Inspirational Woman.

Today is International Woman's Day and it feels that we have come a long way since the 19th and 20th century. Over a hundred years ago the Suffragettes put their lives at risk in the quest to stop civil inequality and the notion that woman were subordinate to men. One hundred years ago, on 5 June 1913, Emily Davison, died whilst throwing a Suffragette banner over a Kings horse at the Derby. Many Suffragettes in their various movements across the world suffered or died in their pursuit to obtain the vote for Woman. So today I want to say a special thanks to all those courageous and inspirational woman, such as Millicent Fawcett who started the 'National Union for Woman's Suffrage' in 1897. Millicent's peaceful and non-violent approach to trying to change the law did bring change, albeit slowly. Then there's the noteworthy Emily Pankhurst together with her two daughters Christabel and Sylvia who found the 'Woman's Social and Political Union' in 1903. Their pursuit to obtain the vote for woman was done with less patience and one could say in a more determined approach.

As woman we need to continue this drive that was instilled in the suffragettes through our daily lives and instill the belief that all races, and genders are equal in our children. It is still so evident that the inequality is so deeply embedded in most cultures and it is our duties as parents to change this mindset and instill a belief of equality in our children. The fact that 1 in 3 woman are beaten or raped around the world, and that woman do two thirds of the work in the world, but only receive 11% of the income confirms that we still have a long way to go still and we must continue to strive for equality on all levels. Here is the link to some interesting facts about woman. I have also listed them if you can't open it (im still new to this blogging lark).
+http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-poignant-facts-about-women-around-world

1. Women perform 66% of the world’s work, but receive only 11% of the world’s income, and own only 1% of the world’s land.
2. Women make up 66% of the world’s illiterate adults.
3. Women head 83% of single-parent families. The number of families nurtured by women alone doubled from 1970 to 1995 (from 5.6 million to 12.2 million).
4. Women account for 55% of all college students, but even when women have equal years of education it does not translate into economic opportunities or political power.
5. There are six million more women than men in the world.
6. Two-thirds of the world’s children who receive less than four years of education are girls. Girls represent nearly 60% of the children not in school.
7. Parents in countries such as China and India sometimes use sex determination tests to find out if their fetus is a girl. Of 8,000 fetuses aborted at a Bombay clinic, 7,999 were female.
8. Wars today affect civilians most, since they are civil wars, guerrilla actions and ethnic disputes over territory or government. 3 out of 4 fatalities of war are women and children.
9. Rape is consciously used as a tool of genocide and weapon of war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to rape and other sexual violence since the crisis erupted in Darfur in 2003. There is no evidence of anyone being convicted in Darfur for these atrocities.
10. About 75% of the refugees and internally displaced in the world are women who have lost their families and their homes.
11. Gender-based violence kills one in three women across the world and is the biggest cause of injury and death to women worldwide, causing more deaths and disability among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accident, and war.

Sources:
Amnesty International
US Census Bureau
Women's Learning Partnership

I just finished the book by Kathryn Stockett called 'The Help' and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Having been brought up in South Africa during the years of Apartheid, the book resonated with me. Its a topic close to my heart and I felt that the book was really well written. I feel that I also want to say how much respect I have for woman who have to sacrifice soo much, to provide for their families,  how incredibly strong and brave they/you are.

So I felt it apt to start reading Margaret Dickinson's 'Suffragette girl' today. So far so good.

Now to all you lovely bloggers out there who keep inspiring me and making life colourful and interesting, I want to say thank you. Your creativity has been my lifeline over the last three years and I always look forward to know whats happening next.