The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is holding the third global meeting of the Farmers' Forum this week in Rome, Italy. The Forum-which brings together more than 70 farmers groups from around the world-is an opportunity for IFAD and other groups to learn firsthand, from farmers, the challenges they face in the field.
On Saturday, the Forum held a workshop to discuss the unique challenges faced by women farmers. Women are the majority of farmers in the world-particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where up to 80 percent of farmers are women. In addition to the day-to-day problems faced by women farmers-including the lack of access to credit and land tenure-women also are underrepresented in farmers groups, associations, and unions, making it hard for their voices to be heard.
But by increasing women's participation and representation in these groups, women and men farmers alike can work together to improve gender awareness, as well as improve their access to loans and agricultural inputs and land tenure.
Participants at the forum are also discussing the importance of increasing agricultural education among youth. Youth make up 60 percent of the population in rural areas and making agriculture an attractive and economically viable option for them in the future will be important for improving food security and livelihoods (See Cultivation a Passion for Agriculture).
What a joke that something called "health reform" could withhold affordable medical care from patients. Abortion is a safe, legal procedure that one in three women has before age 40. I feel totally sold out.
What exactly did Congress do to your rights? It's not good.
Senate Version:
Creates major administrative burdens for people with health plans and stigmatizes abortion care. You wouldn't get the abortion coverage that you currently already have, unless you wrote a separate check for the portion of the premium related to that coverage. But it also would open a new front in the legislative fight over abortion, allowing states to pass laws barring insurers from including abortion coverage in policies for individuals and small businesses. The result could be a significant setback for abortion rights in states where social conservatives dominate the legislature. It could happen in Montana. It's happened before.
Why let states ban abortion coverage just for women not lucky enough to work for an employer who provides it? That doesn't make sense. It harms those folks who don't make a lot of money the most. Thanks a lot Ben Nelson.
83 U.S. Senators are men. If all the women who had ever served in the Senate since 1789 were still there we'd still only have 38.
House version:
The house version includes a total ban on abortion coverage in what's known as the "exchange." This would make abortion coverage unavailable, as in illegal, for millions of women who already have it. And it would prohibit people who receive "affordability credits" under the House health care bill from using those credits to purchase a policy with abortion coverage.
This amendment would inflict special punishment on those who are ready to become mothers but whose pregnancies are making their medical conditions worse. A lot of damage can be done before a woman reaches the life-threatening stage when the Stupak amendment would relent and allow payment for abortion.
Because of their health problems, these women must have their abortions in the hospital, racking up thousands of dollars in bills that destroy their families' finances. The Stupak-Pitts amendment would even prohibit an insurance company in the exchange from covering a patient's abortion if her health is in danger or if the fetus is malformed. You can read more here.
In the House, 441 members of Congress are male (83%) and 92 are female (17%).
Sylvia Banda started Sylva Professional Catering Services Limited in 1986, even though just 30 years ago women weren't allowed to own businesses-or even eligible for loans-in Zambia. She began her business by serving people food she cooked and brought from home on what she calls, a "standing buffet," because she didn't have enough money for tables and chairs.
Not having furniture didn't stop Sylvia's business from taking off; she made almost a hundred dollars after a few days. And with her husband listed as the proprietor of her business because land rights are limited if not inaccessible to women in Zambia, Sylvia was able to grow her small "standing buffet" into three subsidiary businesses.
Sylva Professional Catering Services Limited is dedicated to creating, selling and serving nutritious foods, made from indigenous and traditional products that are purchased from local farmers and merchants. Sylvia provides work for 73 people and has developed partnerships with local development organizations, using her financial and popular success to become a proponent of farmer and employee training. She calls it "economic emancipation."
Sylvia's success has benefited not just her own family, but the wider community as well. And Winrock International, an organization that collects examples of projects focused on sustainable food, improving livelihoods and preserving local food traditions, hopes to extend her positive impact even further still by making her case study available as a resource and model for potential entrepreneurs-and for policy makers and NGOs who support potential entrepreneurs-around the world.
For more information about Sylvia's work and other projects that are focusing on sustainable food, improving livelihoods and preserving local food traditions, see Winrock International's site on Community Food Enterprises.
This site has some really interesting images of women and gun advertisements over the years. Watch out for the annoying gun shot sound when you first open the page. You can definitely the difference between ads designed to attract women to buy guns and ads designed to use women to attract men to buy guns.
The title of this post come from this bizarre website, where you can pay $5,000 to $40,000 to shoot naked women with paintball guns. In case you don't know, this leaves a giant welt. The website encourages men to be cruel and take out their aggressions on these women.
