Haiti along with eviction, education, and myriad health concerns: the safety of women and children.

Nine Months Post-Quake

In September, the tent cities were still just as large as ever with around 1 million people displaced, and the weariness of those contained within them were again being expressed by major news outlets as were the overt safety concerns for women and children. On September 19, the New York Times published Haitians Cry in Letters: ‘Please — Do Something!’. The title of the article is culled from a direct quote from Ms. Saint Hilaire, 33, who shared in a letter posted to the boxes put up by the International Organization for Migration, about how she and her children are "stranded in a camp annex without a school, a health clinic, a marketplace or any activity at all."

"Please — do something!" she wrote from Tent J2, Block 7, Sector 3, her new address. "We don’t want to die of hunger and also we want to send our children to school. I give glory to God that I am still alive — but I would like to stay that way!"

Ten Months Post-Quake and Counting

On October 7, 2010, Bloomberg published Haiti Earthquake Camps Expose Women to Sex Violence, which cites that as a country Haiti had significant problems with sexual violence pre-quake, but that post-quake the numbers are staggering. “Living in squalid, overcrowded and spontaneous camps for a prolonged period has aggravated levels of violence and appalling standards of living,” the Refugees International report said. The humanitarian response to the earthquake “appears paralyzed.”

In fact, the title of the Refugees International October 6 report, Haiti: Still Trapped in the Emergency Phase, shares the exact issue at hand: long-term strategies are not taking shape or evolution. The report explains in detail how "enhancing proper leadership, enhancing the security for displaced women, improving camp management, bridging the communication gap, and decentralizing resources to promote recovery" are integral to moving past the emergency phase into effective long-term strategies for the country's recovery.

Photo credit: Ms. Magazine Blog

Team Congo Races the 20 Kilometers of Paris

Paris is known for its incredible light. When I was training for the 2009 Paris Marathon to race for Girls on the Run International, one of my last training runs found me at Place de la Concorde. Just as my running shoe hit the center, the Eiffel Tower lit up as did all the surrounding street lamps. The natural light here can be just as profound.

This past Sunday Alice Phan, pictured here triumphant at the 20K de Paris finish line, took to the city streets along with Run for Congo Women's Team Congo Paris in sunlight that marked beauty to the highest degree. Autumn. 20,000 runners. Unite.

In early September, I met Alice in person as we ran Parc des Buttes Chaumont together in training for the 20K de Paris. At the time, she was running about five miles. Later that month, we chatted excitedly at the start line of La Parisienne, a 6K for women's health, which also marked the ninth anniversary weekend of September 11.

When Alice initially emailed me about joining Team Congo Paris, she shared how she had always wanted to work with Girls on the Run Manhattan while living in New York, but that her work hours had always been an obstacle. Phan, an optometrist, is now living in Paris due to her husband's job transfer, and while acquiring her work visa, she volunteers at a hospital and has also become an invaluable asset to Team Congo Paris. To explain Alice's energy is like harnessing a surge of fresh air, a full deep-belly laugh; she is the kind of person who congratulates herself out loud on a fantastic idea and keeps on in the face of adversity with determination and a smile.

For the first ten minutes of the 20K de Paris race, I ran alongside Alice before I launched onward. On Sunday night post-run, I checked in with her and she shared that the first eight miles she was at a consistent 10 minute mile pace, but then a major cramp kicked in. "I probably could have walked faster than what I was running, because I was pretty much crawling," she told me, "but then when I saw the 19 km sign, I was so excited and was ecstatic to finish!"

She finished in under 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Born to first-generation parents who came to the United States from Vietnam then settled in Southern California, Alice often embraces Run for Congo Women's shared reason for being. She gets it. We are out there running together raising awareness, pushing our own bodies as a metaphor for Congolese women and children whose bodies and beings have been pushed far past any fathomable sense of resiliency. We keep on as a testament to their profound hardship. Around the time I met Alice, I wrote Resiliency, Congo, and Rape As a Weapon of War, which highlighted the July 30 attack of 300 women and children in Eastern Congo, only ten to twenty miles from a UN compound.

