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.”

In a nutshell, men’s tendency to improve their economic well being by destroying the forest and land makes life harder for women fulfilling their traditional role.  As natural sources become depleted, women will use resources such as cow manure for kitchen fuel rather than putting it into the fields.  As Sudesca explains, this weakens the soil and makes women’s lives even harder.

This is one reason development needs to include women, who are often the most conscious of environmental issues.  Women tend to recognize that environmental degradation is closely related to human actions and the social sphere.

India is striving to create a mutually beneficial relationship between women, their communities and natural resources, that allows conservation to become a primary goal.  Sudesca reports that in communities that rely heavily on farms, the women can be trained in on-farm conservation techniques including biodiversity inventories.  In order to complete their work, women must become an essential part of the fight against environmental degradation.

Women, whose traditional seed selection and farming duties include maintaining a diverse selection of food crops, have begun to take on a vital role in conserving the environment and working towards sustainability.  The female population is quickly entering the public sphere with a stronger voice, and taking up careers in the sciences.  Among others, India’s Department of Biotechnology began creating programmes in 1998 that further arm women in the battle against environmental degradation.

The Sudesca article is a fascinating article – if you have any interest in sustainability, conservation, developing countries, or women’s issues, you will probably enjoy reading the Role Of Women In Conservation Of Environment.

Results of MEDA’s programs in Afghanistan and Pakistan prove that when women have a means of income and control over their personal income, the return on investment is phenomenal for their family, community and country.

Currently, Helen is involved with three of MEDA’s ongoing programs in the embellished materials (hand embroidered fabric) sector.  These initiatives give particularly marginalized women, who are traditionally homebound, important economic opportunities, linking them to markets to create an income.  With homebound women, the solution was to create a woman to woman sales network.  Once the women have an income, they are able to invest it – they educate their children (including their daughters), buy better shoes, buy assets for the house such as a radio, or acquire more income-generating assets such as livestock.  Some women have purchased a motorcycle for their family to use for transport to and from school, and for business opportunities, even though few women use it themselves.

Helen has observed a fantastic leap of confidence in the women involved in the projects.  “The glory of this job is witnessing the effect that this has on the women in terms of their carriage, the way in which they engage with other members of their groups, and ultimately in their communities,” reports Helen.  They become a role model for their children and other women.

As well, as the book suggests, empowering the women lessens terrorism.  The women are their children’s largest influence, and the kids are with their mothers for all of the first seven or so years of their life.  “If the family itself has a business that is viable and growing and shows economic promise, that gives the family something worth holding onto and building upon,” explained Helen.  The communities in which MEDA works line the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.  A family with no other choice for survival might send a child or father off for $5 a day to carry anything anyone asks them to back and forth across the border.  If you can build something for them to hang onto, that shows hope and gives them dignity, they will engage in that and  defend it – rejecting outside influences of things they know are not right, reports Helen.

Coming from a family business herself, Helen has worked in the private sector in southern Ontario, and has an MBA.  The MBA led to an internship with CARE in India that was her opportunity to test if international economic development work was a romantic ideal or a good match.  Her internship, linking fledgling enterprises to interested multinationals, proved this was where she wanted to be.  So, for the last 3 ½ years, she has worked with MEDA.

Part of MEDA’s success in Pakistan relies on the word spreading through the communities.  MEDA links women new to the program to the marketplace in a culturally acceptable manner and most women just run with it.  Although MEDA workers with western perspectives sometimes have trouble grappling with the depth of the need and the urgency to do something positive, the work is exciting and rewarding.

And while some women keep their business as a very small family venture, other women become real business people.  Some are so enterprising they no longer need MEDA.  They understand competition, and don’t want to share their numbers or the full story on how the business is doing.  Although the humanitarian vocational workers are thrilled by the women’s success, it can be frustrating when annual program reports are due!

For more information about MEDA, or to donate, please visit their website.