When you get down into the FAQ page, you find they were (shockingly) engaged in some shady dealings, and when criticized for promoting their service at a family outdoor trade show they said that
"they didn't realize that a "family" show meant teaching your kids to go out and kill animals."
Then there's this news about one of the most famous women recently identified with hunting, Sarah Palin. Palin has apparently given up pretending to be a moose hunter and is hunting for lipstick endorsement deals.
Finally, I just saw a great moving about hunting in a different culture, The Cove, which I highly recommend.
Remember Rick Jore's proposed constitutional amendment that defines "personhood" as beginning with conception? You think our claimsopposing the bill -- warning of the state's necessary interest in miscarriages -- were overblown?
Check out this bill pending in the Virginia state legislature that requires all fetal deaths must be reported to "the local or state police or sheriff's department."
Yesterday I made a clumsy stab at talking about the all the "demographics" buzz, which was an effort to try to split up the Democratic electorate into opposing camps based on class and race. My conclusion was that the numbers can be rigged to create all sorts of narratives, and in the end, it was pretty useless and destructive.
David Sirota also had a reaction to the demographics, but he concluded the buzz had the effect of discounting or minimizing the importance or value of African-American voters:
The news industry and politicians, on the other hand, are happy to discuss and exploit race, whether by manufacturing controversy (think Jeremiah Wright) or by promoting racists (think MSNBC hiring Pat Buchanan, or Republican senators re-electing Trent Lott to a leadership position). The media and political elites aren't ostriches - they behave like minstrel show producers, portraying African-Americans as subhuman, alien and unimportant, except for their entertainment value.
MSNBC's Chris Matthews, for example, differentiated between "regular people" and black people. Pundits refer separately to the "working class" and to African-Americans - as if they are mutually exclusive. Hillary Clinton this week claimed, "Obama's support among working, hardworking Americans, white Americans, is weakening" - the implication being that non-white Americans are lazy. These terms - "regular," "working class," "hardworking" - have become euphemisms for "whites," who are subsequently billed as the only ones that matter.
Think I'm imagining that last part? Then you weren't watching ABC's "Nightline" last week. The Jeremiah Wright brouhaha may be roiling the black community, correspondent David Wright said, "but the real question now is what do white voters think." That's right - according to "Nightline," painful questions in the black community aren't "real."
Such denigration happens all the time, and you can tell it is rooted in bigotry because the black vote is - by any mathematical measure - crucial. Political scientist Tom Schaller notes that if Clinton had won slightly more African-American votes, she might be winning. And black turnout for Democrats could decide general elections in many key swing states. Yet, we are still told "the real question" is only what white voters think.
To Sirota, the demographics do matter; it's the emphasis and value judgments that we make from them that are all wrong.
Of course, all this talk of demographics and race ignores the role that women have played in this election, too. Run through the exit polls, and you'll see that, universally, more women than men voted for Senator Hillary Clinton. (As much as 14 percent more in, say, Massachusetts, where, despite losing the state by 15 points, Obama won the majority of male primary goers.) In an election marred by as much, if not more, misogyny than racism, the silence about women voters and issues in this election is almost as damning as the racist bullsh*t staining the talk of African-Americans.
(A must read and nice reminder of why it's important to elect Democrats... - promoted by Jay Stevens)
I've been pretty tough on Barack Obama since I started posting/commenting here, so I thought it would be good to take a moment to emphasize why I think it's important to back the Democratic nominee this year, whomever it may be.
Senate Republicans successfully filibustered the Ledbetter Fair Pay Act yesterday. Members of Congress authored this legislation after the Supreme Court ruled that victims of pay discrimination had only 180 days from the first act of discrimination to file suit. This obviously puts victims of discrimination at a significant disadvantage, and the legislation was intended to clarify Congress's intent regarding equal pay.
Sens. Clinton and Obama left the campaign trail to vote in favor of ending the filibuster and forcing a vote on the bill. McCain skipped this vote, but applauded his Republican colleagues who blocked the legislation.
This wouldn't be nearly as annoying if the logic behind his opposition to the bill wasn't such a mess.
(Another perspective on the visits (that may provide some insight for Obama fans on how to talk to those with whom they disagree). - promoted by Matt Singer)
So I attended both Barack Obama's rally at the Adams Center, and Hillary Clinton's town hall meeting at the Neptune Aviation hangar. I didn't think these rallies would change my opinions on the candidates in any significant way, and they haven't. I thought it would be worthwhile, however, to present the perspective of a Clinton supporter on these two events. With photos!
