women – Generation Change

Standing up to everyday sexism

braendlina — Tue, 26 Aug 2014 16:23:35 +0000

She was sick and tired of rude comments on the bus and inappropriate groping in crowds, so one young Londoner has been sending a clear message to other women: You don’t have to tolerate sexism.

Listen to the report by Joanna Impey in London:

http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/files/Laura-every-day-sexism-re-run.mp3

Laura Bates even took on Facebook – with success (Photo: J. Impey)

: Laura has used Twitter to encourage women to share their experiences (Photo: J. Impey)

The underground can be an uncomfortable experience (Photo: J. Impey)

Laura (second from left) has gotten support from British MP Caroline Lucas (second from right) (Photo: J. Impey)

More about the Everyday Sexism Project on their Website.

Follow the Everyday Sexism Project on Twitter.

First published on 25 June 2013

Selling Afghan stitchery in Germany

braendlina — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 13:50:51 +0000

Afghanistan has seen violence for years and many of the women and children in the war-stricken country lack the education to get good jobs and put enough food on the table. That’s where Zhora Comes in, a young Afghan woman living in Germany. Her plan to help the women in her home country is making Germany’s fashion more colorful.

Listen to the report by Falk Steinborn in Siegen, Germany:

http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/files/Zohra.mp3

Many children in Afghanistan are working rather than going to school (Photo: Zohra Soori-Nurzad)

That’s where Zohra comes in. She is selling colorful scarves in Germany that were stitched by Afghan women to send the revenues back to the Afghan families (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Zohra also goes to German schools and talks to the children about the kind of life women and their children in Afghanistan are facing (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Saving Germany’s midwives

mueserk — Tue, 20 May 2014 13:49:35 +0000

Going into labor can be an anxious time, especially for first time mothers. In Germany, it’s often the midwife who provides support and helps young women get through the ordeal.

Bianca Kasting, 32, knows this well enough. Last year, when she gave birth to her first child, a midwife was there to hold her hand.

In Germany there are around 21,000 midwives. And although the work they do is vital, they are often underpaid, and have to pay high insurance premiums. The situation has become so bad, that many midwives have joined protests around the country, or left the profession entirely.

Bianca wanted to do something to help, so she launched an online petition, and even cycled around Germany – her baby in tow – to raise awareness about the plight of midwives.

Listen to the report from Michael Hartlep, Germany:

http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/files/Saving-Germanys-midwives.mp3

Bianca Kasting has launched an online campaign to rescue midwives. (Photo: Jennifer Fraczek)

Dancing to keep women safe

mueserk — Tue, 04 Mar 2014 15:48:17 +0000

Melisa Rodrigues, a 27-year-old from Lisbon, used to work for a big international company. At some point she realized, money wasn’t the key to happiness. So she quit her job, did a Master’s degree in globalization and development and went to India to work for an NGO.

It was in India that she learned about the One Billion Rising movement – an annual dance event demanding an end to violence against women and girls all over the world.

Melisa realized that violence – particularly domestic violence – was a big problem in her home country, Portugal. So she organized a One Billion Rising event in a train station in Lisbon to raise awareness and help women affected by violence know they’re not alone.

Listen to the report by Nádia Dinis in Lisbon:

http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/files/Dancing-to-keep-women-safe.mp3

Melisa Rodrigues is practicing her dance moves for the One Billion Rising event (Photo: Miguel Fascinado)

The Lisbon event drew a strong crowd of mainly woman – and a few men (Photo: Miguel Fascinado)

Melisa (right) is pictured with Rita, another volunteer, at the Portuguese parliament just before the One Billion Rising event (Photo: Miguel Fascinado)

A former Portuguese football player hosted the event (Photo: Miguel Fascinado)

Young man stands up for women’s rights in Buenos Aires

mueserk — Wed, 18 Dec 2013 07:55:48 +0000

In Buenos Aires, it’s not uncommon to see ads plastered on every street corner featuring scantily clad women in lascivious positions. The prostitutes for sale, however, are often there against their will. Human trafficking in the sex industry is a major problem.

Jerónimo Velez is working to change that, together with the organization Martes Rojos. He leads volunteers on walks through the city to remove the sex ads. Their aim? To raise awareness for the fact that many of the city’s prostitutes are victims of trafficking.

For some people in the community, it’s unusual that a man like Jerónimo would have the courage to take a stand on this sensitive issue.

