Staff
Editors
Aleisha Larsen
Jamie Turney
Contributors
Shanna Bartholomew
Megan Sandall
Poetry Editor
Derek AnnisTags
Academic Paper activism Alternative Health Anne Fausto-Sterling call to action Childrearing Diversity Education Emily Bronte Food Not Bombs Gender Genderless Guest Post Health Resources Hermaphrodite India In Memory Of International Intersex literature Local Feminists Local Women Media media review music News Nigeria Parenting Planned Parenthood Poem police queer theory racism relationships Rights Abuses RomCom sex work SlutWalk Sut Jhally Twilight welcome Women's Health Women's Rights Women in India Women of Color-
Recent Posts
Recent Comments
- Elizabeth Kissling on Happy Menstrual Monday
- Megan Sandall on Happy Menstrual Monday
- Elizabeth Kissling on Happy Menstrual Monday
- Megan on Think Global, Act Local
- Sarah on Think Global, Act Local
Archives
Categories
Blogroll
Local Organizations
Meta
Category Archives: International Women’s Rights
Pregnant girls enslaved, forced full term
It’s the stuff you see in horror films. Women kidnapped, forced to become pregnant, their babies harvested for body parts or slavery.
But that’s exactly what is happening in today’s world, and specifically, in Abia, 
Nigeria. A so-called “baby farm” was just raided by Nigerian police, where 32 pregnant teenage girls were found. The girls carried unwanted pregnancies, and were either lured in with the promise of money or kidnapped. Either way, the girls were locked up and forced to go full term and give birth. The babies were then trafficked or sold for body parts for witchcraft rituals.
While another “baby farm” was found in Nigeria in 2008, and human trafficking is a huge problem for Nigeria, somehow the U.S. government has given Nigeria a Tier 1 rating for human trafficking, which basically means they are meeting all the standards of the US’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Yet here we are, with the second mass enslavement of young pregnant girls found within 3 years.
Why do these activities even occur? Looking at Nigeria, we have to look at the value of a woman. Few and far between are reproductive health care clinics; abortion is illegal and highly stigmatized; maternal mortality is high; add all this to a mixture of early marriage and early pregnancies and you have a recipe for a slaughter of women’s rights.
Education and What it means for the Women in India
Indian Women in Sarees
The labor force participation rate for women is lower than their male counterparts. There are many factors that influence whether a girl will attend primary school. For example, if the conditions of the roads are poor, children are less likely to attend school. Because of these distinct factors, this also influences higher education. This in turn affects whether or not women will attain high paying employment and even be considered for permanent employment. For further reading, read “Education Attainment in India: What it Means to Participate in the Labor Force.”
-Bina Walker
POEM “U.S.”
U.S.
Color
Where is your color
Am I your friend
Your friend of color
Do I satisfy a need
Why must I be your person
Will you always run to me
Count them on your hand
One, two , three
How many white
How many like you
Where is your diversity
Color stays within
Color is discriminated
Color is not your icon
Color is not your hero
Where is your diversity
I am sick
I am tired
I am brown
A color different from you
I am a color
I am not your color
-Bina Rachael Walker
This poem generated from someone generalizing the United States and stating that there was diversity everywhere. This person also said that they lived in the same area as I did and they could list all of their ‘diverse’ friends. This person did not understand that saying that a list could be provided defeated the purpose of actual diversity. I am a woman of color and I do not want to be put on a list. I am human being. Not an object.