(Please nominate the wonderful women who make Missoula a wonderful, progressive place to live. Deadline is March 21. Download app at www.ywcaofmissoula.org. - promoted by Caitlin Copple)
A woman's work is never done, and too often her accomplishments go unnoticed or underappreciated.
With help from your nominations, YWCA Missoula aims to change that. The organization will recognize local women for their public actions and personal triumphs at the 20th Salute to Women dinner and awards banquet on Thursday, May 15, at the Holiday Inn Downtown. Award nominations are due March 21.
Salute awards honor women from of all races and backgrounds who have demonstrated a commitment to the YWCA's mission of creating opportunities for women's growth, leadership and power in order to ensure peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all people. Specific award categories include: Economic Empowerment of Women, Racial Justice and Rising Star, which honors extraordinary women under 30.
"We hope Missoulians will nominate their mothers, sisters, co-workers, aunts, daughters, teachers, anyone who has made a difference in this community," said Cindy Weese, executive director of YWCA Missoula. "While the awards are for women, we welcome nominations from men as well."
While Weese noted the many ways women's lives have improved over the past 20 years, she said it's important to remember women, on average, still make only 77 cents for every dollar earned by men.
To learn more or download a nomination form, visit www.ywcaofmissoula.org. Completed forms may be faxed to the YWCA at 543-6777, mailed to 1130 W. Broadway, Missoula, MT, 59802, or emailed to jmaturen@ywcaofmissoula.org.
Founded in 1911, YWCA Missoula works to eliminate racism and empower women. Learn more at www.ywcaofmissoula.org, or call 543-6691.
It pains many of us to hear about sexual and relationship violence happening in our community. It's admirable that many citizens, led by Paul Wright, lined up along the Higgins Avenue Bridge last Friday to protest the recent rape of a young woman who was walking the river trail. We know the generosity of spirit that characterizes Missoula residents.
This spirit of generosity and compassion helps YWCA Missoula offer 24-hour services to people who have experienced sexual assault and relationship violence. This spirit shines through whenever people volunteers to staff our crisis line and shelter, or when they participate in monthly tours to learn more about how our organization addresses and responds to sexual assault and relationship violence.
Sometimes it takes a particular incident of violence to wake us to the reality that violence is occurring-yes, even in our community. About 25 percent of women experience sexual assault or rape in their lifetime. Rape by a stranger, however, only accounts for a minority of all sexual violence.
A typical response to an incident is to remind women about all the precautions we can take to avoid rape: Don't walk at night, carry mace, use the buddy system, etc. However well intentioned or helpful the advice is, the message sent is that it is the responsibility of girls and women to avoid rape. These precautions do not prepare women for situations when the person who is violating us is someone we know - a friendly new acquaintance, a co-worker, a long time friend, a partner or a parent. So, although generations of women have heard these well-intended messages, the statistic has remained the same - one in four women will be sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
Perhaps change will happen with men joining women in the fight to end sexual violence. Some men who choose to take on responsibility for men's violence against women have personally felt the indescribable pain of a partner, sibling, parent or friend who has been assaulted. Locally, men have gathered to discuss how what they have been taught about masculinity contributes to a culture where so many women have experienced sexual violence. Men have answered the crisis line, marched at "Take Back the Night" and supported the women in their lives who have experienced violence. YWCA Missoula applauds Paul Wright and other men who stand up and speak out against men's violence against women.
Men Can Stop Rape is a national organization working to mobilize men to work to end violence against women. They offer these steps to men who want to be more involved:
1. Speak up. When your best friend tells a joke about rape, say you don't find it funny. When you read an article that blames a rape survivor for being assaulted, write a letter to the editor. When laws are proposed that limit women's rights, let politicians know that you won't support them. Do anything but remain silent.
2. Support survivors of rape. By learning to sensitively support survivors in their lives, men can help both women and other men feel safer to speak out about being raped and let the world know how serious a problem rape is.
3. Contribute your time and money. Join or donate to an organization working to prevent violence against women.
4. Organize. Form your own organization of men focused on stopping sexual violence. Men's anti-rape groups are becoming more and more common around the country.
YWCA Missoula invites men and women to join in a facilitated discussion further exploring what men can do to prevent violence at the Roxy Theater on Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. following a screening of the movie "Wrestling With Manhood."
Caitlin Copple and Bridget Hanna work at YWCA Missoula. They can be reached at 543-6691.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is holding the third global meeting of the