CARE, a non-profit organization dedicated to fighting global poverty by putting a special emphasis on working alongside women, released a report entitled The Top 10 Myths About Women & the Heroes Who Bust Them.  Dubbed a “reality check”, the report lists the top 10 myths as:
1.  a woman’s place is in the home;
2.  girls can’t do math or science;
3.  it’s a man’s world;
4.  women crack under pressure;
5.  she asked for it;
6.  women can’t be trusted with money;
7.  girls belong in marriage not school;
8.  women can’t lead;
9.  a woman’s health is not a man’s concern; and,
10.  women’s empowerment comes at the expense of men.

Although most of us probably consider all of the above to be ridiculous ideas, the fact that CARE found it necessary to draw attention to these myths and then debunk them with the stories of people both past and present who have beaten the odds and proven the naysayers wrong, means these prejudices are still prevalent and they stand in the way of both social and economic development.

Education, of both girls and boys, is really the key to changing attitudes. Canadian global rights activist and former politician Stephen Lewis said it well. “The single most important struggle on the face of the planet is the struggle for gender equality. If schools can do nothing more than get young boys to understand and respect young girls, you will have made an immense contribution.”

Women play a key role in our world, and in humanitarian work. When women are empowered, they work to improve their community’s standard of living and freedoms.

Humanitarian non profit organizations offer ways to help the women of our world. In particular, Plan Canada has a “Because I am a Girl” project in Colombia that helps to protect the rights of nearly 100,000 conflict-affected children in that country. Plan Canada’s goal is to raise $16 million over 5 years, and you can help by visiting their website and making a donation. Donations are matched $3 for $1, so a $20 donation actually brings $80 to the project.

If you’d prefer to be active, CARE Canada is challenging Canadians to Walk in Her Shoes. That is, to symbolically walk in the shoes of a woman in a poor community in our world, who walks an average of 8,000 steps (about 6 km) a day to simply collect water, firewood or other basic necessities of life. Enjoy getting (or staying) fit while you count your steps and help women around our world.

Happy International Women’s Day!

The importance of the “role of women in international development is the reason CARE Canada has joined in with activities around International Women’s Day,” Kieran Green, their Communications Director, told me.  Over the years, CARE has “found that women play the most powerful role in fighting poverty”, Kieran explained.  “A woman who is empowered is more likely to send her kids to school and make sure her family gets proper health care”.  When women in developing countries become empowered economically, the rates of domestic violence go down.  The effects are enormous and that’s why CARE focuses on women, and it’s also what they’re trying to help people realize on International Women’s Day this year.

Kieran also mentioned that when CARE Canada realized there was no symbol for International Women’s Day, they decided to resurrect “the old folk tradition of when you want to remember something that’s important you tie a piece of string around your finger”.  It’s similar to the idea presented by the red ribbon for AIDS and the pink ribbon for breast cancer.  “So for this year we’re calling on Canada and hopefully we’ll see it in the years to come spread around the world, that for International Women’s Day as a reminder of everything that women have achieved and for what they have yet to achieve, tie a string around your finger.”

CARE Canada’s International Women’s Day website has a video showing Fergie, Duchess of York, wearing a string, as well as some women in Afghanistan, Haiti and elsewhere.  “String is available everywhere, and it’s cheap. It’s easy to tie a string around your finger,” Kieran added.  He’s right – tying a string around my finger by myself took less than a minute.  I may have a friend make it a fancy bow.

CARE Canada has a great website dedicated to International Women’s Day.  Enjoy the Day, and tell your friends about it.  It’s a good opportunity to celebrate the social, economic and political successes of women past and present.  Yet it is also a day to think of the millions of women and girls worldwide who continue to fight for justice, equality and peace, the website reminds us.

Happy International Women’s Day!