How to Change a Life

Last year I did a class project based on the oppression of women in the Middle East and amidst the piles of disturbing information, I came across a common question.  Why should I take action?  It’s sad, but it doesn’t really affect me.  Because the oppression of women is a global problem, not just limited to those living in Saudi Arabia, Dakar, or any of the thousands of countries on this globe.  How many women reading this post have been inappropriately grabbed by some creep at the bar?  How many of us have a sister, friend, classmate, coworker that is the victim of domestic violence?  Women in the United States have fought diligently for the right to be heard, for the right to vote, for the right to be equal to men.  Now it is time to be the voice for others who cannot speak for themselves.

I recently read a book called The Dressmaker of Khair Khana: the story of an extraordinary young woman living under Taliban control in Afghanistan, who started her own dressmaking business when suddenly faced with being the sole breadwinner for her family in a country where it was illegal for women to work outside the home.  And as we see parts of the world torn apart by war, more and more women are left to support their families and pick up the pieces of their shattered lives.  Hilary Clinton gave a speech in Beijing on September 5, 1995 detailing why it is so important to support women globally.

What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish.

And when families flourish, communities and nations will flourish.

That is why every woman, every man, every child, every family, and every
nation on our planet has a stake in the discussion that takes place here.

So how can we help?  According to the article “7 Easy Ways to Save a Whole Family From Poverty,” one way is to finance a microloan.  In the article, Mary Ellen Iskenderian, the president of women’s world banking states,

“When women are economically empowered, they're more likely than men to put money back into the family and spend on things like education for their kids, health care for the whole family, and improving their housing.”

The idea behind a microloan is simple and can be boiled down to a very famous Chinese proverb, When you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day.  When you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.  A microloan for a little as $25.00 helps a woman to start and run her own business, enabling her to support her family.   An article titled, “Changing the World One Loan at a Time” demonstrates how this very concept is possible.  Tahira, for example, received a microloan financed by a group of mothers and was able to buy a loom and the materials necessary to expand her carpet weaving business.  Through an organization such as Kiva, you can choose an entrepreneur in a third world county to support, changing the lives of her family and even the community as well.