Who Was Dua Khalil?
Dua Khalil Aswad was a 17 year old Kurdish Yazidi girl who was beaten and stoned to death on April 7, 2007 by a group of men, including several of her own family members, in an ancient and barbaric custom known as "honor killing" that is tragically still common in many countries around the world. Her crime? Falling in love with a Sunni Muslim. The attack occurred in broad daylight while police and a large crowd of bystanders looked on, some of them recording the incident on their cell phone cameras. Several videos of Dua's murder were later leaked onto the internet, provoking an international outcry and possibly a retailiatory murder of 23 Yazidi workers by Sunni gunman.
This Lens is intended both as a memorial to Dua herself and a call to arms against violence that affects women the world around.
CNN Coverage of the Murder
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT AND VIOLENCE. MAY DAMAGE FAITH IN HUMANITY.
News Coverage of the Murder
- Four arrested in Iraq 'honor killing'
- Authorities in northern Iraq have arrested four people in connection with the "honor killing" last month of a Kurdish teen -- a startling, morbid pummeling caught on a mobile phone video camera and broadcast around the world.
- The Dishonorable Death of Dua
- Video clips of the killing posted on the Internet are shaky, grainy and sickeningly barbaric. Shot by cell phone, the camera weaves in and out through a throng of angry, screaming men, bringing the viewer right up close to a brutal and ancient form of retribution: death by stoning.
- The moment a teenage girl was stoned to death for loving the wrong boy
- A 17-year-old girl has been stoned to death in Iraq because she loved a teenage boy of the wrong religion.
- Stoning to death of girl provokes wave of killings
- The stoning to death of a teenage girl belonging to the Yazidi religious sect because she fell in love with a Muslim man has led to a spiral of violence in northern Iraq in which 23 elderly factory workers have been shot dead and 800 Yazidi students forced to flee their university in Mosul.
- "Honour Killing" Sparks Fears of New Iraqi Conflict
- Bashiqa, a small town sitting in lush green hills east of the city of Mosul, used to be regarded as an island of peace and stability while vast areas of post-Saddam Iraq were plunged into civil war.
- Yazidis Ask Iraqi Government for Protection
- Members of the Yazidi religious minority have asked the Iraqi government and international NGOs to protect them after gunmen on Sunday killed 23 Yazidis in Mosul, northern Iraq. "It is unacceptable because Yazidis, in addition to being a minority in Iraq, have been discriminated against for their beliefs and are forced to isolate themselves to stay alive," Hebert Yegorova, a spokesman for Yazidi Peace Association, said.
More Responses to Dua's Murder
- Iraq: Amnesty International appalled by stoning to death of Yezidi girl and subsequent killings
- Amnesty International is appalled by the killing of Du'a Khalil Aswad, aged about 17, who was stoned to death on or around 7 April 2007 for a so-called honour crime. A member of Iraq's Yezidi religious minority from the village of Bahzan in northern Iraq, she was killed by a group of eight or nine men and in the presence of a large crowd in the town of Bashika, near the city of Mosul. Some of her relatives are said to have participated in the killing.
- Statement: KRG condemns murder of Dua Khalil Aswad
- The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) condemns the murder of Dua Khalil Aswad, aged 17, who was stoned to death on 7 April in the town of Bashika near Mosul, Nineveh governorate.
- We Will Never Forget You, Dua
- "She was abducted and brutally murdered in front of hundreds of men by her relatives -- who stripped her body, beat and kicked her, and killed her by crushing her body with rocks and concrete blocks. These brutal and inhuman acts were filmed by the participants on their mobile phones and many of them have been circulating on the internet and from phone to phone. They show the participation of the police in this disgusting communal murder and the murderous excitement of the crowd as the girl's uncle, brother and cousin comit the grisly murder"
- Kurdistance: The Honor Killing of Dua
- This may seem like old news%u2026.but it isn't. Even though the tragic honor killing of a young girl in Northern Iraq/Southern Kurdistan took place in early April, sometimes the meaning of these sad stories take a while to surface. There are conflicting reports about how 17-year-old Dua died, some say that she was lynched, some stoned to death, others say both. What we do know was that Dua was a young girl in love, who left her Yezidi faith to live her life with a man that she loved. She was brave and idealistic; and she died horribly because of it. A mob of Yezidi men dragged her into the street, tore her clothes to shame her, and then the mob killed her%u2026the final blow being a large rock taken to her head. And someone filmed this horror, which is floating around the internet somewhere if you truly wish to see it. What is important, is that this tragedy not only is sad in the individual sense of this girl's death, it is also sad in what it signifies for a culture and society eager to change, but unable to, as the Kurdish bloggers point out.
