Big Ideas, Small Steps

I must begin by confessing that I have never been much of a crusader for women’s rights. Equal treatment of women and men was something I too often took for granted, especially as I grew up in an environment where both girls and boys were encouraged to become the best students in the pursuit of big dreams. I was also the one in a college Spanish composition class to write about improved social and economic recognition for stay-at-home dads when asked to examine a “women’s issue.” Indirectly, I suppose, this issue does have a measurable impact on women with children and ambitious career aspirations but I don’t think that it was exactly what the assignment was getting at. For this and many other reasons, attending the United Nation’s 58th Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) was eye-opening, overwhelming, inspiring, exhausting, informative, and probably one hundred other descriptors. Now separated from the experience by a few weeks I am beginning to see small ways in which my worldview has been changed and I have been challenged to think bigger. I hope that in sharing these lessons, one or two of the ideas might stretch the way you see the world as well.

1)     “Women’s Issues”: I guess I sort-of always saw these as a narrow set of principles about which a handful of women complained rather loudly. This was a poor assumption for many reasons, not least because every group has a few loud voices that often come from the farthest extremes. My oversimplification of the realities and questions of issues affecting women failed to recognize a vast number of characteristics of the daily struggles facing women all over the world. Because the theme of this year’s CSW was “Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls,” there was a lot of discussion of “gender mainstreaming.” This is a fancy way of saying yes, in the next group of development goals there should be a goal specific to women such as reducing maternal mortality. However we also need to think much more broadly about the particular impact of every goal on women and girls.

Take current goal number six, for example, “Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases.” From a health lens one might ask what is causing the disease and how can we slow or stop the spread? From an economic perspective one might ask what are the costs of this disease, who is getting richer, and who is getting poorer because of it? For a social understanding one might ask why some groups are disproportionately affected by this disease and for a political analysis one might examine why other groups are gaining or losing power as a result. The gender perspective, which is still too often ignored, enriches the discussion by raising the question: how are women and men, girls and boys, affected differently and why? This type of question is what is meant by “gender mainstreaming” and brings to light important issues, such as the fact that women are disproportionately affected by global poverty and carry the majority of the burden for sustaining those living in poverty.

2)     Specific Topics: As I was challenged to think bigger about sweeping global phenomena like the Millennium Development Goals, my understanding of the nuances of particular issues was greatly deepened in panel presentations known as “side events” that were offered on a wide range of specific topics. For example, I attended a side event entitled “Addressing Widowhood as a Root Cause of Poverty Across the Generations.” Beforehand I knew that in many countries there are legal and cultural barriers for women to own property, sign for loans, and run a business when they lose their husbands. However, the picture in my mind of a widow was an elderly grandma who would be devastated by the loss of her home but would have the option of living with one of her children. The widows that this limited understanding completely overlooks are those girls who are married early in their teenage years and before they turn 20 they have several children. Suddenly a war or epidemic breaks out and they find themselves without a husband. Not only do they lose a member of their family but also their homes if women are not allowed to own property and a steady income if there is gender discrimination in local hiring practices. Again a number of other MDGs are involved such as securing access to education for young mothers of several children or eradicating extreme hunger when the primary breadwinner is gone. In order to reach families facing very specific challenges such as young widowhood we must again move beyond narrow understandings and seemingly simple solutions such as my own incomplete perceptions of the face of global widowhood.

3)     God: In addition to consideration of the wider themes in pre-reading and orientation as well as specific topics covered in side events, a third dimension of my CSW experience was daily conversation with the Lutheran young adult cohort. This was a group of about a dozen ELCA young people from across the U.S. who came together at this event to learn and to bring the lesson back to the various places we encounter the church in the world. Each afternoon we gathered for some lively and moving discussions about the intersections of faith, God, and gender justice. As humans with finite abilities to perceive and comprehend, God is always something or someone that we can reach for broader ways of understanding. From a week of discussion and reflection with the young adult cohort I have concluded that there is something deeply important and yet something inherently futile about debating gender inclusive names for God. God is just so much bigger than our limited ability to perceive and describe God and God’s creation all around us; our labels always are and will be insufficient. Describing God as both Father and Mother helps our finite brains imagine such an infinite idea, but in debating inclusive language we must not lose sight of the fact that at the end of the day all of our words fall short. It was evident that the Holy Spirit was moving among us at CSW in the women who witnessed to ongoing injustice and have devoted their lives to bringing about justice; in the energy, pain, and frustration that surfaced in various discussions; and in fleeting moments of silence to attempt to breathe it all in. It was disheartening to hear from multiple presenters that faith-based groups often present obstacles to promising initiatives, a reflection of our imperfect abilities to understand God, our neighbor, and the world around us. The fact that progress, albeit slow, continues despite our many failures is all the more reason to believe that God’s hands continue to work in our midst.

So you have come to learn and discuss, which is nice, but what are you going to do about it? This was the call to action, in so many words, of Leymah Gbowee, a Nobel Peace Prize winner for her leadership of Liberian women in their relentless movement to end their country’s decade-long civil war. How can we say we are doing good work in Manhattan, she asked, when maternal mortality is still far too high in Brooklyn? How can we turn these days of listening and learning into actions in our own backyards? We can start by remembering to ask how are women and girls disproportionately affected by the decisions we make individually and collectively each day. We can take small steps in the places we each have influence as in the Austrian Foreign Ministry cracking down on visas issued to domestic workers who are exploited in the homes of some foreign diplomats. And we can take a few extra minutes to listen for the challenges we might help our neighbors overcome, neighbors both male and female who are made in the image of an indescribable God.

Kristen

More Stories of Women Around the World

As a Young Adults in Global Mission volunteer I served in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo, where I lived and worked at a women's vocational center, ILOFAV, where women come and learn a trade. M and S are two sisters who took classes in sewing and cooking. Their hometown was a 3 day bus ride away and they had lived at ILOFAV for a year. At the end of the year, they didn't know what to do or where to go. They were able to earn a little money as seamstresses, but needed something else for income. They couldn't go back to their small hometown and they weren't finding any work in the capital. Their friend told them about an agency that would send them abroad to work. They found out they could leave for Kuwait within just a couple of months of applying for the program. To them, it was a full time job that would pay them $200 a month. It was an opportunity. To me and to other expats, it was an example of human trafficking. M and S kept it a secret for a while, not telling anyone their plans of leaving. They told me that they knew people wouldn't think Kuwait was a safe place for them to go, but to them they had no other option. They told me they were leaving 5 days before they got on the airplane. This is an example of what happens in a poor country where the government is corrupt. M is 26 and S is 23. There are other women like this in Madagascar who think that it's exciting to be able to work abroad in a new country and get so much money. But what they (and we) don't know is that when they get there, it doesn't matter what the contract says - they are at the mercy of their employer. And that's what's terrifying. People around the world need to know that human trafficking is a real thing and that it happens frequently. And sometimes the victims are willing to go, but they just don't know what they're getting themselves into. I hope and pray that people can become aware of the gravity of these situations and that we are able to find ways to stop it. 