According to the Guardian's October 6 article, Militia Commander Mayele Arrested After Mass Rape of Congo Villagers, "Over four days, at least 303 people were raped – 235 women, 52 girls, 13 men and 3 boys – according to a preliminary UN investigation published last month. Many of the victims were raped repeatedly."

In a statement from Congo, Lisa Wallström, the UN's representative for sexual violence in conflict, says the arrest of Mayele is a victory for justice. "The numerous criminal acts committed under 'Lt Col' Mayele's command cannot be undone, but let his apprehension be a signal to all perpetrators of sexual violence that impunity for these types of crimes is not accepted and that justice will prevail," she said.

Although human rights activists have commended the arrest, they have also highlighted that Mayele was not a major player or the only assailant, and this act of small justice is only one step toward a more comprehensive and effective resolution. How that resolution takes shape – or if it will – ultimately depends on a variety of upcoming actions, reports, and initiatives.

In the meantime, Team Congo Paris will continue to race in support of the women and children in Congo. For their deserved safety and well-being, at least.

You can still join Team Congo Paris and race on November 7, 2010 or you can support us via donation.

Strength in Numbers: Mobilization, Awareness, and Health

Yesterday morning at the foot of the Eiffel Tower over 20,000 women converged ready to race in the 14th edition of La Parisienne to celebrate women's health and raise awareness for myriad causes. En route to the start line from Metro École Militaire, I thought about the passage of time. I looked to the gray misting skies of Paris and remembered that sunny day nine years ago when everything my fellow New Yorkers, Pennsylvanians, and Washington, DC residents knew, my country knew, and I knew about safety changed.

This weekend also marked the ninth anniversary of September 11, 2001, when the United States as a country and as individuals, including my sister and myself in Manhattan, experienced one day of terrorism in an act of war. One day. Nearly 3,000 victims. It took months to recover, years to fully heal. A week after the 9/11 attacks, I vividly remember my sister and me in Grand Central Station crying in front of a sign seeking two missing sisters. Out of thousands of posted missing persons signs, we cried for those sisters because enough days had passed we knew them probably gone, but also because we knew they could have been us.

 The Healers of 9/11, by Nicholas Kristof, shares the journey of Susan Retik since she lost her husband in the 9/11 attacks nine years ago along with Patti Quigley, another widow who was pregnant with her first child when her husband was also killed that day. Though devastated and suffering post-9/11, "they realized that there were more than half a million widows in Afghanistan — and then, with war, there would be even more. Ms. Retik and Ms. Quigley also saw that Afghan widows could be a stabilizing force in that country."

America has been at war in Afghanistan since October 2001, meaning Afghan women have been suffering the strife of war for almost a decade. Kristof explains that "at a time when the American government reacted to the horror of 9/11 mostly with missiles and bombs, detentions and waterboardings, Ms. Retik and Ms. Quigley turned to education and poverty-alleviation projects — in the very country that had incubated a plot that had pulverized their lives. The organization they started, Beyond the 11th, has now assisted more than 1,000 Afghan widows in starting tiny businesses."

Health Versus Harm: Youth Advocacy and the Fight Against Violence Against Women and Girls and HIV/AIDS

Read Part 1, Health Versus Harm: Zero Tolerance on Violence Against Women and Girls.

PART 2
Winnie Ncongwane is a 34 year-old single mother of two currently residing in Mbabane, Swaziland. Winnie and I met at the 2010 AIDS Conference and her strength resonated as soon as I sat down next to her.

Recently, Winnie shared with me her thoughts on how she has come into her current role as an empowered HIV-positive woman journalist and activist, “Losing family and friends from HIV/AIDS made me choose to live positively than to die in an abusive have-it-all marriage. I left all the luxury and walked out of my marital home with a bag of clothes for me and my children. I had to start life from scratch, sleeping on a mat on the floor with my children, but at least I had a job. Today, I am happy and I never regret leaving that house for a second. Now, think of a young woman, who has no job or education and depends fully on the man, who might be in the same situation as mine. What can she do, than to stay in such a situation and wait for her last hour? If there are no policies to protect abused women, they will stay as they see no other option out.”

