Former FMF Interns Senior Civic Engagement Project...

I feel like I have been really neglectful in continuing my blogging with FMF. This is mostly because I have been working on my capstone civic engagement project all semester. Now that I have finished, I am in the process of writing my field guide and I wanted to share my experience here.

Basically I organized an event where three unfamiliar organizations; Tri-Iota, Alpha Delta Pi, and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, worked together. These organizations donated jewelry; bracelets, anklets, necklaces, etc. Then I held a jewelry sale in our student center, all proceeds went to The Fistula Foundation.

I chose this foundation after I began to understand the international dilemma surrounding obstetric fistula. The World Health Organization estimates that there are over two million women suffering from fistula. Most often to occur after neglected child birth; fistula is a hole that forms between the vagina and the bladder.

To break down my project from beginning to end, it is important to firstly mention what sprouted my brain storming. This summer while interning in the D.C. FMF office, Alison Shigo of Engel Entertainment held a showing of their documentary, A Walk to Beautiful. The film follows the lives of five women in Ethiopia suffering from obstetric fistula.

This film touched me and I was immediately drawn to this global issue that is close to unheard of in the confines of our own country. There has not been an open fistula hospital in the United States since 1875, this fact amazed me. How can something that two million women are suffering from worldwide, not even be heard of in the U.S.A.? Before this film, I had never heard of fistula, I figured that many people at my university had not either. Therefore, my plan began with the idea of incorporating this film, The Fistula Foundation, and my campus.

In March at the National Young Women’s Leadership Conference, while brainstorming during a campus organizing round table I heard a suggestion that stuck with me. Collaborating an FMLA with a sorority, having the groups donate their jewelry, and selling it, so all proceeds go to a foundation of their choice.

This idea stuck with me, it not only raised money, but also enhanced campus involvement within sometimes unrelated groups, and would create dialogue about an issue. When I began solidifying my ideas for my capstone, I immediately referred back to my experience at the D.C. conference and got in contact with our Alpha Delta Pi sorority to collaborate with FMLA and Tri-Iota.

This is an issue running rampant in countries like Ethiopia, Uganda, the District Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Fistula is the result of many other issues like child marriage, poverty and rape. Women in the U.S. are virtually worry free of fistula, making the necessary procedures to share this courtesy with women internationally a must.

My goal for my project was to raise $200.00 and bring together organizations to raise awareness. I ended up raising $240.00 and creating various dialogues about obstetric fistula. Through using various forms of media, I organized this event that involved unfamiliar groups. Now, these three groups may use each other as alternative resources and continue to help their networks grow at ETSU. Not to mention, educating those who had no prior knowledge of obstetric fistula.

An End to Child Marriages

On September 13th, 12-year old Fawziya Abdullah Youssef died of severe bleeding while giving birth to a still-borne baby in Yemen.

Fawziya is one of many girls in developing nations who are forced into marriage. She was 11 years old when she married. Often, these girls are as young as 7 or 8 years old, though marriage sometimes happens at an even earlier age.

Child marriage, legally defined as marriage before the age of 18, has countless negative effects on young women. Child brides face higher rates of maternal mortality, infant mortality, HIV/AIDS, and obstetric festula, a condition that is caused by obstructed labor and leads to social ostracism due to incontinence, than adult brides.

Furthermore, child brides are often forced to drop out of school and are more likely to live in poverty and continue living in poverty than adult brides.

The problem of child brides is becoming more pressing than ever, especially with worsening economic conditions worldwide. Poor families marry off their girls in the hopes of either recieving a large dowry or ridding their family of an economic burden.

The only way to prevent child marriages is to improve the standard of living in developing nations and empower young women in those nations. That is why Feminist Majority supports the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009 (HR2410 and S987). It is our hope that these bills pass and that the US will be instrumental in stopping child marriages and giving the child brides a chance to live the life they choose.

Resource Dump:

A list of facts about child brides on PBS

ICRW Guide to Child Marriage

ICRW Fact Sheet

Photo Courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rachels_photo_world/

Child Marriage: A serious threat to girls

As many of you might have seen, the House Foreign Relations Authorization Act (H.R. 2410) recently passed. This bill included provisions for child marriage prevention, including the creation of a strategy to prevent child marriage by incorporating focus on child marriage into pre-existing programs. The bill also states that there will be increased research into what programs work, what the rates of child marriage are in developing countries, and into what can be done to help. There will also be reports made, because this is an issue that needs to be addressed.