R.H. (aka Mama): Mama is the director of ILOFAV, the women's center in which I lived and worked in Madagascar. Not only that, but she had so many other jobs and titles and leadership roles that I could never keep up with. She was a woman of humility and love and worked countless hours every day, hardly getting a break. Every day she would wake up at 5am. Sometimes even earlier. She would often fall asleep at the dining room table because she was so exhausted and sleep deprived. This woman is a powerful women yet never sought attention or recognition. I believe there are women like this all over the world. Women who work so hard for their family and their careers and their community and hardly are able to catch a break for themselves. These women ought to be recognized and thanked for all of their selflessness. 

Sarah

He for She

For the 58th time The United Nations hosted one of its largest annual events, the Commission on the Status of Women. 5000+ feminists, womanists, mothers, daughters, and sisters, from all over the world gathered in solidarity to uplift critical issues regarding women and girl's rights. And then there was me…a he.

As a male attendee I found myself in a unique position, and I had a few questions: What was my role at CSW? Moreover, what is my role as a man in the fight for women and girl's rights? Do men even have a role? One week after the start of the 58th Commission on the Status of Women, I now have a few answers to accompany those questions, following careful thought and reflection.

My role at CSW was to not only hear what was being said, but to also listen intently, because hearing and listening are very different. Hearing is simply the perception of sound; if you aren't hearing-impaired, hearing just happens. Listening on the other hand, is something you consciously choose to do. It's concentration on processing meaning from what you are hearing. Listening, then...leads to learning. By listening, I learned about the successes and the failures of the millennium develop goals as it relates to gender equality, and I learned that in order to sustain those goals, she for she won't suffice. But she for she + he for she makes for a formidable opponent to the opposition of gender justice, and together we for she can make a difference. My role at CSW was to listen, then learn, then use what I'd learned to speak up and speak out against the denial of the human rights of women and girls.

It's my role as a man to not only be an ally for women and girl's rights, but to also be an advocate, because being an ally and being an advocate are very different. In this context, an ally is one who simply supports women. Alliance however, is an inactive gesture. *Thumbs up!* "Hang in there!" "I'm rooting for you!" An ally is essentially a cheerleader standing on the sideline. But an advocate is an active partner cheering women on by accompanying them in the race; running along side she because he realizes his liberation is bound to hers. Even when she has not fully embraced he as a partner in seeking gender justice, a male advocate still fights for she, in-spite of her resistance. Many times during the 58th Commission on the Status of Women did it feel more like the omission of the participation of men. In retrospect I understand the burden carried by the women present at CSW and how that weight often manifested into tension toward components of patriarchy. Nonetheless, I was not discouraged or deterred in my role. I am not simply a male ally. I'm an advocate; and as an advocate I'm committed to he for she even when we don't see eye to eye.

In fact, men not only have a role but we have a responsibility to defend the rights of women and girls if we consider ourselves partners with she in the pilgrimage of gender justice. It’s our mandate to recognize our male privilege and utilize it in the arenas that women are not present, to ensure they have a seat at the table. It's the only way to dismantle the pillars of gender injustice, inequality, and inequity in board rooms, court rooms, operation rooms, and church pulpits. No structure of marginalizing power has ever been overcome without active support from a dissenting member of that very same power structure. American slavery could not have been overcome if not for the active support of white abolitionists. The Holocaust would have been far worse if it were not for German allies to oppressed Jews. The LGBTQ movement for equal rights under the law would not be an ongoing reality if not for hetero-normative partners. South African apartheid would not have ended if not for the unapologetic voices of white South Africans. The Israeli occupation in Palestine will not cease without Israeli disobedience to Zionism, misguided nationalism and the politics of fear. Likewise, demolishing the oppressive and suppressive paradigm of patriarchy CANNOT and WILL NOT happen without the active advocacy of members of the very power structure we for she seek to conquer: patriarchs.

For the 58th time The United Nations hosted one of its largest annual events, the Commission on the Status of Women. 5000+ feminists, womanists, mothers, daughters, and sisters, from all over the world gathered in solidarity to uplift critical issues regarding women and girl's rights. And then there was me…a he for she. Won't you join us?  http://www.heforshe.org/

U.B.

Where's the Faith?

Five days at the 58th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women were both too much and not enough.  Panel after panel, speaker after speaker, our brains were filled with the wide range of topics that can fall under the heading of "women's issues".  Yet I still feel like there was so much I missed, even within the sessions I attended.  I often wished there had been time to say "Excuse me - can you repeat that? I can't keep up!".

However, to balance this overwhelming act of stuffing the brain, our cohort of ELCA young adults came together each night to debrief and discuss.  It is this part of the past week for which I am most grateful.  I need to process things out loud, to hear other's thoughts and reflections, so having the opportunity to say "This is what I've been thinking all day and what the heck do I do with that?!" is of the utmost importance for my whole understanding.

The wonderful Rozella White, Director of ELCA Young Adult ministries, led our talks during the week with a few simple questions. We worked through a few of our senses - seeing, hearing, and feeling/thinking. Since I'm still having trouble organizing my thoughts, I think that I will follow her model and boil it down to these simple questions.

What did I see?

I saw the United Nations. I saw the director of UN Women, Phumzile Mlgamo-Ngcuka, speak not once, but twice! She made an appearance at our Ecumenical Women orientation, speaking her support for our work. I saw panelists who inspired and panelists who disappointed.  I saw many rooms so full of people that there was not even any standing room. The thousands who came to New York for CSW 58 were eager to listen and learn, so we packed every event for a chance to hear hope or learn solutions.

What did I hear?