Accordingly, in Swaziland women are more infected by HIV/AIDS. There, females aged between 15 and 19 are infected five times more than their male counterparts, and the ages of 20 to 24 are infected three times more than the males in the same age group.

In July 2010, Winnie started working for the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS after being a member since 2007. She finds her work fulfilling because she is doing what she has always wanted to do, which is communicating and showing her peers that there is life after HIV. Her dream “is to make the HIV/AIDS story worth understanding and most of all remove the stigma that HIV comes with.”

Neelanjana Mukhia is the International Women’s Rights Policy and Campaign Coordinator at ActionAid’s international secretariat and one of the founders who currently manages the international campaign secretariat of Women Won’t Wait: End HIV and Violence Against Women and Girls Now. She shared with me their report What’s the Budget? Where’s the Staff? Moving from Policy to Practice. It cites, “Violence against women and girls and HIV are global, intersecting health and human rights crises. Research demonstrates how women’s risk of, and exposure to, threats or actual violence, particularly intimate partner violence, is a leading factor in women’s heightened vulnerability to HIV. Meanwhile, women are subjected to different forms of violence on a daily basis due to their real or perceived HIV status, whether in their homes, in the workplace, in schools, in health facilities or elsewhere. Both epidemics limit women’s power and participation in society and their agency over their own lives and bodies, sustaining women’s economic, political, social and sexual subordination as well as denial of women’s human rights.”

Where is the good news? UNAIDS recent release of their report, How Young People Are Leading the HIV Revolution, highlights that “HIV prevalence trends in 16 countries show decline among young people 15-24 years.”

Youth advocates are paving the way in HIV/AIDS prevention. As part of Vienna Youth Force 2010 and as an Intern at the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS, Remmy Shawa joined the fight against VAW/G and HIV/AIDS after his Aunt became HIV-positive from her husband and gave birth to her HIV-positive son, his cousin. Born in Zambia, yet raised in a rural area called Chongwe, Remmy lived with his parents before moving to the main city of Lusaka for education. After trying to stay with relatives in Lusaka at 15 years of age, he started staying alone, renting a small room with support from his parents until he finished his high school education.

Remmy’s views on VAW/G as a major factor in HIV/AIDS are just as powerful as his reason for becoming an advocate. “The fight to end the social vulnerability of women to HIV, like harmful gender and cultural practices needs to start with bringing men on board as well. We need to design strategies that work with men and boys not only as perpetrators of gender violence, but as partners with an upper hand in the politics and the economy of our nation. The concepts of masculinity need to be redefined and fatherhood must also be used as one way men can show their love and responsibility to their family in the absence of violence.”

Yvonne Akoth and Kuena Diaho were also part of Vienna Youth Force 2010. From the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho, Kuena currently holds a bachelor’s in law degree from the University of Lesotho. Since 2004, she has worked with the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) as a youth advocate. She shared how at her first meeting she kept looking at the door waiting for more young women to arrive, but as she kept attending she realized she was experiencing, “more than just meetings but also a safe space for the women to come together and share their experiences. The YWCA has since been my home and more.”

For Yvonne, who was born and raised in the Kwale District which is in the Coast Province of Kenya, her work as a young leader guide for the Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA) feels like a privilege. In our recent interview, she shared Kenya’s progress, “Statistically HIV/AIDS is decreasing in Kenya as a result of behavior change among the youth in the age cohort (15 – 24yrs) most likely to be infected. Rates have dropped down due to increase of condom use especially in urban centres, reduction of multiple partners, peer education programs in schools and colleges, TV and Radio advertisements targeting young people, youth friendly one stop centres in most districts, billboards, etc.”

However, Yvonne also shares that even though every African country has a national body to address HIV/AIDS. She still believes that if more young people “are co-opted as members of the various committees in the governing body, many issues affecting young people, especially girls and young women, will be [more] adequately addressed.”

