Roni: Host Captain

When Roni LaBarbera agreed to host a young Afghan woman in her North Carolina home two years ago, she didn’t foresee that visit would be the catalyst for launching her Afghan Women’s Education Project.

The teenager, Husnia, only needed lodging for a few weeks. She was a volunteer interpreter for a hospitalized Afghan boy who was arriving in the U.S. for life-saving surgery. Husnia had never been to a movie theatre or an airport, but she made the risky decision to leave her homeland to accompany the ailing child. Roni, who runs a tutoring business, was impressed by Husnia’s dedication to learning medical terms and studying English. She felt compelled to aid Husnia’s pursuit of education. Roni helped Husnia apply to nearby universities and eventually enroll in college.

“When you see a young woman who doesn’t have the opportunity to be the best she can be, you can’t walk away from that.”

Since then, Roni has also helped Husnia’s twin sister get accepted into college, assisted a young woman in obtaining a visa so she could keep her scholarship, and guided a girl in finding a host family so she could continue attending school. Now Roni is a screening captain for Girl Rising with two sold-out showings. Roni has already rolled out her welcome mat for determined young women seeking education and soon she’ll roll out the red carpet for Husnia to give the opening remarks at her screenings!

10×10 Weekly News Digest

Welcome to 10×10′s weekly News Digest. In case you missed them, here is a sampling of some of the week’s most interesting articles on girls’ education and women’s empowerment. Happy reading!

Education For All: The Only Job for Boys and Girls is to go to School: In honor of World Day against Child Labor- a reminder that the only place kid’s belong is in the classroom.

Sierra Leone: ‘More Girls in Schools Mean Better Families, Better Communities and a Better Nation’, President Dr. Ernest Bai Koroma: President Koroma disclosed that apart from all other things, he was a living example of how education can transform not just the life of an individual, but also the lives of those around him.

CAMFED: Girls Education to Beat Poverty: Secretary of State champions girls’ education programs to beat poverty.

Afghan Girls’ Long Road to Education: Like any girl around the world, Afghan girls want the freedom to pursue an education and gainful employment ─ but for many of them, that is not possible without threats to their lives.

India: The Orphanage Giving Girls a Future: One wants to be a singer, one an astronaut, one a maths teacher. For girls at this pioneering orphanage in Mumbai anything seems possible

Best and Worst G20 countries to be a Woman: The poll, released ahead of a summit of G20 heads of state to be held in Mexico June 18-19, showed the reality for many women in many countries remains grim despite the introduction of laws and treaties on women’s rights.

India Advances, But Many Women Still Trapped in the Dark Ages: ”It’s a miracle a woman survives in India. Even before she is born, she is at risk of being aborted due to our obsession for sons.”

Africa’s Female Presidents Say They Offer Different Kind of Leadership: “Women tend to make better leaders because they are more directly connected to the needs of their people.”

Meet Aparna, Mumbai’s Teenage Sex Educator: Aparna is member of a nongovernmental organization called Kranti, meaning “revolution,” which strives to give young women rescued from prostitution access to education and new opportunities.

White House Blog: How will we save five million children’s lives each year by 2035?: In one of the greatest humanitarian achievements of the past 50 years, child mortality has dropped by 70 percent world-wide.

10×10 Weekly News Digest

Welcome to 10×10′s weekly News Digest. In case you missed them, here is a sampling of some of the week’s most interesting articles on girls’ education and women’s empowerment. Happy reading!

 

 

Director’s Notebook

10×10 Director, Richard Robbins sent us his thoughts from the field while filming 10×10 in Peru.

I haven’t made it up to La Rinconada yet – still trying to acclimate to 13,000 feet before heading up to 17,000. I have now been to eight of our 10 countries. I figure I’ve now seen enough to offer some general observations about the world. Mostly the not very profound things that have occurred to me over the last two years, from a tired American traveler’s perspective.

So here, in no particular order, are 10 thoughts about the planet and traveling it.

  1. The bicycle is a staggeringly important invention. Most of us don’t realize how this simple piece of technology transforms many millions of lives. The world would not function without it.
  2. It doesn’t take too much travel to realize that we Americans coddle our children, very often to their detriment. Children are truly capable, and basic responsibility is not a burden to them.
  3. When in doubt, don’t eat it. A little hungry is a lot more manageable than a little sick. And honestly there is rarely such a thing as “a little sick.” Oh, and you do not want to try the local delicacy. I promise.
  4. Dignity is the most precious human commodity. More than health, money, power or even education.
  5. Long-term planning is not a skill or a lifestyle or a cultural phenomenon. It’s a luxury afforded those of us with a somewhat certain future.
  6. The joy of children is universal. And there is no creature on the earth more adorable than a little girl. Little boys can be cute too but they have a nasty habit of throwing rocks at things they find interesting. Like me.
  7. The world has an extraordinary shortage of trash cans and a lot a lot of trash. Also, in most of the world there is really no such thing as clean, just degrees of dirty.
  8. When taking care of business, a careless squat (for those of us without a lifetime of practice) can be catastrophic. A mistake you will only make once (sober).
  9. There is more kindness and more cruelty in the world than you can ever get your head around.
  10. There is no national or cultural dominance when it comes to annoying ringtones. They are everywhere.