I heard how important these next two years are for discussing development; the Millennium Development Goals were set to be completed by 2015, but they are not even close to being met.  What do the next set of development markers look like?  Why were the MDGs unsuccessful?  What are the most important aspects of gender equality that need to be a part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?  I heard a clear call from member nations and NGOs for a stand-alone goal on gender equality and women's rights. What I also heard less loudly, but just as consistently, was a call for normalizing discussions about gender. We cannot just create a gender justice goal and think that it is enough - each SDG must include intentional language about gender.

From our cohort, I heard a desperate desire to hear positive words from and about faith-based communities and organizations.  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, that desire was not always met.  Faith-based organizations are doing major development work all over the world - they are often some of the only help in rural communities.  However, their messaging and their services can do more harm than good. This leads to frustration on the part of secular organizations who will then try to leave faith out of their programs. The reality is that many turn to faith in times of crises and we need to be clearer and louder about being an inclusive, caring community in order to affect the change we want to see.

What do I feel?

I feel that as Lutherans, we can be a place of faithful hope and healing for those experiencing oppression due to gender issues. But we are constantly asking ourselves, "How do we get this message out to the people who need it?". We must be clear in our words and we must be willing to reach out to those groups who we may have pushed away in the past. We must be truthful about our faults and explicit in our assertion that we are all made in God's image. Secular organizations need to know that we can be a resource, too. We cannot continue to operate in separate spheres when the reality is that everyone has varying needs which may or may not include spiritual guidance at any given time.

I also feel that we need to speak to the problems we see in our own country at an event so focused on worldwide issues. The United States and the rest of West are clearly not immune from poverty, sexism, health issues, and beyond, so why are there only a few voices speaking this at such an important event? The ELCA is a global church, but our main context is the United States. If other major entities are not going to say "We have development issues, too!", then who is? Again, our faith allows us to be confessional. We can be a model in admitting that we have also overlooked our neighbors right here. We cannot rely on other organizations, including the UN, to hold our own country accountable, so we must do so.


Just as the UN has much work to do on creating development goals that create equality for all, we as church have much to do as well.  My time at the CSW58 may have been short, but I've come back with a clearer understanding of the gaps that still need covered.  Most of all, I've been reminded of the power of community and relationships thanks to my lovely cohort members, and I think that that power is the key to changing our world.


Molly Kestner, Assistant for ELCA Justice for Women

The Theological Work To Be Done

Language and words are important to me. I am a writer and a speaker. The articulation and presentation of thoughts is something that I take very seriously because it provides the foundation for how ideas are transmitted and relationships are formed. I often start by defining words, phrases and concepts so that a common understanding exist and that there is clarity in the exchange of information.

That being said, let me begin with a word about who I am. I am a self identified womanist theologian. This means nothing to you if you don't know what a womanist is and how that forms a theological framework. Womanist is a term coined by the venerable Alice Walker in her work In Search of our Mothers Gardens: Womanist Prose. She defines womanist in the following ways:

1. From womanish. (Opp. of “girlish,” i.e. frivolous, irresponsible, not serious.) A black feminist or feminist of color. From the black folk expression of mothers to female children, “you acting womanish,” i.e., like a woman. Usually referring to outrageous, audacious, courageous or willful behavior. Wanting to know more and in greater depth than is considered “good” for one. Interested in grown up doings. Acting grown up. Being grown up. Interchangeable with another black folk expression: “You trying to be grown.” Responsible. In charge. Serious.
2. A woman who loves other women, sexually and/or nonsexually. Appreciates and prefers women’s culture, women’s emotional flexibility (values tears as natural counterbalance of laughter), and women’s strength. Sometimes loves individual men, sexually and/or nonsexually. Committed to survival and wholeness of entire people, male and female. Not a separatist, except periodically, for health. Traditionally a universalist, as in: “Mama, why are we brown, pink, and yellow, and our cousins are white, beige and black?” Ans. “Well, you know the colored race is just like a flower garden, with every color flower represented.” Traditionally capable, as in: “Mama, I’m walking to Canada and I’m taking you and a bunch of other slaves with me.” Reply: “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
3. Loves music. Loves dance. Loves the moon. Loves the Spirit. Loves love and food and roundness. Loves struggle. Loves the Folk. Loves herself. Regardless. 
4. Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.

I am a theologian - one who studies God and concepts of God. I operate from a practical framework, one that is pastoral in nature. This means that I understand who God is through a pastoral care lens, one that takes seriously the care of, compassion for and fundamental humanity of God's creation. 

So as a womanist theologian, I draw on my experience and the larger experience of black women and their context of experiencing interlocking systems of oppression to understand who God is and how God moves in a caring relationship with God's people. The purpose of this study is to uncover a fuller understanding of what it means to experience abundant life and ultimately liberation. This does not end with the black woman's lived experience, it only begins there. A key aspect of womanist theology is that the liberation and wholeness of all of humanity is lifted up. Did you get that?

This was my second experience attending the United Nation's Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This event and what it stands for is soul stirring. I cannot enter into the space and NOT feel like I am standing on holy ground. The CSW, for me, is an exercise in uncovering the thousands of untold stories of women and girls across the globe. It is a time for women to unite their voices, lament in their struggles, bond together in their joys and continue the work that is required to understand women's rights as human rights.

Because of my dual identity as womanist AND theologian, I also enter this space with a critical faith lens. While the event is largely secular in nature, there are side events and opportunities hosted by the faith community. I find that these events, while helpful in beginning a conversation about faith and women's rights, are often lacking in a prophetic witness and deeper theological deconstruction that is needed to re-imagine a God who has created women in the Divine image. For me it's not enough for faith communities to be service providers for women who have experienced trauma. Faith communities must be about the work of educating communities of faith to think critically about gendered biases and norms that are a direct reflection of bad theology, which has been life taking rather than life giving.

As a theologian, I miss deeper conversations and space to do the work of reconstructing a faith narrative that takes into account the totality of women's' experiences in order to create a theological framework that challenges the status quo. I believe that the services and immediate support that many communities of faith provide are essential. I believe that the clarion call to justice and the dismantling of systems that would seek to perpetuate violence against women is necessary. I also believe that there is academic work to be done. We have to do the work of the head and the heart in order to provide a prophetic witness and life-giving service.

One of my favorite quotes is by the Rev. Dr. Marie Fortune, founder of the FaithTrust Institute. She says that "Women of faith must be about deconstructing patriarchal misuse of religion that is used to justify violence against women." I would like to expand this quote to say that women AND men of faith must be about this work and that we need to think about violence against women and girls as not just physical, but as mental, emotional and spiritual as well. If we are not taking seriously our theological frameworks and if we are not constantly measuring them against issues of injustice, violence and dis-ease in our world, then we are failing as people faith. 