The Global AIDS Alliance (GAA) agrees. GAA’s Policy Director Lisa Schechtman sums up their work ahead. “Through the press conference and the participation of Yvonne Chaka Chaka, we have begun exploring a partnership with the Man Up Campaign, which focuses on empowering youth leaders to end violence against women and girls. In addition, GAA has long been working with other partners that have also identified a multisectoral approach similar to the seven pillars, such as the Women Won’t Wait Campaign, and more recently, the CDC, which is developing a technical package of interventions for the Sexual Violence against Girls Initiative that nearly mirrors the seven pillar approach. That a comprehensive multisectoral response is the only way to halt and mitigate the impacts of violence against women and girls has been accepted; our goal with the new report [Political Breakthrough: Mobilizing Accelerated Action to End Violence Against Women and Girls by 2015] is to emphasize that rhetoric and technical documents alone will never protect women or change the power dynamics or social and gender norms that perpetuate violence. Only real political will and long-term predictable funding directed to local civil society and community-based organizations—those that know their own needs best—will get us there. And without this, our multibillion dollar fight against AIDS is certain to fail.”

No one wants to see this much potential melt away as we move beyond AIDS 2010. Yet even with the power of youth advocacy, new treatments, and the syncing up of organizations with comprehensive approaches, only time, stable funding, and continued action will show true change. As individuals, you can keep momentum going by taking your own steps in the fight against VAW/G and HIV/AIDS by supporting the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) through the Global AIDS Alliance action page. You can also check out Michelle Hamilton's A Magnificent Mile at Runner's World which highlight's Founder of Run for Congo Women Lisa Shannon's work along with Women for Women International. A team to race the 20 Kilometers de Paris on 10.10.10 at 10 AM for Congo Women is currently being assembled to run to benefit the organizations. You can learn more at the Run for Congo Women Team Paris site.

On August 12, 2010 in order to celebrate International Youth Day the UN launched the International Year of Youth. The the theme for 2010 to 2011 is "Our Year our Voice."

Photo credit: AIDS 2010

Health Versus Harm: Zero Tolerance on Violence Against Women and Girls

PART 1
This past weekend after my first lap running along the Seine then past the Louvre through the Tuileries, Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe, and back, I paused to stretch in front of the Louvre and thought, “I am the luckiest human being alive to run this. Go again? Yes. Go again? Then again!” When I was fully exhausted but sprinting to finish strong on the Champs-Élysées, I was applauded by tourists. I smiled and thought about how much I love endurance running and how much deeper the reasons why. I know what I look like out there sporting my Run for Congo Women t-shirt and Comrades 2010 hat: Determined. Physically healthy. Strong. That has always been the goal.

But, then, as I was walking down the Metro stairs sipping Pellegrino, I saw her. Head down. No shoes. Bare toes out. Unwashed. I will never see her face. She couldn’t even bear to lift her head to beg anymore. Why bother? She just sat there hunched over, huddled in defeat at the bottom of the stairs with a dirty empty cup. So, I gave. She is why I am so determined. She is why I run. She is why for three years I traveled alone while raising monies for girls and women’s health through Girls on the Run International and their charity, SoleMates. To see her. To speak with her. To mentor her. Then, to ensure change for her.

For these past weeks, I have had my own head down reading reports citing statistics about gender-based violence (GBV). I kept asking questions and hoping for answers that would somehow give sound reason as to why so many women and girls in this world are being harmed. With that harm what happens to their chance for physical health? How high are their risks of other vulnerabilities like HIV/AIDS?

Globally, one in three women will be beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime according to a 2010 fact sheet put out by Women Won’t Wait Campaign, International AIDS Women’s Caucus, and the International Women’s Health Coalition. According to Women for Women International’s article Violence Against Women and Girls, “A 2007 report and survey of grassroots Iraqi women found that 63.9% of respondents stated that violence against women in general was increasing, with 38.5% reporting that rape was increasing.”



Women for Women International’s research also depicts harrowing challenges in Africa, “Over the course of more than a decade of war in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), millions of lives have been lost and hundreds of thousands of women and girls have been raped in a strategic campaign of sexual violence employed by virtually all armed groups, including the military... In 2009, the violence is still increasing.”

