Thoughts on Peace..

Women and Peace. An untapped resource? Sadly, we do not see enough mothers, sisters and daughters involved in international peace talks, comprehensive peace agreements, conflict mitigation strategics, disarmament and demobilization campaigns, post-war reconciliation trials.. in leadership.  But they are there, making peace in their hearts, in their homes. Over here we try and distribute our food and cash vouchers straight to the women of the household, (our monitoring has proven they use it more wisely than their husbands), but I do not often see the women in positions of community leadership and conflict mitigation activities.  But hope remains this month with the Nobel Peace Prize being awarded to three women,"for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work." For me they are incredible stand-outs in Africa and the Middle East, two environments where women leaders are few and far between. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkol Karman are a sign of a global change in understanding and, hopefully, of increased peace and security for all of us sharing this small planet. As was said by US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, one of the worlds most powerful women, “The unflinching courage, strength and leadership of these women to build peace, advance reconciliation and defend the rights of fellow citizens in their own countries provide inspiration for women’s rights and human progress everywhere,”.   Indeed I work in a country where women's leadership is a rarity, making the words of Tawakkols Karmans', who is the same age as me, even more poignant for myself; “Islam has always been associated with radical terrorism, intolerance and more,” she said. “Giving it to a woman and an Islamist? That means a sort of re-evaluation. It means Islam is not against peace, it’s not against women, and Islamists can be women activists, and they can fight for human rights, freedom and democracy.”   Tawakkol is also the youngest person ever to become a Nobel Peace Laureate. 

My male colleagues who work along side me in international development often disagree with me on the importance of highlighting women's involvement and achievements. But the facts speak for themselves, of the impact of educating girls and involving them in community leadership, and the flow-on effects of a reduction in the number of children a family will have, increased household income, and the increased percentage of that income that is invested back into the prosperity of the family. Women are the key.  Women are also make up the part of a population that suffers the most directly during times of war, so logic would dictate they need to be included if not more than men in conflict mitigation activities. They need more support and their opinions need to be heard. They are the ones left behind to keep the next generation alive, grow food, collect water and often suffer the atrocities of war-fare on a personally physical level that no human should ever have to experience.            

“We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless women obtain the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all levels of society”

- Thorbjorn Jagland (Nobel committee).

Khmer women working in the rice paddies, Kam Chai Mear, Cambodia.

From one girl to another.

I look at all these young girls in the camp each day. And I question their future. I hold hope in my heart for each and every one of them. I wish I could reach out to every one of them and say to them "Tell your father you must stay in school! You must not be married off at the age of 15, you must be given the chance to live your life"..  I wish I could somehow communicate to the men that it is now proven that if a girl can stay in school until at least age 15, she has will have 2.2 less children, be  3 times less likely to contract HIV/AIDS, will earn 25% more income and will be willing to invest 90% of her earnings back into her family. But of course it is more complex than that. If a daughter is in school, who will collect the water? Bring in the livestock? Care for the babies? Earn some extra income for the family? That was her birthright. Not school. Not a different kind of future to her mother. Not a life like my own. More Notes on girls here. 

p.s. for astounding facts on the effects of targeting girls in poverty, check out Half The Sky. 

I Love, Love, LOVE being a girl!

Eve Ensler's TED talk. Well worth the 20 minutes. Her monologue at the end is wonderful. I got so much out of this talk. This is not just feminism and this is not just the empowering of marginalised women in poor countries. This is a global, cross-gender issue. This is a human issue. 

As a tom-boy child I used to wish I was a boy. That changed as I grew older, stronger, protected by my lucky country. But I have ashamedly found those desires returning these past 4 years living in South Asia and North Africa, while witnessing the acceptance and respect my male colleagues receive, the freedom they are afforded and the judgement I receive when locals learn I am unmarried. And so I regularly give in to vulnerable moments, but usually only in the privacy of my own head. And yet this is crazy and unjust of me, as I enjoy a freedom and a level of safety that most women in these parts of the world will never know in their lifetimes. Just last week a public bus outside town was attacked by rebels and the women on-board were raped. Many will consequently now be rejected by their husbands and families. This is just an hour up the road from where I sit in my office right now. I cannot do anything about it, I risk getting thrown out of the country for even writing these words here. And yet, this was only one incident. Out of hundreds.. thousands perhaps.. The good people of this part of the world condemn it but until society in all countries, including the rich countries, change their interpretation of 'being a girl', it will always be accepted as something that just happens. 