God has endowed each of us with a mind, with a heart, with a body and with a soul. These parts of our selves have been crafted in God's holy image and we have been given the ultimate gift - to be a co-creator alongside God in order to see the Beloved Community come to pass. We must not neglect this gift.

It is my hope to continue to be engaged in the CSW but also to do the work of expanding theologies and helping the faith community reclaim a prophetic voice and witness in the fight for women's rights, gender justice and the eradication of all forms of violence that would threaten to thwart the Kingdom of heaven here on earth. I hope you consider joining us in this fight.

Peace + Blessings,

Rozella

Where do I start?

To be honest, I'm not really sure where to start. My mind is still reeling from the hours upon hours of panel discussions, forum meetings, cohort processing time, and the newness of being surrounded by the high profile dialogue that occurs on an international scale at the United Nations. I knew it was going to be an intense week before I arrived, but I'm not sure I really understood HOW intense. Try to picture this:

Thousands of women (and some male allies) gathered in NYC for a 2 week conference on the Status of Women. Each woman is carrying her own story of the injustices she or someone she knows has faced as a result of being born a woman. Each woman is carrying hopes and dreams for the world she wants to see and is holding an agenda for how she will share that information with the policy makers and high profile delegates of the UN. Every day, and ALL day, she sits as a witness to panel discussion after panel discussion focusing on any number of topics (maternal health, violence against women, women and education, women's spirituality, women in government, women as peacemakers, etc) which all have one thing in common.....how will we move forward and create gender equality and continued development within our world. The presentations are beautiful, intense, frustrating, inspiring, and dismal all at the same time. But still, each woman (and male ally) sits and listens intently trying to absorb as much of the information as possible. If there was one thing that all these women from different parts of the world, and our male allies present (including two from our own ELCA cohort), had in common, it was this....we all want to be torch bearers to create change for our world. We all are seekers of justice and hungry to make this world a better place....for ALL God's creation. We may have different ways of going about that or different ideas of what 'human rights' looks like, but I can promise you this, we were all here to learn how we can make a difference in our world....both locally and globally.

I want to share with you 3 take home points that really stick out to me from my time at this conference in an effort to try to put this experience into some kind of verbal form:

1). It's not just about equality, it's about equity. The presenters at the conference made it very clear that it's not just about ensuring equal access to resources and service for men/boys and women/girls, it's about ensuring that men and women are on equal footing so that the resources that are being offered truly can be accessed equally. Here's an example: after the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, many laws were created in member countries ensuring that girls were allowed to attend school. Great. But, what most of these countries didn't take into consideration were the many structural barriers that were still preventing the girls from accessing this newly established resource (education). Many rural schools did not have bathrooms which meant that girls were missing 1-2 weeks of class every month while they were having their periods because of lack of adequate availability for sanitation. Also, many of these schools were located at the end of dangerous roads and paths, so even though the girls technically had the 'freedom' to attend school now, they still weren't able to access this resource because it was too dangerous for them to get there. So, in order to truly ensure equal access to education (this is just one example), structural barriers within the system need to be addressed in order to ensure that boy/men and girls/women are on equal footing. I found this very interesting and something that I had never considered before. We must be aware of the difference between 'equality' and equity and must advocate for our fellow sisters to be provided with opportunities to stand on equal footing as men.

2). Violence against women is a HEALTH epidemic. Being a nurse, I feel silly that I never realized this before. I went to a presentation by the World Health Organization, and they described violence against women as being among the world's top epidemics right now. Violence as a health epidemic? Of course. Violence afflicts not only physical harm (42% of the time) to a woman (requiring medical treatment many times), but violence also afflicts severe emotional harm to a woman leading to a significant rise in mental health ailments like depression and substance abuse. Violence against pregnant women affects maternal health significantly and leads to greater instances of HIV/AIDS, infant mortality, pre-term deliveries and low birth weight babies. Violence against women is a HEALTH epidemic, and it affects greater than 20% of the world's population. We must raise our voices and protect ourselves and one another from sexual and physical violence by raising awareness and standing in solidarity with one another.

3). What's God got to do with this? EVERYTHING. It is amazing how many times we went to panel discussions and the topic of religious based communities was raised.....unfortunately, most of the time it was in a very negative light:
          -Faith based communities just get in the way. They should just step back and let other NGOs
                 take over
          -Religious based communities are too focused on their own agenda
          -Sexual/Reproductive Health Rights became a religious debate and not a human rights issue
It actually broke our hearts to realize how detrimental so-called 'faith-based communities' can be in the fight for human rights. We are so broken and have created broken religious based institutions. But, for me to think that the best thing for faith communities to do is to just 'step back' and stay quiet instead of advocating for human rights issues is impossible. To me, if God HERSELF isn't found within the debate of human rights, then we will never know true freedom from oppression or true equality with one another. We were ALL created in God's image....NO EXCEPTIONS. Somehow we have lost sight of this along the way...in the midst of our brokenness. BUT, it was really refreshing to hear an Islamic Imam (Shamsi Ali) speak truth to the audience when he said 'religions without human rights are DEAD' and a quote from Kofi Annan that says that 'religious leaders are the conscience of the government'. Religions should never back away from the conversation regarding human rights, for we have a responsibility to seek justice and truth through the lens of the Divine. Instead of backing away, according to Imam Shamsi, religions SHOULD: 1). Give freedom to her people, 2). Promote human dignity, and 3). Promote human equality. So what does God have to do with any of this? EVERYTHING. God is love. God is peace. God seeks justice. God is an advocate. And we were ALL created in the image of God.

There is so much more to share and process regarding the information presented at the conference...and that will continue to develop and unfold as we move forward from here. But, if I can leave you with one more piece for sharing, it's this....change starts with US. Don't think globally right now. First think, how can you change your own attitudes toward justice and equality that includes ALL of God's creation and how can you live this out in every interaction and every decision you make? According to Nobel Laureate Leymah Gbowee, 'I'm a believer in local community. I'm a believer of practical solutions. It doesn't take a lot to do what we're being asked to do.' But it does take courage. And it does take hope. Have faith and take heart....we're here to do God's work, and SHE will never abandon us.

