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This blog is a global conversation among young people on poverty and other development-related issues. It's maintained by the World Bank's Youthink! team

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Gender

Women for Peace

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on October 11, 2009 - 14:05

The biggest misconception that a lot of people have is that the end of a war means total peace. Most, if not all of the time, post-conflict can be one of the most trying times for the people of any country, particularly for women. Post-conflict means the restoration and the rebuilding of communities. It’s that time when many, especially women and children, struggle to get over the trauma wrought by widespread violence.

It’s sad however, how very few member states of the United Nations are actually supporting the National Action Plan, a resolution on heavily involving women in the peace building and peace keeping process. Now in its 9th year, the resolution has only managed to get the support of 16 member states and that’s not even half of the entire United Nations.

Reasons

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on October 1, 2009 - 18:33

According to the United Nations, sexual violence is rampant in developing and emerging countries where poverty levels are at an all-time high and where social and economic inequity and inequality are widespread. In fact, in a World Health Organization report, 2002 alone saw nearly 150 million girls suffer the nightmare of sexual violence.

The way I see it, sexual violence is partly a product of a culture that sees women as the weaker sex. This kind of mentality is lethal considering that it legitimizes the act in the minds of some people—both men and women—and it perpetrates this kind of monstrosity.

Gender: Still An Issue

Submitted by María Rodríguez on August 19, 2009 - 10:26

The other day I was studying with a couple of friends and, while we were on a break, one of them offered me a beer that had entered the Colombian market a couple of years ago. This beer’s marketing strategy is based on the idea of it being “the beer for women.” I said that I wasn’t going to try it, because I think that products that are promoted using ideas of a “macho” culture are not compatible with my way of thinking. And hence we started a very interesting debate that motivated me to write this post.

Shelved No More

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on August 17, 2009 - 11:00

I don’t quite see what took them so long to take this seriously. But it’s only now that the president of the Philippines signed the Magna Carta for Women. Thank heavens this little piece of paper will not just be some other piece of paper that’s debated upon over and over again in congress.

According to the National Commission on the Role of Filipino Women (NCRFW), “The Magna Carta of Women is a comprehensive women's human rights law that seeks to eliminate discrimination against women by recognizing, protecting, fulfilling and promoting the rights of Filipino women, especially those in the marginalized sectors.”

Time to Move

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on August 6, 2009 - 10:42

During the first few years of the Women’s Liberation Movement decades back, it wasn’t uncommon for men to be portrayed as the victimizers and the oppressors of women. In many patriarchal communities, men have often been singled out as the perpetrators of domestic violence and as the roadblocks to the path of women empowerment.

It is only more recently when developing countries like the Philippines have realized that men are not necessarily a hindrance to gender empowerment. Rather, they can be partners in empowerment and in development.

Learning about different partners in the fight against poverty

Submitted by Saadia Iqbal on August 6, 2009 - 10:19

I'm still here at the Youth Assembly, and learning of different organizations and amazing projects all the time. One such organization is Roots and Shoots -- a project founded by Dr. Jane Goodall, that aims to empower youth to make a difference in their own communities. The two presenters from Roots and Shoots asked the audience to think about these questions:

- What kinds of air/water/land pollution do you see in your community?
- Do you know of any endangered plant species in your community?
- Do you know of any endangered animal species in your community?

Partners in Development

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on July 28, 2009 - 17:00

Two thousand fifteen is just half a decade away.  That means we only have five more years to make a tangible and visible change in the lives of millions of people especially those in the developing world. That means we have five New Years and Christmases more before we can completely fulfill our promise to the world’s poorest people.

Women and Agriculture

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on July 10, 2009 - 09:48

It was a funny experience, really, but a point worth pondering. When we asked a group of children to describe a farmer, all of them immediately said that a farmer was a man who planted and harvested crops in a field or a farm. Naturally, the definition, although simplistic, did make sense. But the point of the matter is that none of the children ever pictured the farmer as a woman.

An Extra Hand

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on June 1, 2009 - 16:06

Empowering women who constitute the majority of the most marginalized sectors in South Asia goes beyond simply giving them positions to occupy in government. It means equipping them to be able to represent their sector effectively as they occupy seats in one of the most premier decision making bodies in their countries—the government.

The Gender Perspective

Submitted by Stacy Alcantara on May 21, 2009 - 10:22

Today’s global financial crisis is very much reminiscent of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis.  With the exports and labor-intensive industries being hit harder than Banda Aceh was with the tsunami that swept through its coasts, women were the most adversely affected.  This was because of the strong gender composition of many of the most vulnerable industries today.

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