TYO Recommends: Friday, March 9, 2012
TYO celebrates International Women’s Day with voices of the women of the world!
Why Women?: Want to know what the hubbub is all about? Take a peek at this interactive SLIDESHOW from Reuters about women around the world on International Women’s Day (March 8, 2012). From Myanmar to Miami and Kenya to Kiev, women the world over show the many faces of womanhood. And if animation is more your cup of tea, check out this brief animated video from Oxfam Great Britain in support of International Women's Day!
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Letters of Love: Four Palestinian teens write LETTERS to women they admire through this initiative by ANERA. Touching testimonies to the influence of powerful women of both celebrity and local acclaim such as Um Kulthum and Hind Al-Husseini, these letters stand as a mark of the inspiration these women stir in the hearts of young girls across the Middle East. Have a woman you admire, but you’ve never spoken a word? Speak up now- whether it’s your mother, your favorite teacher, or that astronaut you’ve always wanted to be, in honor of International Women’s Day, take a moment to send love and thanks to the women who have changed your life!
Powerful Women Give a Shout!: And in the reverse, some influential FEMALE FIGUREHEADS in the United States State Department send messages of encouragement, strength, and support to women across the globe. Watch the full International Women of Courage Awards Ceremony or jump to segments of current and former First Ladies Hilary Clinton and Michelle Obama as they present awards to inspiring femmes from a variety of fields and countries.
Taste of Technology: USAID’s Impact Blog gives updates from the field remarking on recent research during GSMA’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The research, conducted on women in Egypt, India, Papua New Guinea, and Uganda, offers a refreshing look at the lives of women at the bottom of the economic pyramid, surviving on $2 or less per day. GSMA, which is dedicated to ending the global gender MOBILE phone gap, estimates the mobile phone gap in the developing world to be as high as 50%. Why worry if gals gab? According to GSMA, the potential to communicate, expand networks, and broaden horizons leads to mobility via the mobile, a novel idea as we forge into the technology age.
Headed for Victory: FIFA is turning heads these days with ample buzz over the impending decision to revisit the ban on HIJABS on the field in world football. The review was prompted by the international outrage following the disqualification of the Iranian women’s team shortly before qualifying matches at the 2011 Olympic games. Debates just might spark a new form of fashionable headgear for FIFA contenders with a sport-friendly hijab that maintains modesty while allowing for player safety during the game. It’s time for women, all women, to have the chance to get in the game.
Just in time for International Women’s Day, USAID puts out their March 2012 report on GENDER EQUALITY AND FEMALE EMPOWERMENT around the world.
And if you are in the Washington, DC area, be sure to check out the upcoming TALK with Wendy Pearlman "Violence, Nonviolence, and the Palestinian National Movement" to be held on March 20 at 5:30pm at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University.