Hannah

Within Our Lifetime

"...within our lifetime." I awoke from a trance. The absence of coffee, the dim lights, and the distance between me and the speaker had allowed my mind to wander from the cavernous auditorium, but those words snapped me back to the present. I had spent hours reading documents that spoke of post 2015 goals, MDGs, SDGs, and other acronyms that stood for progress but progress that would be slow to come and was wound up in the political webs of member states, excellencies, and plenary sessions. It seemed it would take forever. Here, however, in these words "within our lifetime" was a sense of urgency.

The rest of the week proved just how urgent improving the conditions of girls and women must be if we wish to move forward morally, economically, and civilly. I heard alarming statistics, deriding speeches about the place of faith in gender equity, and troubling discussions of reproductive rights and the sexualization of youth. As a young man of faith it would have been easy to see in these speeches an element of guilt and blame, but there was another side to what I was hearing. There was also a clear and loud call for immediate and decisive action from the faith community and from men and boys. In panel after panel I heard success stories of involving men in the improvement of their sister's situations.  Similarly I heard and felt a need for the voice and comfort of the church. In almost every discussion the church's voice that was heard was an adversarial one, offering only criticism rather than support and a place of understanding.

The means to realizing gender justice in all its forms are within our grasp. However, the realization of this in our lifetime without the involvement of men and of our church is unlikely. We are called as a community of faith to respond the cries of those that are marginalized. They are crying. We are called to answer. We can no longer afford to be quiet or absent from these conversations. We must carry through this sense of urgency as individuals to develop a conviction to resolve this issue now.

As the week progressed the momentum building around me seemed to coalesce into a single quote from Martin Luther King Jr.  that was drawing out from the back of my mind: "The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice." Across the road from the UN general assembly, in the shadows of countless flags this reminded me that the question is not if we will achieve gender equality but rather when. That the question we must face as individuals is not whether we wish to be a part of this struggle, but rather on what side of arc of moral history we wish to find ourselves.

Best,
AJ

Here I Stand

Clare Josef-Maier, LMHCA, Deaconess Candidate

If there is a way to convey the magnitude of the 58^th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, I don’t know it. I am no stranger to the brokenness and trauma of our world; neither am I stranger to the resiliency of the human spirit. But never have I been among 5,000 people from around the world addressing sweeping global concerns that challenge the human community so profoundly. 

Now home again, I am left in deafening silence to process the chaotic days in New York. From which stance do I begin?

As a woman, I feel both heartbroken and profoundly inspired, and I see these feelings reflected in my Young Adult peers in this cohort. When confronted with the truly ugly, horrible things of the world - especially when they are intentionally targeted at a demographic of which you are part - one's soul trembles with grief. While I certainly have my own pain, I am privileged in my daily life as a white, middle-class, United States citizen who identifies with my "appropriate" gender and is married to someone of "the opposite" sex. I am sheltered from vast swaths of pain and oppression reserved for those more made vulnerable by their circumstances than me. When I am confronted with it, my mettle is truly tested.

However, encountering so many powerful people and organizations with a burning passion and commitment to gender justice and equity for all coaxes my wounded soul back into engagement. I met people who unrelentingly give words to the truths no one else will speak and demand justice for the oppressed. I have heard from those working on the front lines of violence against women, poverty, hunger, conflict, HIV/AIDS, and denial of sexual and reproductive safety and rights.

As a pastoral counselor, I experienced a powerful affirmation of vocation and call to action. The individuals, couples, and families who come to me are change agents. For many of them, they are as-yet unaware of this, but I know it to be true. When we are blighted by anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, difficulty coping with trauma, inability to regulate our emotional experiences, or self-medicating through harmful substances, our lives are often very small, dark places. But I have been graced with the trust to be there with people in the midst of these places. With women and girls whose hearts rail against a world that exploits and objectifies them, with men and boys whose gentle and sensitive hearts are calcified by (a learned, but false) aggressive, static maleness - I walk with them. Every one of these people - every one of us - can change the world if nurtured into our healthiest potential.

As a person of faith - a candidate with the ELCA Deaconess Community and a taskforce member for the ELCA social statement on Women & Justice - I saw and heard incredible ambivalence about religious and faith-based organizations' role in this great work. My hope for the Christian community is that we do two things: 1) Take public accountability for the ways in which we have been part of the problem in the world, both historically and presently, and 2) Lift our hands and lift our voices as part of the solution, as we have been both historically and presently.

As a young adult in the ELCA, I believe the upcoming social statement on Women & Justice must deliver a strong, prophetic, counter-cultural message to people of all genders. I know in my heart that we are a people of radical love and hospitality and that God's grace through Christ frees us to love and serve our neighbor. I also know many, many people whose experience of Christians demonstrates none of those things.

I am twenty-six years old. I offer my conviction in Christ, my heart for service, my authentic self, my gifts and treasures. Each person in this Young Adult Cohort brings just such fruits to the table. But the sum of our parts is so much greater than anything I or we offer in isolation. We are here to be in conversation. We are here to listen as well as speak. Engage us. Let us engage you.

There is far too much to say than can be said here. I am brimming with gratitude for this experience, this cohort, and this Church. For this particular moment, that is enough.

Both and: Some thoughts on change making for gender justice from a Lutheran perspective

This past week, I was honored to attend the 58^th United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York, New York with a cohort of ELCA young adults who want to be part of change making and the church. The priority theme of the event is “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls.” As I sit here at my desk this Monday morning after, I continue to be inspired and moved and challenged by the posts here.

The theme for my blog post will be “Both and.” In one of our cohort debriefing sessions, we were invited to consider what our personal mission statements would be, so here is my work in progress:

I believe that people deserve the right and opportunity to understand and participate in the systems that govern their lives.

Moreover, I believe this often leads to seemingly conflicting situations where our Lutheran faith and heritage lends the “power of paradox”—the ability and vocational calling to be “both/and”—sinner and saint, free and bound.

This has been a guiding plumb line in my life and fits to support the reflections I offer here. And, because I believe in participation and understanding, each section will have an invitation for participation.

Both women and men.

In the creation of this cohort, we intentionally built a group of young-er women and men. There always seems to be a cry for more men’s participation and for raising more boys as informed, gender-just partners, and we intend to answer that call. Our group was strengthened and enriched by our brothers’ voices at the tables—causing us hard conversation and pause in conversation when we talked about inclusive language for God in worship—and laughter when we stood guard for our male counterparts who ducked into men’s restrooms converted to women’s spaces for the event.

