When we empower girls, everybody benefits
Girls who are educated, healthy and free can transform their communities and pass on the benefits to their children, and to their children’s children.
Girls & Women
DFID is working to give girls and women choice, voice and control over their lives. Across the developing world, women and girls bear a disproportionate burden of poverty - but we know when we invest in girls, they have the potential to transform their prospects, their communities and the world. In these blogs various voices will show why this is important and how the UK is helping.
Crossing boundaries
Hands up who thought slavery and the slave trade was abolished years ago? Perhaps even centuries ago? In fact, despite being illegal in almost every country on earth, slavery exists nearly everywhere, and in staggering numbers. The International Labour Organisation estimates …
A safer motherhood through family planning
Babies don't get to choose where, when or how they come into the world. Giving mothers the chance to make those huge decisions could make all the difference in the world. I learned just how serious birth can be when …
Planning families, making choices
Posted by:
Henry Donati, Programme Manager, Humanitarian Response Group, Posted on:
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Categories:
Ghana, Girls & Women
James is a brave man. Amongst the hubbub of hundreds of mothers and babies gossiping and laughing as they wait to see the family planning nurses, James' is the only male face. Fortunately he seems unfazed by the whole thing, …
Giving girls the tools to realise their dreams
I travelled to Tanzania to see how Comic Relief and the British government are working together to change the lives of young girls. They co-fund projects through The Common Ground Initiative, which supports Diaspora organisations set up and run by people with …
Mullahs and family planning
I was nervous and excited about this meeting. I dressed modestly and checked my headscarf as inside the small room were 15 local mullahs. They lived up to my image of elderly Islamic clerics, with long beards, turbans and serious countenances. Today, I …
Harnessing the power of sport
Skill. Ability. Discipline. If becoming a sportsman is hard work, becoming a sportswoman in Zambia is even tougher. You need the mental strength to challenge the assumptions of nearly everyone around you, including your own family. Sharon Museke, who I …
The 'Avon ladies' of Bangladesh
Posted by:
Saif Al Rashid, Posted on:
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Categories:
Asia, Development Debates, Economic Development, Girls & Women
Today I write this blog as Chief Executive of JITA - a globally groundbreaking Non-Governmental Organisation/private sector hybrid. However, my title wasn't always so business-like. I used to work for CARE International, in charge of Bangladesh's Rural Sales Programme (RSP). …
Making it happen this Mother's Day
As we celebrate Mother's Day, and the deadline approaches for reaching the Millennium Development Goal of reducing maternal mortality by three-quarters, it is worth considering that giving birth in some countries still remains one of the most dangerous things a …
All for Mum and Mum for all
Posted by:
Christy Turlington Burns, Posted on:
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Categories:
Development Debates, Girls & Women, Health
I celebrated the 101st International Women's Day in the halls of the United Nations last week. I followed Twitter, and shared blogs and news stories that collectively called we women to action. When I take a step back, as I …
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