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Perspectives: The ICRW Blog

  • Posted by Roxanne Stachowski on Friday, April 8, 2011
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    Report: Child Marriage is a Human Rights Violation

    Today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton released the State Department’s Annual Human Rights Report and for the second consecutive year, child marriage is recognized for what it is – a gross human rights violation. This detailed analysis describes the extent to which child marriage is a problem and what actions are being taken to prevent it in 20 countries with the highest prevalence rates.

  • Posted by Sarah Degnan Kambou on Tuesday, March 29, 2011
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    Why I am Committed to Ending Child Marriage

    Iredjourèma was born in 1935 to a traditional healer in Burkina Faso. She was the third of ten children, and lost her mother when she was 12.

  • Posted by Krista Jacobs on Tuesday, March 22, 2011
    The Power of Mediation
    Community Volunteers Help Mediate Land Disputes

    Land is a precious resource in Uganda, and agriculture is the main livelihood for most families, especially in rural areas like Luwero District in central Uganda. In recent years conflicts over land have become more prevalent due to a growing population, rising land values and confusion over the country’s land laws.

  • Posted by Gayle Tzemach Lemmon on Monday, March 7, 2011
    Celebrating Afghan Businesswomen
    Against the Odds, Afghan Women Triumph

    I first met Kamila Sidiqi in December 2005, on a cold Kabul afternoon. After speaking with her for 15 minutes, I knew I had a story I had to tell.

  • Posted by Priya Nanda on Tuesday, February 15, 2011
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    100 Pairs of Hands
    Researcher Inspired by Career Program for Women Garment Workers

    A few years ago, I learned a little-known nugget about my Gap jeans that amazed me. I wore the denim to one of my initial meetings with Gap Inc., with whom ICRW has been collaborating on Gap Inc.’s “Personal Advancement and Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.)” program. The effort helps female garment workers in developing countries advance beyond entry-level positions.

  • Posted by By Madhumita Das on Wednesday, January 26, 2011
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    A Coach Inspires
    Commitment to Program Yields Wins

    “Parivartan wins, it wins once again,” the text message reads. It is from one of our coaches in ICRW’s Parivartan program.

  • Posted by Ajay Singh on Wednesday, January 5, 2011
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    A Sale for Survival
    Researcher Receives Harsh Reminder of Poverty at its Extreme

    On my last trip to Rwanda, I assisted the Rwanda Men’s Resource Centre, a local nongovernmental organization, in implementing the International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES) among men and women ages 18 to 59. I helped the organization adapt the original survey to reflect a Rwandan context and trained about 80 data collectors.

  • Posted by Robin Hayes on Tuesday, December 14, 2010
    Rare Friendships
    Child Brides Revel in Chance to Be Among Peers

    At first glance, each of the 14- to 19-year-old girls looked as if they had arrived by themselves. They gathered for an informal meeting on a hill in Debre Tabor, a town in north central Ethiopia. As I peered closer, however, I noticed that peeking from under the shawls of several of the girls were babies – some as young as three months old.

  • Posted by Mary Ellsberg on Wednesday, December 8, 2010
    Rebuilding Lives After Genocide
    Rwandan Women Find Strength in Each Other

    On a recent visit to Rwanda, my ICRW colleague Amy Gregowski and I had the opportunity to meet members of the Rwanda Women’s Network (RWN) and learn about their effort to support survivors of the 1994 genocide.

  • Posted by Katherine Fritz on Tuesday, November 30, 2010
    Recreating Success
    Ugandans Draw on Past Triumphs to Fight HIV Epidemic

    In November, I found myself retracing footsteps I last traveled 15 years ago through Mbale, a small town beautifully situated at the foot of Mt. Elgon on Uganda’s northeastern border. I lived in Mbale for a year in the mid-1990s when Uganda was considered the epicenter of the global HIV epidemic. At that time, the world watched and wondered how Uganda would bring itself back from the brink of disaster.

  • Posted by Ann Warner on Wednesday, November 17, 2010
    Legislation for Women’s Rights
    New Laws Advance Rights, But Sustainable Change Takes Time

    During a recent meeting in Ethiopia with lawyers and advocates working for women’s rights in East Africa, my colleagues and I were inspired to see how countries have made strides in advancing women’s empowerment and gender equality on a policy level.

  • Posted by Gisela Garzón de la Roza on Tuesday, October 26, 2010
    Vanishing Tradition
    Soon-to-Be Displaced Village Struggles with its Identity

    To the people of Dumasi, Ghana, land belongs to the dead, to the previous generations who settled and died on it. It also represents heritage, a cornerstone on which future generations can build their livelihoods. But they have seen their land disappear before their eyes.

  • Posted by Jeff Edmeades on Tuesday, October 19, 2010
    Quiet Determination
    A Child Bride Chooses Her Own Path

    She wanted to stay in school, but was forced to marry at 16. After just two days at her husband’s home, she ran away, back to her parents’ doorstep. They refused to take her in.

  • Posted by Meredith Saggers on Tuesday, October 12, 2010
    Roadside Beads
    Maasai Women Create Their Own Market

    My favorite part of traveling is seeing the impact of ICRW’s work first hand. Sometimes, the determination of the women we serve is profoundly impressive. This was the case on my recent trip to Kenya.

  • Posted by Jennifer McCleary-Sills on Monday, October 4, 2010
    Girl Power in Tanzania
    A Journey from Shy to Confident

    I first met the young women on a sunny Monday morning as they sat under a tree in front of a teachers' training center in Newala, a town so far south in Tanzania that if you stand at its highest point, you can see Mozambique.