Participate: Check out the UN Women’s new campaign, “HeforShe” (http://www.heforshe.org/) and “MenEngage” (http://menengage.org/) for practical first steps.

Both women’s rights and human rights.

Women’s rights are human rights; and human rights are women’s rights. For the post-2015 agenda, the global community will wrestle again with the question of a standalone goal for women and girls (as it was for the MDG’s, goal 3) or a mainstreamed agenda that would undergird each goal. As part of the Ecumenical Women cohort, we advocate that we need both a standalone goal and the cross-cutting theme and measurables for the SDGs.

"We cannot achieve a world of dignity for all until we end gender inequality in all its forms."

-Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General in opening address to the 58th UNCSW

Participate: Continue to follow the draft and final agreed conclusions from the 58^th session to see where we end up.

Both justice for women and girls and gender justice.

Conversation at the UNCSW is becoming increasingly politically polarized around two issues:

·         sexual reproductive health and rights

·         “women and girls” versus “gender” language

While I will leave the formal definitions of the difference between biological sex and gender to other sources (read here from the World Health Organization), every person concerned with women and girls empowerment and gender justice ought to know that there are major hurdles to be overcome. In the 56^th session of the UN CSW, the topic was "the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges." The group never managed to reach the final document called the "agreed conclusions" because of a battle over the use of the word "gender" versus the use of the the phrase "women and girls" in its place. 

As the global community looks to develop the post-2015 agenda sustainable development goals, we must be able to talk effectively and thoughtfully about sexual reproductive health and rights in terms of both "justice for women and girls" and "gender justice."

The ELCA's 2009 social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust" offers some starting points for this conversation.

• "We recognize the complex and varied situations people have relative to human sexuality [...]. In whatever the situation, all people are called to build trust in relationships and in the community." (p 7-8)
• "The church acknolwedges with regret the way in which the misuse of historical teachings concerning sexuality has harmed individuals, deepened suffering, or torn families apart. [...] Hate crimes and violence against those who are regarded as sexually different sometimes have been perpetrated publicly in the name of Christ. Not only must such behaviors be denounced, but this church must work toward greater understanding of sexual orientation and gender identity." (p 23-24)

Participate: Read the ELCA's 2009 social statement "Human Sexuality: Gift and Trust." How can we continue helpful conversation in the face of increasingly "hot button" issues?

Both ally and advocate.

Merriam Webster provides the following definitions:

• Ally [noun]: someone associated with another to give assistance or moral support
• Advocate [noun]: a person who actively supports or favors a cause

The gender justice movement and this church's specific calling to it needs allies and advocates. Most of us are both, but always depending on the situation. There is a time to be supportive and to give assistance to someone you know is passionate about a cause, but it is entirely another matter to stand for and actively support it unto oneself. We must find the courage and wisdom to be and become both.

Participate: Sign up for the ELCA advocacy network to receive legislative updates and follow the ELCA Justice for Women program (@ELCAjfw) on Twitter.

Both global and local.

“I’m a believer in local communities and practical problem solving. But we need serious political will and resources.”

-2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Leymah Gbowee

The “challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls” have global and local aspects, because we live in a globalized world. Women and girls are unable to access quality primary education in the United States and in the Central African Republic. Women and girls are still unsafe walking from their bus to their homes in Chicago and Chanai. Women and girls will be part of the solution to ending poverty and hunger in Bemidji and Bavaria. Our churches can be part of the movement here and through combined global efforts like that of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF).

Participate: Check out the LWF Gender Justice Policy for ways to take local action in your congregation and community with the global Communion of churches.

Both passion and financial resources.

According to UNDP, six out of ten of the world’s poorest people are women who must, as the primary family caretakers and producers of food, shoulder the burden of tiling land, grinding grain, carrying water and cooking. There are many ways to support and give to a cause. Some can give of time and passion and others can give of financial resources and expertise. We need both passion and financial resources to make a difference for women and girls toward human rights.

“Only 7 percent of philanthropic dollars go to support women and girls.”

-Women’s Funding Network side event

ELCA World Hunger is committed to participating in this change making event to help bring some people’s gifts of financial resources to bear through the gifts of other’s time and passion for the empowerment of women and girls and gender justice.

Participate: 

• Give now to ELCA World Hunger to support sustainable development projects centered around women and girls and to train the next generation of human rights leaders and support networking efforts like this ELCA cohort at the UN CSW.
• Read Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s book, “Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide” to learn more about women’s economic empowerment. You can also watch the documentary by the same title.

Both charity and justice.

 “The feminization of poverty is not answerable by social charity.”

-UN NGO Forum panelist

One of the common conversations within the ELCA World Hunger network is what I’ll call “charity vs. justice.” But the more we talk about it, the more we realize there is a necessary place for both charity and justice.

In Matthew 25, people of the Christian tradition are shaped by Jesus’ parable to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and visit the imprisoned. These acts of charity are essential and part of Christian life. But as broken people living in a broken world, we know that God is consistently and constantly working to reconcile the world to God’s self, so that as it is said in Amos, “justice will roll down like the waters.” We are called to participate in both acts of charity and actions that point to and batter down systemic injustice.

Participate: Read Matthew 25: 31-40 and Amos 14-24. How can we as Christians and Lutherans find balance and purpose through acts of charity and justice? How can you engage your congregation in the conversation today? What other scripture passages are helpful to the conversation here?

Both strategy and culture.

“Culture trumps strategy all the time. So how do we create change?”

-UN NGO Forum Panelist

I opened this blog post by naming my belief that people deserve the right and opportunity to understand and participate in the systems that govern their lives. This line of thought often leads me to heavily favor strategy. After all, what is culture if not shaped and held up by strategy?  

However, when the pervasive culture systematically and systemically works against over half the population—a change in strategy is necessary. Governments and civil society have a role to play. Family structures and gender norms have a role to play. CHURCHES have a role to play. We cannot continue to build good strategies and ignore our culture. Much less we cannot let our culture continue without righting of intentional strategy.

Participate: To learn more about the ways the ELCA strives to work through strategy and culture, check out the ELCA Justice for Women program.

Both ending and beginning.
The 58th UNCSW continues on this week and ends 21 March 2014. The ELCA Young Adult Cohort's first experience has closed in one chapter and now begins in a new sense. 