Child marriage is defined as marriage before the age of 18,and there are an estimated 51 million child brides worldwide. Some girls are forced to marry as young at 7 or 8 years old. This practice poses serious health and economic threats to these children. Research has shown that child brides have higher rates of maternal mortality, infant mortality, and violence. Girls under the age of 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than older women whose bodies have actually matured enough to bear children. Obstetric fistula is more common in child brides, and they also face a higher risk of contracting HIV. Child brides are often forced to drop out of school and to live in poverty.

All of this shows that child marriage is a serious issue that needs to be dealt with. If current trends continue, there will be an estimated 100 million girls married in the next decade. Not only is this an inhuman practice, but it also undermines all of the U.S's international efforts. If we are seriously trying to decrease maternal mortality and improve the lives of women globally, we absoluetly need to focus on preventing child marriage. It's great that the House passed H.R. 2410, but the Senate still needs to approve it!

Here's what you should do! Watch this PBS special Child Brides: Stolen Lives, and write to your Senate representatives. Tell the government, your friends, family, anyone and everyone that you are horrified by this practice, why this is such a serious issue, and let them know that you think they should support the legislation that will help girls live safer, healthier, and happier lives.

Newsday Tuesday: June 16 Edition

Greetings from one of the lovely FMF interns! Another week of exciting feminist news has come and gone. Here are your top stories from the US and around the globe.


The big news story of the week was the shooting death of Stephan Tyrone Johns, a security guard at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC. The suspect in the shooting, James Von Brunn, is a Holocaust denier and white supremacist. This is the third politically-driven shooting death in the recent weeks following the cases of Army private William Andrew Long and Dr. George Tiller.

National:

• Last week, the International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2009 passed in the House of Representatives by a 235 to187 vote as a part of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act. This act would help to end child marriage in developing countries. This issue is a very dire matter as the number of child brides is expected to be at a staggering height in the next ten years.

• The Healthy Families Act was discussed at a congressional hearing in the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee last Thursday. This bill would require business that had 15 or more employees to give workers 7 sick days per year to be used to recover from illness or to help a family member who was ill.

States:

• The Florida High School Athletic Association is in danger of being handed a Title IX lawsuit in response to its plan to save school districts money by reducing the number of scheduled games. The Florida Parents for Athletic Equity is upset by this because female athletes would be disproportionately affected: 36,000 boys to 4,600 girls.

• Virginia’s largest women's correctional facility allegedly segregated inmates on the basis of actual or assumed sexual orientation over the past year.

• Virginia's Democratic primary election last Tuesday ended in the nomination of two pro-choice candidates, Creigh Deeds for governor and Jody Wagner for lieutenant governor.

• In Arizona, the Senate Public Safety and Human Services Committee suggested that the Arizona Senate pass two-anti choice bills last Wednesday. Currently, there are five anti-choice bills under consideration in the Arizona legislature.

• The Tiller family, of Dr. George Tiller, announced last Tuesday that the Women's Health Care Services clinic in Wichita, Kansas will be permanently closed following the shooting death of Dr. Tiller on May 31.

Global:

• Women's rights has been a hot topic in Iran's presidential race. Since women make up more than half of the electorate, their votes, views, and opinions matter more than ever to candidates in this election. Iranian women are increasingly involved in voting and campaigning, and their political activity has been really interesting to follow.
  

And just for fun...Arts and Media!:

• Disney is finally adding some diversity to its classic princess fairy tales. It has been announced that Disney will be releasing a new animated movie called The Princess and the Frog, which will feature their first African American princess, named Tiana, in the history of the media company. The release date has been announced for the 2009 Holiday Season. However, women in general, as well as racial diversity still have a long way to come to creating equality in its representations in TV and movies.

8-year old Saudi Girl Granted Divorce

A Saudi mother has won a petition in court to grant her 8-year-old daughter a divorce from the 50-something "close family friend" the woman's husband married (sold!) the child to to pay back a debt.  

The original judge who heard the case refused to grant the annulment--but did manage to deny the "groom" legal sexual intercourse until the girl reached puberty.  (Because, clearly, a man who marries a child less than 1/6 of his age will respect her legal rights!?!)  A new judge appointed to the case finally issued the divorce/annulment only after the "husband" stopped defending the transaction as a legal marriage.

For more information, check out the Feminist Majority Foundation's April 16th story and the BBC's pieces, before and after the divorce was granted.