MAKAKILO, Hawaii — Every day a woman dies from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. More than 700 women today were married before their 18th birthday, and more than 130 million girls and women have suffered from FGM/C in the 29 countries where it is concentrated.
Gender inequality presents itself in different forms and continues to be a major global issue that affects more than just the daily lives of women across the world—it affects all of us.
Girls’ Globe is a global nonprofit headquartered in Sweden that focuses on raising awareness about gender inequality issues concerning the rights and health of all women.
They hope to eradicate the dangerous mentality that “this has nothing to do with me” and to remind everyone that whoever and wherever we are, we are all linked to the daily inequalities of women and girls everywhere.
Girls’ Globe is essentially a resource-centric blog created by Julia Wiklander, a specialist in gender and development, as well as sexual, reproductive and maternal health. She’s also involved in making international development policies.
“Listening to women’s choices is essential—because we are not one homogenous group with only survival on our minds,” she said. “We all have different needs and desires of how we want to live our lives.”
Girls’ Globe highlights these different needs and desires by letting the women tell their own stories.
It’s a platform that serves as a network for diverse authors around the world to share information, raise awareness and be pro-active in seeing positive results.
What you will find are passionate, researched and engaging stories that center around all elements of women’s empowerment: rights, health, beauty and current events.
There’s even a section called “Women Who Inspire” that speaks to the positive impacts these women have on their communities.
The most recent interview published was conducted in Georgetown, Guyana, where a local nurse, Romalia Black, in the GPHC emergency department shared her story, ideas and passions about becoming a nurse.
Her story begins when she was seven years old when her grandfather suffered from a stroke. At such an early age, Romalia already knew that she enjoyed caring for people in her life.
She later went to college and worked a part-time job on the side—Romalia was also pregnant at the time. As a nurse, she aimed to provide the highest quality patient care and successfully managed to find a balance with all the things going on in her life.
When asked why women’s health is important to her, she replied, “When women learn to respect and stand up for themselves, cases of domestic violence, abuse and HIV/AIDS will decrease, improving women’s health and the economy simultaneously. Women must stand up and say ‘Hey, I matter!’”
Romalia’s story speaks to just one of many experiences you can find on the Girls’ Globe blog.
Girls’ Globe connects organizations, campaigns and the many voices of girls and women who take part of the movement to advocate for change at local, national and international levels.
It also offers a range of communications, advocacy and educational services to partners who share their values.
At Girls’ Globe, women do more than survive—they strive to their highest.
To learn more, visit http://girlsglobe.org.
– Chelsee Yee
Sources: Girls’ Globe, Huffington Post
Photo: Flickr