- Let's Watch A Girl Get Beaten To Death.
- Last month seventeen year old Dua Khalil was pulled into a crowd of young men, some of them (the instigators) family, who then kicked and stoned her to death. This is an example of the breath-taking oxymoron "honor killing", in which a family member (almost always female) is murdered for some religious or ethical transgression. Dua Khalil, who was of the Yazidi faith, had been seen in the company of a Sunni Muslim, and possibly suspected of having married him or converted. That she was torturously murdered for this is not, in fact, a particularly uncommon story. But now you can watch the action up close on CNN. Because as the girl was on the ground trying to get up, her face nothing but red, the few in the group of more than twenty men who were not busy kicking her and hurling stones at her were filming the event with their camera-phones. There were security officers standing outside the area doing nothing, but the footage of the murder was taken - by more than one phone - from the front row. Which means whoever shot it did so not to record the horror of the event, but to commemorate it. To share it. Because it was cool.
- Wikipedia: Dua Khalil Aswad
- Du'a Khalil Aswad (died c. April 7, 2007) was a 17 year old Iraqi Yazidi girl who was stoned to death in an honor killing. It is believed that she was killed around the April 7, 2007, but the incident did not come to light until video of the stoning apparently recorded on a mobile phone appeared on the Internet.
What is Honor Killing?
Excerpt from Wikipedia:An honor killing is a murder, nearly exclusively of a woman, who has been perceived as having brought dishonor to her family. Such killings are typically perpetrated by the victim's own relatives and/or community and unlike crimes of passion or rage-induced killings, usually planned in advance.
In societies and cultures where they occur, such killings are often regarded as a "private matter" for the affected family alone, and courts rarely become involved or prosecute the perpetrators.
The United Nations Population Fund estimates that the annual worldwide total of honor-killing victims may be as high as 5,000 women.
As of 2004, honor killings have occurred at the hands of individuals within parts of various countries, such as Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel (within the Arab, Druze and Bedouin communities), Italy, Jordan, Morocco, the Palestinian territories, Sweden, Turkey, Uganda, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Honor Killings in the News
- Honor Killings Plague Pakistan
- Hooran, another victim of the cancer custom of honor killing, known locally as Karo-Kari, exudes a mix of fear and hopelessness in her broad brown eyes despite the fact that she defeated a sure death.
- 'Honor' killing spurs outcry in Syria
- Sixteen-year-old Zahra Ezzo died at the hospital last month after a brutal attack. But it was her brother who confessed to killing her - and her family who appointed him to carry out the murder.
- In Turkey, 'Honor Killing' Follows Families to Cities
- By Sait Kina's way of thinking, his 13-year-old daughter brought nothing but dishonor to his family: She talked to boys on the street, she ran away from home, she was the subject of neighborhood gossip.
- Turkey works to stop 'honor' killings
- Desperately unhappy, 21-year-old Sahe Fidan left the husband she despised and sought refuge in her parents' home. They refused to take her in. A married woman can leave her husband only in a coffin, they told her.
- Murder shines spotlight on 'honor killings'
- The life sentence handed down to an Iraqi immigrant for murdering his daughter in London has focused attention on so-called "honor killings."
- England Targets Honor Killings
- Police are to examine the scale of "honor crimes" in the Asian community amid growing evidence that women are being subjected to violence and sometimes murdered for refusing to obey the traditions of their culture.
More Names to Remember
The United Nations Population Fund estimates that as many as 5000 women a year die in honor killings around the world. Here are some of the victims.
- Fadime Sahindal, 26, Sweden
Murdered by her father after refusing to submit to a forced marriage. - Sahjda Bibi, 21, England
Murdered by her cousin for marrying a divorced man rather than a relative. - Heshu Yones, 16, England
Murdered by her father for falling in love with a Lebanese Christian boy. - Pela Atroshi, 19, Sweden/Iraq
Murdered by her father and uncle for staying out all night. - Anooshe Sediq Ghulam, 22, Norway
Murdered by her husband after divorcing him for abuse - Ghazala Khan, 18, Denmark
Murdered by her brother for marrying against the family's wishes. - Samaira Nazir, 25, England
Murdered by her brother, cousin, and mother for wishing to marry against the family's wishes. - Hatun Aynur Sürücü, 23, Germany
Murdered by her brother for divorcing her husband (a cousin she had been forced to marry) and reportedly dating a German man. - Banaz Mahmod, 20, England
Tortured, raped, and murdered by her father, uncle, and another man for divorcing her abusive husband and falling in love with another man. - Zahra Ezzo, 16, Syria
Murdered by her brother for eloping with a man who'd threatened to blackmail her father if she didn't run away with him. - Muqadas, Bano, Sumaira, and Humaira Ahmed, 25, 8, 7, and 4, Pakistan
Murdered by their father. Mudaqas had been accused of adultery by her husband (townspeople report she had fled her marriage after he abused her) and the girls' father states that he did not wish his younger daughters to commit the same crime. - Samia Sarwar, 29, Pakistan
Killed by her family for seeking a divorce after 10 years in an abusive marriage.