Look forward to more information about this collaboration between the four network of ELCA World Hunger, ELCA Young Adults, the ELCA Justice for Women program and the ELCA Young Adults in Global Mission alumni network. 

"We can and must do better because equality for women is progress for all! We must make today better than yesterday and tomorrow better than today."

-UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka

Mikka, ELCA World Hunger

And Yet I Still Have Hope

I was discouraged and agitated too many times to count while attending the UN CSW.  Across all the events, worship experiences, and parallel panel discussions I found two universal themes to my agitation: 

1) women can be the most hurtful creatures to one another and their allies, and 

2) faith based organizations have spent years doing more damage to human rights movements than good.  

I am well aware that I come from a different place.  I am a 32 year old woman, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, married for 12 years with 2 children.  In this young adult cohort, I was acutely aware of the differences between myself and the others.  My liberal upbringing and current lifestyle can often hide the insular nature of the way I live - thinking that there is much less inequity in the world than is truthful.  So I came to this event and was really shocked by the deeply wounded ways that so many of the older female attendees walked through the space - as though the burden of all female oppression was theirs to bear alone.  And when finally, headway was being made, that burden caused them to charge over and trample anyone who might be even close to in their way. 

I watched so many women shout for young adult allies, and them offer the microphone to no one under 45.  Women demanded male allies, while taking over all the mens restrooms for themselves, leaving the present male allies with no facilities to use within an entire building.  I was cut in front of for the restrooms myself, in meal lines, and ignored in discussion circles.  In short, I didn’t meet many women who made me want to engage.  

Additionally, I was disheartened from hearing over and over again that faith based organizations and communities have too narrow of an evangelical agenda to do any good in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s) and therefore, shouldn’t play a part in the advancement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).  How could I ever say or do anything that could change the saddening, maddening experiences so many had dealt with from people of my tradition?  

I shut down.  

I was now one of the wounded - only my wounding was different - 

it wasn't from being a part of the global oppression of women - it was from being oppressed by other women.

Yet, daily the ELCA young adult cohort would meet and debrief our experiences of the day, and I would encounter women and men who were ripe and ready for action.  

Here were young women who weren’t afraid to speak their truths into the burdens and oppressions of so many women, in ways that provided long awaited faith based accompaniment.  

Here were deeply faithful men who chose to spend a week being objectified for their gender so that wounded persons could unload their hurts, and then these men still got up and engaged further!  

I found hope in the Jesus based intentions of these young adults, to engage, walk beside, share the load, spread the truth of injustice, and be called to action personally, locally, and globally.  This group of boldly faithful ELCA delegates gave me a renewed sense of faith in the world that can be and will be changed for my children - a girl and a boy, to grow into.  

As an (almost rostered) ELCA Deaconess, I believe deeply in the necessity of women and young adults to engage in the prophetic message of justice and peace-making change in and for the world.  This cohort experience was hopeful salve in the midst of so many wounded warriors, and I know a deep joy in the peace that my children will have an experience of my millennial generation being less wounded than those who are passing that baton to us.  Through the agitation and discouragement I learned at this UN CSW, I am now able to truly lean into the prophetic messages that this cohort of this, my beloved ELCA, faith are carrying back into the various worlds and spaces in which we engage others and live life.  

The message from us is clear - the waves of justice, equity, and peace are gathering speed to cover this earth, and we, the young and Jesus loving, aren't afraid to get wet.

Sister Liz Colver
ELCA Deaconess
Seattle, WA

A Very Bright Light

“Why is the church the vessel that we choose for this work?”
I don’t know why I ask questions like this over lunch.
Nonetheless, my teammate had already stated the answer. (Now, I am paraphrasing and expanding here.) We need our faith and faith community so that we can safely care for all. The burden is not too heavy when we are given a divine burden-carrier for a savior. So, with the church as the vessel, we delved into the discussion of Human Rights inherent to each of us but honored less often for women and girls.

“Someone once told me, ‘When you are doing good work, it is a very bright light, and bright light attracts a lot of shadows.’” – Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace Prize winner, to the 58^th Commission on the Status of Women

Thanks to ELCA World Hunger, and arm in arm with other bodies of the ELCA and the LWF, this young adult delegation had come to the United Nations CSW to be a part of the bright light that the U.N. Millennium Development Goals had challenged the world to create. We have accepted a shared truth with many who are gathered: gender equality is a development issue.

“At some point, we had to go beyond asking the gatekeepers to consider violence against women a violation of Human Rights… We had to tell them: Women’s Rights Are Human Rights!” – Charlotte Bunch, Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University

Furthermore, we came to represent the stories of many women who will never have the opportunity to come to this place to represent themselves. Their life circumstances, even their deaths, have placed a sense of urgency on our hearts. Many who represented a faith community or faith-based NGO began a dance of words around the issues of Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights (SRHR) or other issues that can quickly become “complicated”… but for some of us, we have hit the end of our period of asking.

“You, from the church, you need to speak up. If the church fails to talk about rape, prostitution, and reproductive health, we fail. This is Jesus’ pulpit and how he preached.” – Leymah Gbowee

 I left Leymah’s side event early in order to be present for a panel discussion titled “An Inter-Generational Dialoge on Faith, Culture, HIV, and Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights" where some of the ELCA's partners in work would speak. Dr. Mtisunge Kachingwe, a young woman from Malawi who lost her mother to HIV- related causes, stated that the approach some faith communities take with HIV prevention and SRHR causes silence and stigma. You can read more about what she shared at the panel here:
http://www.soginews.com/fbos-urged-recognise-equality-human-dignity/

Before she was finished, she made this plea: “We urge the faith community to promote understanding… and dissuade stigma. Preach on compassion and inclusion. Value dignity and respect.”

She is right.  My concern is that the language of many who speak in faith does not sound inclusive. I am thankful to take communion from an open table where all are invited. Here, justice, love, and grace aren’t just things “deserved” or “sought” but things required.  

“Make love and light as contagious as the dark.” – NGO CSW Forum panelist.

Our call is to light, and that means chasing the shadows of violence, inequality, and inaccessibility so that we may be surrounded wholly with the light of inclusion and compassion.  This way…

“We begin owning Human Rights as a way of life; seeing Human Rights as the banks of the River in which life flows freely.” - Shulamith Koenig- Founding president of People’s Movement to Human Rights Learning

-          jen

Scattered Seeds

I am always moved by what a group of motivated young people can accomplish in just a few short days.

