For years I have been reading about how our money is used to help rising countries meet their needs and grow with limited resources. There has been a fear that our foreign aid was used by men to strengthen their military or line their pockets. In some cases this has bee true but studies show that private or institutional funds from groups like Feed The Children or Kiva have a tremendous impact on the betterment of life in the communities in which they live.
It has been shown that resources given or investments made in the younger women in a community will raise the living standard by a whole lot. Women and girls are the hidden resource in every society as they set the standard of behaviour and ccivility in countries where the female gender in not recognized and their worth beyond work is marginalized. In countries where investments in education of the girls is considered important a vast change in the quality of life is realized. These girls become nurses, teachers and leaders and their mindset is universally recognizeded as a power for good.
Because the women of the world are the chief agent of influence in the raising of the children, it would reasonably be expected that helping them become more educated and respected would be cause boys to be more compassionate as men. In countries where boy soldiers are taken away from their parents at a young age there is a terrible loss of respect and value of females by these people. This is one of the main causes of the slaughter and brutality shown to the females of these societies.
I have expressed on many occasions the true value in having more world leaders be women. In a world dominated by men in most of the third world countries our hope is that emphasis be given in our foreign policies for equal rights for men and women and educational opportunities will lead to a more civil society.I have personally seen the change in life in the far north where women have become pro-active in the community dynamics and are making a change for the better.
Rich countries like Saudi Arabia are seeing the need for the recognition of equal rights for women and are feeling the pressure of the world on their suppressive regime towards the females of their country. What a waste of potential when we do not utilize everyone in our society and take advantage of the total population to make a better world.
Thankfully there seems to be a movement that is sweeping across the planet to empower women to make the changes they seek in their own communities. I was lucky enough to be raised in a household that expected and encouraged us (girls or not) to take our place in the driver's seat of our lives.
ReplyDelete