Organizations Working to Fight Honor Killings
- International Campaign to Stop Honor Killings
- Over 5000 women and girls are killed every year by family members in so-called 'honour killings', according to the UN. These crimes occur where cultures believe that a woman's unsanctioned sexual behaviour brings such shame on the family that any female accused or suspected must be murdered. Reasons for these murders can be as trivial as talking to a man, or as innocent as suffering rape.
- Equality Now!
- Equality Now works to end violence and discrimination against women and girls around the world through the mobilization of public pressure.
- Amnesty International Stop Violence Against Women Campaign
- Amnesty International (AI) is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights.
- MADRE
- As a human rights organization, MADRE does much more than document and condemn abuses. We work with women who are affected by violations to help them win justice and, ultimately, change the conditions that give rise to human rights abuses.
- Human Rights Watch
- Defending human rights around the world
Make a Statement
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Honor Crimes in Western Societies
Honor crimes occur most often in societies with strong family, tribe, or clan loyalties. In Western societies, honor killings occur most often as "crimes of passion," in response to a wronged individual, rather than to "defend the family honor." Such crimes are directed more frequently against a wife or girlfriend than a daughter, sister, or other blood relative. The World Health Organization has reported that up to 70 percent of female murder victims are killed by their male partners. The principle, of revenge or punishment for shame inflicted upon the family or individual, usually by the woman's perceived or actual "promiscuity" or her gall in seeking a divorce or other separation, often remains the same, however.
Learn More About Women Around the World
Women in the Material World
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Honor Suicides
Another common form of honor killing is forced suicide, in which girls are forced to kill themselves or be killed by their families. Tragically, this form of honor killing is on the rise in some countries, such as Turkey, where authorities are cracking down on traditional honor killings.
More About Honor Suicides
- How to Avoid Honor Killing in Turkey? Honor Suicide
- For Derya, a waiflike girl of 17, the order to kill herself came from an uncle and was delivered in a text message to her cellphone. "You have blackened our name," it read. "Kill yourself and clean our shame or we will kill you first."
- Bullying women into suicide to restore 'honor'
- Imagine that a teenage boy walks up behind his sister, points a loaded gun at her head and pulls the trigger. This "honor killing" is carried out in conservative Muslim enclaves that are bound to draconian beliefs. Sometimes, the woman's "offense" is dating the wrong person or behaving in too Western a way. Killing her is seen as a way to restore a family's honor.
- Crackdown on 'honor killings' leads Turkish women to suicide
- Bahar Sogut was 14 when she shot herself in the head with her father's gun.
Self-Immolation in Afghanistan
In recent years there has been an alarming rise in suicide by self-immolation among the women of Afghanistan, particularly in Herat and the Western provinces. Many of these women see suicide as the only way out of a life of forced marriage and abuse. More about Afghan suicides
- Afghan women seek death by fire
- Increasing numbers of Afghan women are committing suicide by setting fire to themselves to escape difficult lives, according to NGOs based in the country.
- Self-immolation by Afghan women rising, rights group says
- One woman committed suicide by setting herself ablaze after her father-in-law tried to rape her. Another set herself on fire because her brothers would not let her marry, preferring that she remain their servant at home. Yet another told her mother before she died that her husband beat her daily.
- They prefer death over abuse: Afghan women protesting with self-immolation
- The nurse gently lifted the white sheet from Sanaa's body to examine her burns. The 20-year-old woman barely moved. Her features were not recognizable. The week before, she had doused her chest with a gallon of cooking gas in front of her husband and lit a match. Now 40 percent of her body was covered with first-degree burns.
- Desperate Afghan Women Seek Escape In Self-Immolation
- Nazir Shah sifts through a pile of magazines for teenage girls. "Look at what our sweet girls are suffering," says Mr Shah, a white-bearded, retired Afghan army officer while poring over the letters pages. "These are real stories about girls who are suffering so much. Look: 'My family's choice of husband is driving me to suicide.'"
