Monday, March 7, 2016

International Women's Day

 These women live in Thiruchuli, 
a small rural village in 
TamilNadu, Southern India. 

 These women welcomed me into their community 
And shared their lives with me...

I learnt so much from them

 This is Seroja
She took care of me during one of my visits
She, like many women in this village, 
Works very hard. 

 Each woman has her own life experienes
Her own dreams
And her own fears......

 These girls (below), have many dreams and hopes
And I believe the world is changing for them
They are the first generation of girls in their family to go to school
They are happy in their hostel
And the NGO works hard to make sure they are safe

These women are my sisters, my children, and my friends. I support www.odamindia.org because they support this community of women.

International Women’s Day is celebrated around the world on March 8th. (Www.unwomen.org.au)

Violence against women and girls is a serious problem, is entirely preventable and we all have a role to play to end violence at home and around the world.

The facts:

  • Around the world, 1 in 3 women will experience violence in her lifetime.
  • In the Pacific, as many as 2 in 3 women will experience violence in their lifetimes.
  • In the highlands of Papua New Guinea, as many as 100% of women report experiencing sexual or physical violence.
Around the globe tomorrow many women, men and communities will honour women in many different ways. I plan to raise awareness to the power of education for girls. I believe that in being educated, girls will gain strength to make informed decisions about health, family, economics and safety. Thats why i support ODAM. 

3 comments:

Jeanie said...

This post is a beautiful way to honor women -- and the photos are exquisite and so very soulful.

Esme said...

What a lovely post and a great experience.

Vagabonde said...

This is a great post. Most people in western nations do not realize how much violence there is against women. Former US President Jimmy Carter wrote a book called “A Call to Action: Women, Religion, Violence, and Power “ (we went to his book signing here and purchased the book.) He explains how much discrimination and violence there is against women in so many countries. I think changes will come slowly, unfortunately.