Awesome. And, more importantly, true.
I’m crying everywhere. I wish direct ways to help these girls and communities were more accessible. Does anyone know of any?
I’ve been reading this book, Half The Sky - it mentions pretty much ALL of these issues (except perhaps widow self-immolation)… and in the appendix, the authors have thoughtfully provided a list of organisations which are specifically oriented towards helping women. Really, really helpful.
Here they are (a tad bit tl;dr, you have been warned. Edit: my ‘Read More’ HTML seems to be broken, weird. Apologies for the spam.):
- The Afghan Institute of Learning operates schools and other programs for women and girls in Afghanistan and in the border areas of Pakistan.
- American Assistance for Cambodia has fought trafficking and now has a program to subsidise poor girls so that they remain in school.
- Americans for UNFPA supports the UN Population Fund. It is similar to 34 Million Friends of UNFPA, a grassroots movement started in reaction to the US withdrawal of a whopping $34 million dollars in funding, towards the goal of raising the same amount (at $1 or more per person) in order to allow UNFPA’s continuation in its work on family planning and maternal healthcare.
- Apne Aap battles sex slavery in India, including remote areas, like Bihar that get little attention. Apne Aap welcomes American volunteers.
- Ashoka is an organisation that identifies and invests in social entrepreneurs around the world, many of them women from developing countries.
- Averting Maternal Death and Disability is a leading organisation focused on maternal health.
- BRAC is a terrifica Bangladesh-based aid group that is now expanding in Africa and Asia. It has an office in New York City and accepts interns.
- Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) supports schooling for girls in Africa.
- CARE, an organisation fighting global poverty, has increasingly focused on women and girls, recognising that education is an integral part of the problem.
- Center for Reproductive Rights, based in New York, focuses on reproductive health worldwide.
- ECPAT is a network of groups fighting child prostitution, particularly in Southeast Asia.
- Edna Adan Maternity Hospital provides maternity care in Somaliland. It welcomes volunteers.
- Engender Health focuses on reproductive health issues in the developing world.
- Equality Now lobbies against the sex trade and gender oppression around the world.
- Family Care International works to improve maternal health, primarily in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.
- Fistula Foundation supports the Addis Ababa Fistula Hospital in Ethiopia, established by Reg and Catherine Hamlin.
- Global Fund for Women operates like a venture capital fund for women’s groups in poor countries.
- Global Grassroots is a young organisation focused on women in poor countries, particularly Sudan.
- Grameen Bank, set up by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, pioneered microfinance in Bangladesh and has now branched into an array of development programs.
- Heal Africa runs a hospital in Goma, Congo, that repairs fistulas and tends to rape victims. It welcomes volunteers.
- Hunger Project focuses on the empowerment of women and girls to end hunger.
- International Center for Research on Women emphasises gender as the key to economic development.
- International Justice Mission is a Christian-based organisation that fights sex trafficking.
- International Women’s Health Coalition, based in New York, has been a leader in the struggle for reproductive health rights around the globe.
- Marie Stopes International, based in the United Kingdom, focuses on reproductive health care around the world.
- New Light, set up by Urmi Basu, is an organisation focused towards helping prostitutes and their children in Kolkata, India. It welcomes volunteers.
- Pathfinder International supports reproductive health in more than twenty-five countries.
- Pennies for Peace, run by Greg Mortenson (author of Three Cups of Tea), provides education in Pakistan and Afghanistan, for girls in particular.
- Population Services International, based in Washington, D.C., makes fine use of the private sector in reproductive health.
- Pro Mujer supports women in Latin America through microfinance and business training.
- Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) is a huge union for poor, self-employed women in India. It accepts volunteers.
- Shared Hope International fights sex trafficking around the world.
- Somaly Mam Foundation, led by a woman, who, as a child, was trafficked herself, fights against sex slavery in Cambodia.
- Tostan, meaning ‘breakthrough’ in the West African language of Wolof, is one of the most successful organisations in overcoming female genital cutting in Africa. It accepts interns.
- Vital Voices supports women’s rights in many countries and has been particularly active in fighting trafficking.
- White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood campaigns against maternal mortality around the world.
- Women for Women International connects women sponsors with needy women in conflict or postconflict countries.
- Women’s Campaign International is dedicated to increasing the participation of women in political and democratic processes worldwide.
- Women’s Dignity Project facilitates the repairs of obstetric fistulas in Tanzania.
- Women’s Learning Partnership emphasises women’s leadership and empowerment in the developing world.
- Women’s Refugee Commission is linked to the International Rescue Committee and focuses on refugee women and children.
- Women’s World Banking supports microfinance institutions around the world that assist women.
- Women Thrive Worldwide is an international adovcacy group focused on the needs of women in poor countries.
- Worldwide Fistula Fund works to improve maternal health and is building a fistula hospital in Niger.
Last, but not least, two useful websites to consult for more information about aid groups: - Charity Navigator and GiveWell, both of which have spent thousands of hours finding the most proven, cost-effective, outstanding and underfunded charities.
*Reproduced from the appendix of Half The Sky: How to Change the World by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, with slight modifications of grammar, as well as some additional elaboration on the goals of each organisation.*
Reblogged from love and other human rights
