December, 2021 – This has been an extraordinarily productive period, as MCLD provided input the Democracy and Nutrition Summits and USAID’s new Local Capacity Development Policy, strengthened our stand for Climate Action and began developing ambitious national chapter strategies for 2022.
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Is God a Feminist?
Fourteenth in my series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Photo – public domain – of the painting by Francisco Rizi. December 8 is observed by some Christians as the “Feast of the Immaculate Conception” and honors Mary, the mother of Jesus of Nazareth. Mary plays a major role in both the Christian…
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Guns make gender-based violence deadly.
Twelfth in a series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Photo by by ZhengZhou of the sculpture “Non-Violence” by Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, in front of UN headquarters at New York City. December 6, 1989 was the Montreal massacre – a mass shooting at the École Polytechnique specifically targeting feminists. Since then, December 6 has become a…
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International Volunteer Day
December 5 is International Volunteer Day (IVD). In 2018, the theme for this day is “Volunteers build Resilient Communities,” recognizing volunteers worldwide – with a special focus on local community volunteers – who contribute to making their communities more resilient against natural disasters, economic stresses and political shocks. Women represent 57% of volunteers globally so this…
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The Pill vs Gender-based Violence
Tenth in a series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Photo: iStock.com/araoraor December 4 – On this day in 1961, Britain’s National Health Service first made oral contraception available. Despite opposition from the Catholic Church and some other religious groups, a 2012 study by the Guttmacher Institute found that 99% of all women…
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Halting Sexual Abuse of People with Disabilities
Ninth in a series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Photo: The Hunger Project-Bangladesh December 3 is the International Day for People with Disabilities. According to the Minnesota website DisabilityJustice.org, “People with disabilities are sexually assaulted at nearly three times the rate of people without disabilities.” The site reports that 83% of women…
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Community Action to End Modern Slavery
Part 8 for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Photo: iStock.com/Favor of God December 2, 2018 is the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery. Modern-day slavery is appallingly widespread. According to the UN more than 40 million people are in forced labor, including 4.8 million in forced sexual exploitation. Women and girls are…
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Women on the Front Lines of Peace and Security
Sixth in a series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence. Photo: UN Peace Keeping. Seh-Dong-Hong-Beh, leader of the Dahomey women’s regiment, drawn by Frederick Forbes, 1851 – Public Domain. Today, November 30, is Benin National Day. What does that have to do with Women, Peace and Security? Well – Benin’s history features the…
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Women Human Rights Defenders
Fifth in a series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence I am always deeply inspired by each of the heroic women and men who have served as United Nations High Commissioners for Human Rights. The High Commissioner’s “To Do” list is horrific, dealing personally and skillfully with one brutal situation after another. (Many…
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When Women Lead
Fourth in a series for 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-based Violence On this day in 1919, American-born Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor (Lady Astor) became the first woman elected to the British Parliament. Women gained the vote in the UK in 1918, and not until 1920 in the US. During this same period, India was…