So, what about the boys?

Brother and sister in Ethiopia

Banchiayehu Sintie & her brother Yetsedaw Sintie. Yetsedaw courageously protected his sister from early marriage and defended her right to education. Ethiopia.

We are at day two of the Women in the World Summit and, to put it lightly, I am ‘geeking out’ over all of the incredible women who have gathered to discuss a wide range of issues. And yet after today’s panel on ‘changing the minds of men in Afghanistan,’ I find myself instead thinking of the world’s men and boys.

So, what about the boys?

When we speak about the lack of educational opportunities for girls around the world, who do we assume is standing in the way? A common answer would be, well, men. Whether it be political or cultural leaders perpetuating patriarchal customs or one girl’s father who decides she’s to be married off at ten years old rather than be sent to school like her brothers, it is all too often men who are making decisions for women and girls.

In most places around the world, it’s the men who hold the power in their families, communities, and nations. So it is crucial that they are part of the solution to end gender inequity. And approximately four out of five males worldwide will eventually become fathers. This means that four out of five men can play a pivotal role in their children’s education and future, which is particularly important in a cultural context where girls often have little to no access to educational opportunities. A father or village elder deciding to forgo an early marriage and instead send a girl to school can change the course of her life and set a precedent within the community. To realize gender equity, we must treat men as a critical part of the solution, rather than the constant problem.

We have even come across some of these extraordinary men ourselves, while filming for 10×10 in Ethiopia. Richard Robbins and Alex Dionne of our production team recount stories of a brother who ultimately put his life in danger to stop his father from marrying off his sister young. He demanded she be allowed to go to school like he does. Andamlak, a father in northern Ethiopia who nearly went through with an arranged marriage for his daughter, now meets with other parents in his community on the importance of girls’education.

So there you have it: anyone can change the world, so let’s get everyone – men and women, boys and girls – involved. Changing the minds of men and boys is going to be a critical part of our campaign, and for all those who wish to see gender equity in the world.

Do you know any extraordinary men?  I challenge you all to share the 10×10 campaign with them. Spread the word, post on their Facebook walls, and tweet away! Tell them that they too have a role in making this world a more gender-equitable place.

“It’s a Girl”: the three deadliest words in the world

Little girl on her way to school, India. Photo by Martha Adams, 10x10

“I felt we could only keep it if it was a male, and kill it if it was a female child. I just strangled it soon after it was born.” A slightly built Indian woman says this through nervous laughter in a trailer for the documentary film It’s a Girl! It is a chilling and unbearable scene to watch. It’s a Girl! documents the killing of girl children, particularly in India and China, in a gender-selective process that many refer to as female infanticide, or femicide. To put it bluntly, babies are aborted or killed for one reason: because they are girls.

However femicide is not an isolated issue within India and China, but rather a symptom of a larger global issue at hand: the under-valuing of the girl child. I read in horror last month about a man in Afghanistan who strangled his wife to death because she gave birth to a baby girl. The United Nations estimates that as many as 200 million girls are missing in the world today because of “gendercide” or female infanticide.

So what is it about our global society that tells us to prefer boys over girls? Why is this happening? The main reason is one of the same that keeps families from putting their girls in school: the fact that sons are often seen as breadwinners and daughters as financial burdens. Deeply entrenched cultural practices, such as dowry payments by a bride’s family, also affect a family’s preference for giving birth to boys. Although with less violent impact, a recent poll shows that even in the United States, boy children are still preferred to girls. The preference has remained the same since 1941.

My first reaction is to say ‘this is tragic.’ But after further consideration, this preference for boy children is not only tragic but also misguided. More girls are receiving an education and finally receiving opportunities to make an impact in their communities. The statistics are there: when women and girls earn income, they reinvest 90% of it into their families, as compared to only 30 to 40% for a man. It is also true that when women have the same amount of land as men, there is over a 10% increase in crop yields. When women are educated, a country’s GDP increases about 3%. Yet still, when international development funds are allocated, less than two cents of every dollar is directed specifically to girls.

By investing in girls’ education and encouraging families to put their daughters in school, we are placing value on the girl child.

We must educate communities on the ‘girl effect‘, the power that one girl can have in her community and in the world. By saying ‘yes’ to supporting girls’ education, we are also saying ‘yes’ to the importance of investing in girls—saying ‘yes’ to letting girls live.

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