- Afghan women freer, yet a rise in fiery suicides
- Sanaa was tired of living with 15 in-laws. Tired of daily fights with her mother-in-law. And tired of being treated like a "servant." So last month, with her husband watching, she threw a gallon of cooking gas on her chest and lit a match.
- Afghanistan: Self-Immolation By Women In Herat Continues At Alarming Rate
- Self-immolation by women in the western Afghan province of Herat continues to alarm officials and aid workers more than a year after a delegation from Kabul investigated the trend. The delegation determined that within just a few months, at least 52 women in the province had burned themselves to death -- often to escape an abusive marriage. Afghan doctors and officials say at least 184 woman brought to Herat's regional hospital are thought to have set themselves on fire during the past year -- and more than 60 have died as a result. The real number of self-immolation suicides and attempted suicides is likely to be even higher because only those brought to a hospital are being registered.
- Forced marriage, abuse behind self-immolation by Afghan women
- Forced marriage and chronic abuse are among the key triggers for the growing cases of self-immolation among women in Afghanistan, a regional conference heard.
- Self-Immolation Of Women On The Rise In Western Provinces
- The Afghan government is expressing concern over the growing number of women in Herat Province who have killed themselves through self- immolation. Suraya Sobah Rang, Afghanistan's deputy women's affairs minister, says forced marriages and a continued lack of access to education is contributing to the growing despair among Herat's women.
- For some Afghan women, self-immolation is a way out
- Zahara Mohamedi decided she couldn't take it anymore. Last year, when she was 18, her family sold her for the equivalent of about $1,200 into a forced marriage with a man she had never met. She moved from the city to a village, where her new husband never allowed her to leave the house. She was treated as little more than a servant, taking orders from her in-laws -- even from an 11-year-old girl.
- Self-Immolation: Afghan Women Cry Out For Help
- Photoessay
Meena, Martyr for Afghan Women
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Meena Keshwar Kamal
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Meena Keshwar Kamal, called Meena or Martyred Meena, was an Afghan activist who fought for democracy and the rights of women. She was assassinated by unknown forces in 1987 at the age of 30.
Organizations Working to Help Women in Afghanistan
- Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
- RAWA is the oldest political/social organization of Afghan women struggling for peace, freedom, democracy and women's rights in fundamentalism-blighted Afghanistan since 1977.
- Women for Afghan Women
- Women for Afghan Women (WAW) is an organization of Afghan and non-Afghan women from the New York area who are committed to ensuring the human rights of Afghan women.
- Campaign for Afghan Women and Girls
- With the fall of the Taliban regime, the Feminist Majority Foundation began working to convey to the world that women are an essential part of the solution for the future of Afghanistan . In 2002, the Feminist Majority Foundation intensified its nationwide public education campaign - renaming it the Campaign For Afghan Women and Girls - to win the full and permanent restoration of women's rights, promote the leadership of women in the planning and governing of post-Taliban Afghanistan, increase and monitor the provision of emergency and reconstruction assistance to women and girls, urge the expansion of peacekeeping forces, and support the Afghan Ministry for Women's Affairs, the Afghan Independent Rights Commission and Afghan women-led non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Learn More About Women in Islam
Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate
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Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women
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Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World, Newly updated
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Faith and Freedom: Women's Human Rights in the Muslim World (Gender, Culture, and Politics in the Middle East)
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Gender Equity in Islam: Basic Principles
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Rape in Darfur
Rape has become a weapon of war in the Sudan, and the world's worst humanitarian crisis is doubly cruel for women. Firewood is necessary to cook meals and women are constrained both by tradition and by fears that the marauding janjaweed will kill any man who ventures outside the safety of the camps into collecting it. As the crisis continues, however, women are being forced to travel further and further from safety to find firewood. If captured by the janjaweed, they face brutal beatings and gang rape before being released to stumble, often naked and bleeding, back into camp.But their fates are no better once they return to safety. Like many Muslim countries, the Sudan views rape as a shame not only on the victim herself, but on her entire family, and many of the women, especially those who become pregnant, find themselves ostracized after their ordeal. The sheikas, or female camp leaders, have reported recent progress in persuading families to accept victims of rape back as victims, rather than stains upon their honor, especially after begining to provide certificates confirming that a woman was attacked, with the possible (though unlikely) promise of future compenation to the woman's family, but there is still a long way to go.
