3 Things You Can Do to Empower Women

Last week, Oprah Winfrey launched a For All Women Registry program on her website, becoming another high profile participant in the global fight against sex trafficking (go Oprah!). While exploring her site, I came across some excerpts from the Pulitzer Prize winners Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn's new book (which I just so happen to be reading...will give you a full review once I finish!) called Half the Sky. The three main themes which address the 3 Things You Can Do to Empower Women are (quoted directly from oprah.com):

Make girls smarter

Many pregnant women living in poverty don't get enough iodine, so their fetuses' brains do not develop properly. Their children routinely lose ten to 15 IQ points—particularly the girls, for reasons not fully understood. The solution: Iodize salt, at the cost of a couple of pennies per person per year.

Support a woman's business

With a microloan of $50, a woman can start a business, producing income she can use to feed her children and send them to school.

Keep a girl in school

A girl who gets an education will have fewer children, earn more money, and be able to help her younger siblings.

Nicholas Kristof and his wife Sheryl WuDunn, are at the forefront of anti-human/sex-trafficking crusade, and have spent years researching the topic of abuses of women in third world countries, and the resources they need to give them a fighting chance. Reading this excerpt was very encouraging, since GVNF has already identified these as some of the areas we would like to focus our Anti-Trafficking Funds towards. Courtney and I have our next meeting on Friday to vet a potential Anti-Trafficking Fund recipient and project, and I'll report on our next steps post meeting.

As an old Chinese proverb says "women hold up half the sky." Yes they do, and perhaps if you and I galvanize our resources and love, and provide to those that face oppression everyday, we can ensure that we continue to hold up half the sky, and maybe even, a bit more.