Syrian Refugees — by VLF

With the world’s attention focused on the Islamic State and the growing numbers of refugees fleeing Syria, it is easy to think of these people and of their plight in stale numerical terms. But as the United States considers whether or not to take in these refugees, it is important to understand what life actually …

Reflections on CSW59/Beijing +20: Naomi

Going to the United Nations has always been a dream of mine. I am passionate about raising awareness regarding the status of women around the world, so attending the Commission on the Status of Women, also known as Beijing+20, was the opportunity of a lifetime. My first day at the conference, I was blown away …

Reflections on CSW59/Beijing +20: Nathalia

I had the opportunity of attending the first week of the CSW59 conference and had a wonderful experience. I loved watching the dynamics of the United Nations and the role that each representative played in the discussions. I was amazed at the complexity of diplomacy and how frustrating it can be at times. I met …

Reflections on CSW59/Beijing +20: Willy

Attending the CSW59 conference was an enriching experience that has changed my life. Some of the events that I attended were: A New Framework for Gender Equality in Afghanistan. Afghan ministers and members of parliament (all females) gave a panel discussion on the current situation of their nation. Gender Equality in Education: A Much Needed …

Identify the Problem

While looking for inspiration for my new blog post, I came across a column on the BBC entitled The Confidence Code. The first Q&A I saw queried if other woman felt competitive with and “held back” by women, particularly those in a position of success.[1] The response started off well enough, explaining that evidence did …

Women in Film

As a college student with a limited budget, I spend a great deal of my free time watching movies. With the development of such companies as Netflix and Red box this past time has become more widespread than ever before. However, it was not until I became involved with the WomanStats project that I began …

Now You Know, Too

When coding different documents for WomanStats, you often come across surprising (and unfortunately many times horrifying) information about women in different parts of the world. There are a lot of things I didn’t know before joining the project. For instance, I didn’t know that “Women hold an unprecedented 64 percent of seats in Rwanda’s parliament, …

Bossy

I find it ironic that the goal of international development is to bring "Lesser Developed Countries" (LDCs) to the level of "Developed Countries." Assuming that we were able to bring everyone to the standard of living and basic rights of the average American, do we really want other countries to mimic our economy? For women's …

Unforeseen Consequences of the Syrian Civil War for Women: Sutra Marriages

The Syrian civil war has been a major topic of discussion in the news recently, with the chemical weapons situation being at the forefront. Thus most other issues that the war has caused are going unnoticed by the general public. One of these that is particularly concerning is the appalling effects the war has had …

Cross-Dressing in Afghanistan: Help or Hindrance for Women’s Equality?

(Image source: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/21/world/asia/21gender.html?pagewanted=all) In Afghanistan, a country notorious for its gender segregation and inequality, there exists a sizeable group of little girls whose parents push them into a life of cross-dressing. Bacha posh means ‘dressed up as a boy’, and it’s a practice that’s been going on in Afghanistan and Pakistan for ages. (Image source:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-15262680) Bacha …