Learn More About Rape in Darfur
- Sudan: Darfur: Rape as a weapon of war: sexual violence and its consequences - Amnesty International
- This report finds that rape and other forms of sexual violence in Darfur are being used as a weapon of war in order to humiliate, punish, control, inflict fear and displace women and their communities. These rapes and other sexual violence constitute grave violations of international human rights.
- Sudan: Surviving Rape in Darfur - Amnesty International
- This case sheet considers the consequences of the sexual abuse of women and girls in Darfur and the action needed to protect the survivors.
- No Justice for Darfur Rape Victims
- Whenever I have taken a camera into one of the many camps for refugees in Darfur, the children have immediately arranged themselves into a group. They want to be in the picture. And they insist on seeing the digital image. They smile and laugh while they point themselves out.
- The war crime of rape in Darfur
- Aisha, as I'll call her, is seventeen years old but looks much younger. Small and slim, she has delicate features and a quiet voice.
- Rape in Darfur
- In every conflict zone in the world, women bear the brunt of the burden. The situation in Sudan is no exception.
- Darfur women describe gang-rape horror
- The seven women pooled money to rent a donkey and cart, then ventured out of the refugee camp to gather firewood, hoping to sell it for cash to feed their families. Instead, they say, in a wooded area just a few hours walk away, they were gang-raped, beaten and robbed.
Organizations Working to Help Women in Darfur
- Save Darfur
- The Save Darfur Coalition's mission is to raise public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and to mobilize a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of two million people in the Darfur region.
- Genocide Intervention Network
- The Genocide Intervention Network envisions a world in which the global community is willing and able to protect civilians from genocide and mass atrocities. Our mission is to empower individuals and communities with the tools to prevent and stop genocide.
- Darfur Peace and Development Organization
- Darfur Peace and Development Organization is non-profit and non-sectarian. It seeks to restore reconciliation where conflict exists in the Darfur region of Sudan through humanitarian aid and services to the needy people in the region, without regard to race, religion, sex or national origin.
Make a Statement
Why Empowering Women Helps Everybody
Excerpts from the forward (written by Madeleine Albright) to Women Empowered, by Phil Borges:
THROUGH DECADES OF OBSERVATION and study, [experts from humanitarian organizations such as CARE] have learned that reproductive health services can save the lives of millions of women and children, and lead to better long-term health for entire families. They have learned that ensuring access to basic education for girls provides the firmest possible foundation for social development. They have learned that training women to employ low-cost measures to protect against unsafe water or disease-carrying insects can dramatically improve public health. They have learned that village savings and loan groups can enable women to start small businesses, create jobs, and begin to accumulate capital. They have learned that working for change does not mean simply imposing one's views on another, and that harmful practices, such as female circumcision, are best countered not by blunt condemnation but by reasoned explanation, in which the religious and cultural justification for the customs are analyzed, the pain caused by the process is fully understood, and a new consensus is reached.
FINALLY, THESE EXPERTS have learned that the subjection and sidelining of women in the twenty-first century is not only wrong, but also economically unsustainable. No country can make progress if half its population is held back, left out, or pushed aside. Men and women, girls and boys, must go forward together.
WOMEN IN POOR COUNTRIES inevitably play a central social role. Because of the obstacles many face, they also have a strong interest in ensuring that knowledge is shared. This is why poverty-fighting projects that focus on women are so constructive; each becomes a platform for further gains.Women are eager to explain what they have learned to their children and neighbors. Archana Kundu, a mother and member of a CARE-supported women's self-help group in rural India, put it this way: "For us to have a better life, the people around us have to have a better life. You just can't have a good life when people around you are unhappy.We have a moral responsibility to support the women around us. I enjoy doing it. Now I know so much, I want to share it."
THROUGH DECADES OF OBSERVATION and study, [experts from humanitarian organizations such as CARE] have learned that reproductive health services can save the lives of millions of women and children, and lead to better long-term health for entire families. They have learned that ensuring access to basic education for girls provides the firmest possible foundation for social development. They have learned that training women to employ low-cost measures to protect against unsafe water or disease-carrying insects can dramatically improve public health. They have learned that village savings and loan groups can enable women to start small businesses, create jobs, and begin to accumulate capital. They have learned that working for change does not mean simply imposing one's views on another, and that harmful practices, such as female circumcision, are best countered not by blunt condemnation but by reasoned explanation, in which the religious and cultural justification for the customs are analyzed, the pain caused by the process is fully understood, and a new consensus is reached.