Roughly a dozen young adults from various corners of the US were called together to observe, listen, discuss and contribute to the United Nation’s 58th Commission on the Status of Women. Each of us arrived with diverse perspectives and a different lens through which we view the world, as well as the issues at hand. What resulted in our time together was a mass of ideas, inspirations and challenges.

I observed what you might suspect. Though we are all called to a common goal of fighting for gender justice, the roads to that goal are long, divergent and winding. We heard impassioned and heartbreaking stories affecting women and girls all over the globe regarding violence, maternal & infant mortality, the fight for education, systemic hunger, poverty and disease. The list goes on and on. These issues are heavy and convoluted, not to mention mired in cultural and often religious traditions.

One of the panel discussions I attended (accidentally, I will admit) asked questions that especially resonated with me. Are we trying to change the world at large, or are we trying to change one person at a time? And how do we go about enacting change, either at an individual or a program level? Changing individuals can be accomplished through training, workshops and increasing the number of women willing to work in and through institutions. Changing perspectives on how to design and implement programs are the seedlings of cultural change.

What happens when we start chipping away at the gender gap? Access to resources as well as food production increases. Hunger, disease and infant mortality all decrease. The relationship between men and women becomes more mutual and respectful. Violence decreases. Human rights are valued.

During our time there, I heard a wonderful example of how powerful a movement can be. Picture yourself in a large auditorium filled with people in their seats. One individual gets up and starts dancing. People think to themselves, “What’s that crazy person doing dancing like that?” Then another person gets up to dance. Then another. And another. Soon the whole group is dancing, with the exception of a few individuals. Now, they are the crazy ones.

So why not start or join a movement? Or many movements? Let us begin reducing the gender gap by getting involved: as individuals, as groups, as cultures.

I ask you to engage this cohort to see what we learned and what actions we are planning to take now that we are home. I assure you, there are many. Ask what groups/programs we encountered; which ones are enacting change and which ones are not. This group of young adults all arrived with diverse perspectives. We left with even more, and I dare say that our lenses through which we see the world are a slightly different hue. I can say with absolute certainty, however, that we are all ready to dance.

-Kirsten

Stories on the Priority Theme

The following are just four of countless stories of incredible women that come to mind when I consider the priority theme for this year’s Commission on the Status of Women, “Challenges and Achievements in the Implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls.” I have first included a quick listing of the Millennium Development Goals, followed by four stories that stand independently and do not necessarily flow from one to the next. The stories are united in the concrete expressions and faces that bring the successes and failures of the Millennium Development Goals to life. I encourage you, the reader, to reflect on the women in your life who have also embodied the struggle for a more just world.

Millennium Development Goals: 

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Global partnership for development.

The face of human trafficking for me sat across the table at a center for people with addictions adjoining a homeless shelter in eastern Hungary. As a volunteer at the shelter I tried to make conversation as best I could with my limited knowledge of the Hungarian language. Our conversations often involved travel since I was the odd foreigner they couldn’t quite figure out and one morning this woman, who I will call Maria, mentioned that she had previously lived in Amsterdam. Both naively and excitedly I latched on to this thread of conversation and asked her a dozen more questions, thinking that we might have something in common in having traveled abroad for work. She revealed few details other than the work that she had done was “very bad work.” Later I learned that there is a street in the red light district of Amsterdam named after the city in eastern Hungary that I too called home because so many women and girls were taken from that city. The tragic social and ethnic backdrop to this story is that most of the exploited women and girls are Roma. As members of an ethnic minority, most Roma women and girls face bleak prospects due to low primary school completion rates, employment discrimination, and high rates of pregnancy among teenagers. Driving west along a rural highway in central Hungary, I also saw several women standing alone on the edge of the road. I will never know where they were and are going, but I can only hope that they too were not setting out on a journey like Maria’s. I do not know how she was able to return home to eastern Hungary nor do I know for sure if she is still safe today, but I do know that universal primary education, health education for women, and equal access to employment in Maria’s neighborhood and many other just like it are essential to ensuring that more of her friends and neighbors do not suffer as she did. “Developed countries” as much as any other must to do more to protect and empower ethnic minorities who are all too often forgotten.

Universal primary education is a goal that is still unmet in the rural villages of Mexico, El Salvador, and Honduras. I know this not from ever being there, but from helping first-generation immigrants to the U.S. Midwest complete job applications available only in English. Most of the clients requesting this service are men and rarely do they list more than a few years of schooling in the education portion of the application. Witnessing the social structures of this particular immigrant community, where girls as young as middle school are expected to care for their younger siblings while their parents are away at work, would lead me to guess that girls in these remote villages receive the same if not less education. I also see this reality as we work to tailor adult English language courses to the needs of the women who attend every session but cannot read or write in their native Spanish. The evidence of the empowering effects of education is clear. Improving school retention rates in rural areas must be a priority for the post-2015 Sustainable Development Goals.

Education rates among ethnic minorities such as the Roma in Europe, who are often subject to multiple discrimination, must also be closely monitored. In rural eastern Hungary most villages are largely homogenous, with either Roma or non-Roma residents but rarely both. The living conditions in the Roma villages are almost always worse and shockingly few children complete primary school. Without equal access and attainment at this early age, Roma young people will never catch up with their non-Roma peers and ethnic tensions over jobs, demographics, and social services will only worsen. I had the privilege of working with 20 Roma students through a program that supported their university education. Sadly they are the exception, not the norm, but their stories demonstrate that small steps, one student at a time, can make an enormous difference that could one day transform the country in which they too are citizens. When I asked one student how she had come to the university to study, she explained that like many of her peers living in a small village she had little intention of continuing her studies. However, a kind neighbor invited her to attend a visit day at a high school in a neighboring city that prepares students for university. That day she was welcomed so warmly she decided to attend. Four years later seeing her friends apply to local universities she couldn’t help but do the same. Concrete actions such as this simple invitation on the local, national, and international levels are essential to reaching many more students like her, especially those living with the labels of ethnic minorities and growing up in tiny rural villages, so that they too can study beyond the primary level.

One of the women I most look up to lives in eastern Hungary. While the economy values her work as a pastor at a humble salary in forints, it does not recognize her contribution to society as a single mom and primary caretaker for her aging mother who still lives in her rural home with a large garden. “Developed countries” as much as any other must rethink the way that we honor and value caregivers.


-Kristen