As such in 2009, violence against girls was cited by the Clinton Global Initiative as an epidemic. From their web site, “According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in one year alone nearly 150 million girls experience some form of sexual violence. Rape, assault, exploitation, and trafficking devastate the lives of victims and contribute to the spread of HIV and AIDS.”

In fact, last year, the Clinton Global Initiative brought together nine organizations—the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the CDC Foundation, five United Nations organizations (UNICEF, UNAIDS, UNFPA, UNIFEM, and the WHO), the Nduna Foundation, and Grupo ABC—and each pledged their commitment to end violence, in particular sexual violence, against girls.

At AIDS 2010, the Guardian reported Bill Clinton and Bill Gates opened with a speech about why organizations should make the best use of donated monies due to the economic crisis hampering an increase in funding. Yet conference statistics cited epidemic numbers of violence against women and girls (VAW/G) and also how deep the links between gender-based violence (GBV) and HIV/AIDS. In fact, the American Bar Association’s article Universal Access and Human Rights: For Women and Girls, Too affirms the current challenge in the fight against HIV/AIDS is to acknowledge “the feminization of a modern day pandemic.”

While in Vienna, the Global AIDS Alliance (GAA), an advocacy organization that focuses on improving U.S., multilateral, and affected-country national government policy and funding for the global AIDS pandemic, held the press conference pictured here to announce their report, Political Breakthrough: Mobilizing Accelerated Action to End Violence Against Women and Girls by 2015.

After the press conference, I spoke with Lisa Schechtman who is the Policy Director of the Global AIDS Alliance. In a recent interview, she shared, “the new report was called ‘Political Breakthrough’ because, for the first time, three major AIDS donors and normative agencies (PEPFAR, the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and UNAIDS), have placed GBV front and center in their efforts and have committed to providing funding dedicated to addressing this critical challenge—the first expression of political will.”

Lisa affirms needing more than political momentum, however, even as she acknowledges the inherent importance. “While political will starts as rhetoric, it allows for affected communities to demand action and for advocates and activists to hold donors and policymakers accountable for actually doing something—the second and most important expression of political will. It also allows us to trace where the money is going and what impact it is having.”

Enter funding. The problem is the reality. The places where HIV/AIDS are most prevalent are some of the most impoverished in our world. According to UNIFEM’s Backgrounder at AIDS 2010 “in Africa where the epidemic is most widespread, young women are three times more likely to be HIV-positive than young men.” The organization cites gender inequality as one of the most important reasons for this. Less control over their bodies and their lives leads to higher rates of HIV for women and young girls. Is that not another way to say, gender-based or sexual violence?

Even with all of the preceding, eliminating gender-based violence is not explicitly one of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals hence some of the current funding challenges. Lisa explains, “very little funding from any source has been directed specifically to GBV. Slightly more funding has been directed to the intersection of GBV and HIV, but even this has been small and directed to piecemeal projects that do not advance comprehensive change or even meet the needs of the vast number of women and girls who experience violence. Through these smaller efforts supported by the international community and many other programs undertaken by local civil society around the world, we have learned not only that we can address violence, but how to do so effectively. It’s time to stop talking about this major human rights abuse and hold our governments accountable for doing what works at a scale that can reach everyone in need.”

The International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA) is a major step in ascertaining that goal. IVAWA is currently moving through Congress with bipartisan support and as Lisa shares, “it mandates a coordinated, multiagency multisectoral response to GBV across all USG diplomatic and international development channels. Recognizing that violence against women and girls has an impact on—and is impacted by—every area of a woman’s life and every part of society, the bill takes a holistic approach and, for the first time, makes violence against women and girls a foreign policy priority for the United States.”

Therefore, IVAWA, the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and how effective both female and male youth are as agents of mobilization and social change to end VAW/G for greater public health was also the focus of researchers and advocacy groups at AIDS 2010 and beyond.

Check out Her Blueprint on Thursday, August 12 for Part 2 of this article in which Kate goes in-depth with Remmy Shawa, Intern of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV and AIDS, Yvonne Akoth of the Kenya Girl Guides Association, and other youth and women advocates who are taking huge strides in the prevention of gender-based violence and the rights of those living with HIV/AIDS.