Saturday, March 07, 2009

Things I Find Socially Relevant...


I'm sharing a few things that I find socially relevant...the main reason why I decided to put most of my blogs on public despite the fact that I sometimes post very personal entries about myself. It's my own little way of helping spread the word around about things I feel strongly about...


Zimbabwe's new unity government is inheriting a lot of old problems. A devastating cholera outbreak has killed more than 3,000 people, hunger is widespread, and political issues remain unresolved despite months of negotiations. ...
Make a Difference...join ONE’s Campaign by signing the petition to call on the African Union to do everything in its power to end the human rights violations against Zimbabweans and hostility towards humanitarian groups in Zimbabwe.

I've always loved Cadbury chocolates. The Company's recent move to work with the Fairtrade Foundation to help increase sales of cocoa gives me reason to love Cadbury even more. I'm posting an excerpt from their press release and related links...

Fairtrade


Cadbury and the Fairtrade Foundation, on the 4th March 2009, announced plans to achieve Fairtrade certification for Cadbury Dairy Milk, the nation’s top selling chocolate bar, by end of Summer 2009 for the UK and Ireland. This groundbreaking move will result in the tripling of sales of cocoa under Fairtrade terms for cocoa farmers in Ghana, both increasing Fairtrade cocoa sales for existing certified farming groups, as well as opening up new opportunities for thousands more farmers to benefit from the Fairtrade system.


Cadbury Chief Executive, Todd Stitzer, says, “This is an historic moment for our company. I am proud that the nation’s favourite chocolate bar will display the FAIRTRADE Mark. I was in Ghana during February and saw how vital it is that businesses support their partners and the communities they live in. We believe that by joining forces with the Fairtrade Foundation, we can further improve living standards and conditions for farmers and farming communities, and create a sustainable supply of high quality cocoa for Cadbury.”



Friday, March 06, 2009

MARCH 8 IS INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY...


March 8 is International Women's Day. I'm sharing an article from the International Women's Day Website on how the movement started.

The First International Women's Day

In 1869 British MP John Stuart Mill was the first person in Parliament to call for women's right to vote. On 19 September 1893 New Zealand became the first country in the world to give women the right to vote. Women in other countries did not enjoy this equality and campaigned for justice for many years.

In 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.

The very first International Women's Day was launched the following year by Clara Zetkin on 19 March (not 8 March). The date was chosen because on 19 March in the year of the 1848 revolution, the Prussian king recognized for the first time the strength of the armed people and gave way before the threat of a proletarian uprising. Among the many promise he made, which he later failed to keep, was the introduction of votes for women.

Plans for the first International Women's Day demonstration were spread by word of mouth and in the press. During the week before International Women's Day two journals appeared: The Vote for Women in Germany and Women's Day in Austria. Various articles were devoted to International Women's Day: 'Women and Parliament', 'The Working Women and Municipal Affairs', 'What Has the Housewife got to do with Politics?', etc. The articles thoroughly analyzed the question of the equality of women in the government and in society. All articles emphasized the same point that it was absolutely necessary to make parliament more democratic by extending the franchise to women.

Success of the first International Women's Day in 1911 exceeded all expectation. Meetings were organized everywhere in small towns and even the villages halls were packed so full that male workers were asked to give up their places for women. Men stayed at home with their children for a change, and their wives, the captive housewives, went to meetings. During the largest street demonstration of 30,000 women, the police decided to remove the demonstrators' banners so the women workers made a stand. In the scuffle that followed, bloodshed was averted only with the help of the socialist deputies in Parliament.

In 1913 International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Wommen's Day ever since.

During International Women's Year in 1975, IWD was given official recognition by the United Nations and was taken up by many governments. International Women's Day is marked by a national holiday in China, Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Below are just some global issues involving women all over the world...

Pakistan's women struggle for recognition
S.Arabia urged to halt floggings, give women rights
Reporters stripped by S.Leone circumcision society
Agree to differ over women bishops - Anglican leader
Few women follow pre-pregnancy recommendations
India grapples with high maternal death rate
Olympics-Women's boxing takes step closer to Games inclusion
Human rights still poor in Africa, US says
Birth control knowledge lacking in developing world
In hard times, more U.S. women try to sell their eggs
Billie Jean King targets gender unity
A drink a day poses cancer risk for women
Are women the key to soft power?
Why Isn't Anne Burras Famous?
Baby-Boomer Women Have Experienced Gender Issues
Cost of a life was worth $2.00
The Alternative - Developing Culture of Peace
Women's self awareness and leadership
Women and Sport
Being A Woman
IWD in Kenya
Women demand bigger say in UN climate talks
Norway tops gender gap index, Yemen ranked worst
Educating girls single most effective strategy for economic growth
China sees more female than male suicides per annum
4 in 10 births worldwide not attended by doctor or health professional
Number of women holding university qualifications overtaken men for first time
Gender gap closing on health and education but not economics and politics
Harassment forces Afghan girls out of school
Women's rights key to Africa AIDS crisis
Vodka for women said to fuel Russia's acoholism