The shame of our century...

You may follow Nick Kristof's blog of NYT OpEd Pieces. And you may have read his book co-written with Sheryl WuDunn,  Half the Sky. It took me a little while to finally get my hands on a copy out here in this desert, but I finally read it recently and cannot recommend this book more highly. You can watch Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Sheryl WuDunn's TED talk below if you have a spare 18 minutes in your day. (FYI, during that 18 minutes, 12 women somewhere in the world will die unnecessarily during in childbirth). 

Half the Sky

"Women Hold up Half the Sky"

- Chinese Proverb

I just stumbled upon this book, "Half the Sky" - a book by journalists looking at targeting women to break perpetual poverty cycles. I will order it online and will report back. But regardless of the content, I am just happy to continue to observe the clever marketing of innovative solutions to poverty. To begin to be surrounded by creative thought being expended when it comes to the task of assisting the worlds poor. It led me to some interesting NY Times articles too, such as The Daughter Deficit.

In an industry where the concept of "Do No Harm" has high importance but is rarely heeded, I think the philosophy behind micro-credit schemes and small-enterprise establishment that simultaneously empower women is, and will continue to be, part of the solution. And it seems to be kinda trendy with rich americans at the moment too, and that can't hurt.. They also have a really nice comprehensive list of links to NGOs that focus (in one way or another) on women.  

The Girl Effect

I believe in this.

I have never felt more 'female' than when I began working in South Asia and Africa.  Initially my white skin earns me a little respect (she is rich, she is educated, she could help?). But generally I end up feeling a sense of shame, to be offering advice to people in need and only being 'a girl'. I see their eyes look me over and the respect drift from their gaze.. I see the instant respect and attention my male colleagues are afforded. I imagine my 6 foot brother standing in my place and the respect he would automatically be given, despite his experience level.

I am not losing hope though. Things are changing. Micro-financing and education programmes are targeting girls more than ever, inspired by people like Greg Mortenson, showing that a single person can make a difference to poverty through targeting girls. My understanding of this has developed greatly from travelling and working in poorer parts of the globe, with the realization that the gender imbalance is so heart-breakingly extreme and capable of having such a devastating impact on humanity. Now it is so painfully obvious, the facts speak for themselves. And what I see before my own eyes is reality. Schools full of boys and young girls outside collecting water, tending to the livestock, cooking the meals, babies strapped to their backs when they are but babies themselves.. Where did their childhood go? 


Women do not instigate the global conflicts, they nurture. They need nurturing too. And certainly not 40 lashings for wearing trousers to work... The professional women I have worked with in Cambodia, Nepal and now Sudan are amazing and inspirational given their success against the odds. But often they are the minority, and usually those born of the wealthy. The 'beneficiaries' to use an impersonal term, are still in desperate need - but with a little help, in the right way, its proven they can help themselves as well. I picture the opportunities girls are given in Australia and then imagine the girls of Pakistan and Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, DRC and Somalia and Sudan, Nepal and Bangladesh, those girls given the same opportunities, the chance to have an innocent childhood, to stay in high school, have a small business, the chance to vote, even the chance to influence politics. Would their still be so much conflict and consequential poverty and injustice and HIV in the world? Would we still be wasting so much money in aid that never seems to end with a generation but go on and on and on? Would the worlds natural resources be depleted and gasping for breath as 7 billion lives walk the planet? Lets see. 

Inspiring...

I just finished the book "Three Cups of Tea" by Greg Mortenson. I had heard a lot about him while working in Nepal and of the work that he had done in Pakistan and Afghanistan but it was not until I read of his journey over the past 15 years or so that I realised the impact he has had and also of the kind of person he must be - to endure so many challenges, to keep pushing on.. "Failure: When its Dark enough, you can see the stars."

His story is not dissimilar to the great Edmund Hillary's post-sumimit story in Nepal. A mountaineer who decides to give back a little to the people of the mountains and build schools and clinics. But Gregs story is also very different because he was an American, building schools for Muslim children, in the 9/11 era.. Not so straight-forward. He also stepped into a society with strict moral codes and immediately challenged it head on by striving to educate girls. "You can hand out condoms, drop bombs, build roads, or put in electricity, but until the girls are educated a society won’t change." - Greg Mortenson.

"If we try to resolve terrorism with military might and nothing else, then we will be no safer than we were before 9/11. If we truly want a legacy of peace for our children, we need to understand that this is a war that will ultimately be won with books, not with bombs." - Greg Mortenson