In The New York Times Magazine Special Issue article “Saving the World’s Women,” Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn write that even though the status of women has not been seen as a “serious” international issue; in this century the “paramount moral challenge . . . is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe.” In places where women and girls have a “deeply unequal status, they vanish.” Studies estimate that 60 to 107 million women are missing. They disappear into sexual servitude, or die from not getting the same food and health care as males. And yet, Kristof and WuDunn report, “there’s a growing recognition . . . that focusing on women and girls is the most effective way to fight global poverty and extremism.” Aid has been found to be more effective when aimed at women and girls. Often, these investments have a “net economic return,” and “greater female involvement in society and the economy appears to undermine extremism and terrorism.”
Women's History
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September 11, 2009
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August 17, 2009
During her seven-nation African tour, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met with women and men in a crowded refugee camp in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. One of Clinton’s priorities during her visit was to raise awareness of violence against women—a rampant problem in DR Congo where, according to the United Nations, approximately 3,500 women have been raped this year alone, along with a growing number of men and children. As reported in a recent Reuters article, Clinton announced that $17 million will be put towards helping these victims of sexual violence. “Those who attack civilian populations using systematic rape are guilty of crimes against humanity,” she stated. Clinton has called on the United Nations and Congo to punish perpetrators, and is urging the international community to get involved.
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July 14, 2009The murder of an Egyptian immigrant in Germany has sparked a global discussion about prejudice against Muslims in Europe. The victim, Marwa el-Sherbini, lived in Germany since 2003. While in a public park last November, after Sherbini asked Alex W. if her son could use a swing, he responded by calling her a "terrorist" and an "Islamist whore." Alex W. was fined 780 euros and appealed the decision. Sherbini was in the dock testifying against Alex W. when stabbed her to death. The general secretaries of both the Central Council of Jews and the Central Council of Muslims of Germany, have condemned the attack as well as what they see as a weak response by the German government. In Egypt, some demonstrators have seen the murder as symbolic of larger anti-Muslim prejudice.