Listen to the report by Maria Cruz from Buenos Aires:

http://blogs.dw.com/generationchange/files/Young-Argentinian-man-fights-sex-trafficking.mp3

Jerónimo emphasizes that Martes Rojos is non-political (Photo: M. Cruz)

Flyers advertising prostitutes are ubiquitous in Buenos Aires (Photo: M. Cruz)

Martes Rojos volunteers take to the streets regularly to remove sex ads (Photo: Martes Rojos)

Reporter Maria Cruz joined in on one of the Martes Rojos walks (Photo: Martes Rojos)

Changing lives through dance in Kenya

mueserk — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 13:14:18 +0000

Dance can changes lives. This is the philosophy of volunteer Amrei Krings. One-and-a-half years ago, she started planning a dance workshop to empower sex workers in Kenya and founded the organization Maua in order to realize her idea.

This summer, her dream became a reality. While the dance workshop was a success, the project wasn’t easy for Amrei, who had to learn some tough lessons about trust and cultural differences.

Listen to the report by Falk Steinborn in Naivasha, Kenya:

Changing lives through dance in Kenya

Visit Amrei’s organization, Maua, on Facebook.

Amrei Krings was responsible for everything behind the scenes, so didn’t have much time left to dance herself (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Dance instructor Charles practices with the women and a group of young men that came twice to help out. On Fridays the workshop was open to everybody in Naivasha in order to integrate the sex workers into the community of the villagers. (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Amrei has some stress with the partner organization on location (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

The dancers are getting prepared for the final show (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Amrei’s aim was to give the women a new sense of themselves (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

After the workshop in the morning, Amrei leads a meeting in the afternoon in order to prepare the final show (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Dance teacher Benedetta Reuter gives some instructions to the women to make bigger and braver movements (Photo: Falk Steinborn)

Keeping women safe in Cambodia

mueserk — Tue, 13 Aug 2013 11:55:42 +0000

In Cambodia, violence against women is a troubling – and common – concern. Ou Ratanak, witnessed it first-hand when he was growing up. He says his uncle physically abused his aunt, but when he brought it up, he was told to mind his own business.

Now, however, he’s making women’s safety his business. And he’s hoping to tackle the problem for future generations, by heading an organization that works with young adults to change attitudes towards sexual violence.

Listen to the report by Irwin Loy in Phnom Penh, Cambodia:

Keeping women safe in Cambodia

Ou Ratanak looks on as a student makes a point during a mock debate held to encourage critical thinking on gender issues among Cambodian youth (Photo: I. Loy)

A student makes his case during a mock debate held to encourage critical thinking on gender issues among Cambodian youth (Photo: I. Loy)

Raising awareness is Ou Ratanak’s first priority (Photo: I. Loy)

Standing up to everyday sexism

mueserk — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 13:04:47 +0000

She was sick and tired of rude comments on the bus and inappropriate groping in crowds, so one young Londoner has been sending a clear message to other women: You don’t have to tolerate sexism.

Listen to the report by Joanna Impey in London:

Standing up to everyday sexism

Laura Bates even took on Facebook – with success (Photo: J. Impey)

Laura has used Twitter to encourage women to share their experiences (Photo: J. Impey)

Taking the underground can be an uncomfortable experience (Photo: J. Impey)

Laura (second from left) has gotten support from British MP Caroline Lucas (second from right) (Photo: J. Impey)

More about the Everyday Sexism Project on their Website.

Follow the Everyday Sexism Project on Twitter.

Backed by the Net, Infoladies help rural women

mueserk — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 08:23:39 +0000

They bike hundreds of miles to bring advice and medicine to thousands in remote, impoverished villages. DW has honored the work of Bangladesh’s “Infoladies” with the 2013 Bobs online activism award.

Mahfuza Akter would have rather gone to university, but her family couldn’t afford the fees. After finishing high school, the country girl had practically no chance of getting a job in her native district of Gaibandha in northern Bangladesh. But luck stroke in 2010 when she managed to get a job as a so-called “Infolady.” For this extraordinary profession, the 25-year-old requires a bicycle, some high-tech devices and plenty of organizational skills.

Read the full article here.

Infoladies bring technology to rural populations (Photo: D.net/Amirul Rajiv)

Project runway in Buenos Aires

mueserk — Tue, 21 May 2013 12:30:38 +0000

Many young women in the shantytowns of Buenos Aires struggle with drug abuse or unwanted pregnancy. Learning to walk with self-confidence can change that, says Guido Fuentes. So he opened a modeling school.

Listen to the report by Eilis O’Neill in Buenos Aires:

Project Runway in Buenos Aires

Learning to walk with confidence (Photo: Fotolia/Peter Atkins)