FINALLY, THESE EXPERTS have learned that the subjection and sidelining of women in the twenty-first century is not only wrong, but also economically unsustainable. No country can make progress if half its population is held back, left out, or pushed aside. Men and women, girls and boys, must go forward together.
WOMEN IN POOR COUNTRIES inevitably play a central social role. Because of the obstacles many face, they also have a strong interest in ensuring that knowledge is shared. This is why poverty-fighting projects that focus on women are so constructive; each becomes a platform for further gains.Women are eager to explain what they have learned to their children and neighbors. Archana Kundu, a mother and member of a CARE-supported women's self-help group in rural India, put it this way: "For us to have a better life, the people around us have to have a better life. You just can't have a good life when people around you are unhappy.We have a moral responsibility to support the women around us. I enjoy doing it. Now I know so much, I want to share it."
Inspiration
Women Empowered: Inspiring Change in the Emerging World
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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time
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Empowered Girls: A Girl's Guide to Positive Activism, Volunteering, and Philanthropy
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Gutsy Girls: Young Women Who Dare
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Organizations Working to Empower Women
- Women For Women International
- Women for Women International mobilizes women to change their lives by bringing a holistic approach to addressing the unique needs of women in conflict and post-conflict environments.
- Global Fund For Women
- The Global Fund for Women is an international network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice. We advocate for and defend women's human rights by making grants to support women's groups around the world.
- CARE
- CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. We place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty. Women are at the heart of CARE's community-based efforts to improve basic education, prevent the spread of HIV, increase access to clean water and sanitation, expand economic opportunity and protect natural resources. CARE also delivers emergency aid to survivors of war and natural disasters, and helps people rebuild their lives.
- Women's Edge Coalition
- The Women's Edge Coalition advocates for international economic policies and human rights that support women worldwide in their actions to end poverty in their lives, communities and nations.
- Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls
- Oprah Winfrey dreamt of building a first-class school to nurture, educate and turn gifted South African girls from impoverished backgrounds into the country's future leaders. Now, the school welcomes the first two classes of students - 7th and 8th grade. Be a part of building the dream by supporting the Academy or simply learning more.
- Grameen Foundation
- Grameen Foundation's mission is to empower the world's poorest people to lift themselves out of poverty with dignity through access to financial services and to information. With tiny loans, financial services and technology, we help the poor, mostly women, start self-sustaining businesses to escape poverty. Founded in 1997 by a group of friends who were inspired by the work of Grameen Bank in Bangladesh, our global network of microfinance partners reaches over 3 million families in 22 countries.
- Kiva
- Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can "sponsor a business" and help the world's working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you've sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.
More Great Lenses to Visit
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Stop This Crime of Female Circumcision !
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This picture of a woman undergoing female circumcision from the Difficult Images Blog says it all.The pain and agony that woman must have experienced is unbelievable.This surely is a case of Human Rights Abuse and Torture. Female Genital Mutilat...
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Girl Powered Peace
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It is now universally agreed in aid organizations worldwide that empowering the women of a community will empower the children and the men as well. Women are caretakers and nurturers, watching over others. They tend to use practical wisdom to make de...
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Would You Trade Your Daughter for a Cow?
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The very idea seems absurd, but for desperate families in parts of rural Africa, it's an all too common answer to a present-day economic problem. Thus, when a family runs out of food and sees no other solution, they will strike a deal with a neig...
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Phenomenal Women Headquarters
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"Phenomenal Women" is a group about women who have made a significant difference in the world. These women are the ultimate role models for our children. Joining this group... | Qualities of a phenomenal woman... Photograph of statue holding hands...
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Advice for the New Feminist
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If you believe in equal rights and opportunities for all people, chances are you are a feminist. If you think you aren't a feminist because feminists are mean, angry, man hating, hairy, lesbians (pick one or more) than this is the site for you....
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- bonbonscott2000 bonbonscott2000 Oct 25, 2008 @ 3:31 am
- the internet has opened up the world of misery for women.i am australian,living in the lucky country.i have freedom and live the life i want.Approx.100million women have suffered FGM.HOW DO WE EDUCATE THE MOTHERS AND GRANDMOTHERS THAT THIS IS WRONG?
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- Graceonline Graceonline Jun 3, 2007 @ 6:26 pm
- Wow. This is an amazing lens. You have taken a very difficult subject--and an important one. Somewhere, someone--I don't remember who--said, "Until the last woman, man or child is free, no one is free." Thank you for focusing one more lens on this horrific problem.
by kerryg
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