Saturday, May 23, 2009

Ending the War Against Human Rights


Let us all, especially global leaders, focus on stopping the "war" against human rights, as evidenced by rampant domestic violence, rape, trafficking, abuse, and forced low economic, educational, political, and social status. Around the world, in many cultures, societies and religions, people, especially women and girls, are relegated to positions of low value and status, shown little to no respect, are treated as less than human, and regarded and traded as property.

World Health Organization statistics are: 1 in 3 women and girls worldwide are raped, abused, sexually abused,tortured, or raped as a tool of war. I don't know what the statistics are for men and boys, because they suffer from this as well. I personally know many women and a few men, who were raped and/or sexually abused. The prevalence, acceptance and sometime encouragement of this behavior by people in any society, culture or religion is unconscionable. Rape is all about power over another human being. When you have patriarchal societies, cultures and religions, in which one group has power and control over another, really, what do you expect will happen? Until we change the paradigm to one of true equality and shared power, and until human rights are the priority in action, not just in lip-service or the rule of law, this will sadly continue. I, personally, call on all people, especially men, to stand up, speak up and lead by example to change this paradigm. Let us value all human beings and elevate them to a position of equality, respect, and freedom. When a patriarchal society uses its power to control over one-half the population of this planet, you lose that population's potential to more positively impact the planet and our future. I believe that, when all people are truly equal, many other problems found in this world will also be solved.

An organization I support is Women for Women International. This is a wonderful organization that seeks to end violence against women by teaching men to respect and value women and seeks to empower women by teaching them and helping them start a business. Their emphasis is to train women on their rights, teach them the importance of literacy, and give women the education and small business loans to start their own businesses. For more on Women for Women International, please use this link...
http://www.womenforwomen.org/

Here's the YouTube site for videos:
http://www.youtube.com/user/WomenforWomenIntl
I hope you watch "I Am a New Definition of a Businesswoman," which is narrated by Meryl Streep, and "Women for Women's Men's Leadership Training Program."

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