1. As you read, make a list of the issues women face globally.

  • Sex trafficking
  • acid attacks
  • bride burning
  • mass rape
  • domestic violence
  • poverty
  • unable to divorce and get out of unwanted marriages
  • women’s rights
  • educational prospects
  • female baby murderers gendercide
  • forced prostitution
  • health care
  • forced labor
  • inheritance laws that do not allow women to inherit their husbands money
  • take away the stigma of menstruation girls stay home when they have their periods
  • women dying in childbirth
 

2. Why do the authors support targeting aid towards women?

Empowering women undermines extremism and terrorism. According to the article with help “starting businesses impoverished women can earn money and support their countries as well as their families they represent perhaps the best hope for fighting global poverty”. Women suffer some of the greatest poverty and men sometimes have bad spending habits and go to bars instead of buying food. Men purchase alcohol prostitution candy sugar instead of educating their kids. Educating women and putting them into the workforce delays childbearing. Men spend 10 times as much on ridiculous things in the poorest parts of the world than they do on educating the children. When women hold money and have an income is more likely to be spent on food medicine and housing so children become healthier.

3. What do you think? What reactions do you have to this article?

This article is depressing as hell and shocking too. I hate to think that this happens all over the world. Africa and Asia sound so backwards and frightening. It is hard to imagine there was ever a time where these things happened let alone that that time is now and it is happening as we speak. My first reaction is anger, real anger. The sheer overwhelming number of people involved makes it all seem overwhelming. I know people go out of their way not to buy items from China because it is made by sweatshops. I have no idea how to help. I feel overwhelmed by the complexity of the problem. We are literally talking about billions of people.