Mary Schnack has more than 30 years of experience in journalism, public relations and public affairs, crisis communications, writing, and marketing communications. Mary also has been giving speeches and presentations worldwide for more than 25 years. Mary has established international business alliances in Kenya, China, Iceland, Bermuda and Italy, and has done speaking and training throughout Europe, Africa and in Mexico and Russia. She is a consultant and trainer for Vital Voices and past chair of the International Forum for the National Association of Women Business Owners. She was the recipient of the 2004 U.S. Small Business Administration’s Women in Business Advocate award for the Arizona District and Region IX and in 2008 she was awarded The International Alliance for Women Inaugural World of Difference 100 Awards, Advertising Working Mother of the Year Trailblazer Award and Member of the Year for Women Impacting Public Policy. She is also the founder of a business, www.UpFromTheDust.com, which supports the global growth of women microenterprises.

The women I meet through my global work, including my work with Vital Voices, never cease to amaze me. I love watching the “light bulbs” go on with the communication ideas that I present. What most of the trainees do not realize is how much they in turn inspire me!

My professional goals are very closely aligned with Vital Voices’ – to help women have their voices heard! I look forward to this regular column to pass on communication tips that hopefully will help you “let your voices be heard.”

I actually met Vital Voices through Eva Muraya. When Eva, CEO of Color Creations in Nairobi, Kenya, attended a communications seminar given by me at a World Bank/International Finance Corporation conference in Accra, Ghana, in 2003, Eva learned that I was advocating for women to publicize their awards and honors.

Many women at the seminar had reservations about this aspect of Public Relations (PR), as culturally it is not acceptable for most African women to “toot their own horn.” Eva had recently been named one of the “top 30 entrepreneurs in their 30’s in Eastern Africa,” and she said it would not be good protocol on her part to publicize that award. After discussing a variety of ideas short of sending out a public announcement, which would be perceived as bragging, Eva decided she could put a line in her e-mail signature that stated the award. It was a start.

Since then, Eva, who is a natural leader not only in her Nairobi community, but for African women throughout the world, has used her leadership skills and activities to promote not just her business, but to advocate for women’s leadership on her beloved continent. She was chosen for the Fortune Leadership Program and won the Goldman Sachs Fortune Leadership Award. She became Chairperson of the Zawadi Africa Education Fund (www.zawadiafrica.org) and started the Kenya Association of Women Business Owners (KAWBO). When Color Creations earned the coveted ISO 9001:2000 global management systems standard in 2007, making Color Creations the first business in communications, and first woman-owned, in sub-Sahara Africa, to gain the standard, Eva and her work team put together a communications plan to announce the award and to enhance their branding. Continue Reading »

We all have a voice. We are all wonder women, vital, transformative, fighters, mothers, daughters, friends, hard workers, entrepreneurs, princesses, citizens, courageous, beautiful.

Throughout my life I had experienced my fair share of bumps and turns. Change and adversity had been a natural state of being, a constant. Bring it on my motto, or so I thought.

Being diagnosed with breast cancer at age 33 was the type of news I was not prepared for. Impossible!! was my first reaction. I knew of no one my age with breast cancer, let alone many women who had gone through the same experience. I had also lost my youngest brother to leukemia 12 years earlier. I found out, the hard way, that lighting does strike the same spot twice.

The first few days after the diagnosis, all I wanted was to sleep. I did cry a little but more as a mere reflex, it was not the violent or agonizing cry which came later. Two weeks after the diagnosis, once reality had already been ingrained, I did cry, with all my stomach, heart and soul, I cried my life while my husband hugged me.

Then the calm came, and afterwards, inner strength, both fueled by so much I had to live for: daughters, husband, mother, grandmother, uncles, friends… the survival gene of our species had kicked in. As most breast cancer survivors, the experience transformed my life. I took stock of the things I enjoyed doing and dropped the heavy luggage sometimes we carry unnecessarily throughout our lives. I did not join a hippie commune in Nevada or traveled to Tibet for wisdom (which I would have loved). I simply realized there is more to life.

“It is not the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog” Mark Twain Continue Reading »

Vital Voices, an international NGO focused on women’s leadership, is deeply concerned about the deteriorating situation for women and girls in Afghanistan.  A series of events over the last few weeks is indicative of the continued struggle that many women in our network in Afghanistan, as well as all Afghan women, endure.

Late in March, a law for the Shia community which includes a section that permits a husband to engage in sexual intercourse with his wife, regardless of her consent, was passed quietly by the parliament. What was not quiet was the outcry of the international community and women’s activists in Afghanistan, forcing President Karzai to call for a review of the law.

“The passage of this law was a huge shock for me,” commented Sadiqa Basiri Saleem, Vital Voices’ 2009 Rising Voices Honoree. “But, I was proud of how the women of Afghanistan stood up and spoke out against this law. It shows how far we have come.”

However, those women activists in Afghanistan are under tremendous pressure, such as Sitara Achakzai, women’s rights activist in Kandahar, who was killed earlier this month by a Taliban gunman. Even women who are not activists can be targeted for the way that they dress or what they say. As the security situation remains perilous, women and girls are often most at risk.

Vital Voices recognizes and will continue to shine a light on the brave work of the women of Afghanistan. We call upon the government of Afghanistan to honor its commitments previously made to women and to ensure their safety and rights as citizens.

The Vital Voices community mourns the loss of Meeme Ekanem, a successful entrepreneur and advocate for women’s political and economic empowerment in Nigeria.  With grace and strength, Meeme inspired and informed those around her to strive for excellence and to make a difference in the lives of others.

Meeme had a successful career in banking early on in life, yet she sought to apply that knowledge and experience to provide economic opportunities to other women. She did so by starting her own company, Montage Exotiques, a limited liability corporation employing 35 artisans, the majority of whom are women. She also founded an NGO, the SMALL& MEDIUM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE (SMED-i), involved in training, counseling, business development, finance consulting, and networking for small and medium businesses. In 2008 Meeme participated in the Vital Voices African Women Artisans Export Development Program to provide further opportunities to women artisans through export. She most recently attended our Artisan training workshop in Ghana in February 2009, and was preparing to continue working with her fellow artisans in rural Nigeria to develop export-ready products. Continue Reading »

May 5 - Mu Sochua’s situation unfortunately is not improving with recent reports of intimidation. HRW issued a statement about Mu Sochua.

May 1 Update on Mu Sochua to Supporters

This is a letter from Mu Sochua who is being threatened with arrest for speaking out against corruption and injustice in Cambodia.

Mu Sochua is an elected member of the Cambodian parliament and a tireless advocate for women’s rights and the victims of injustice. In 2005, Mu Sochua was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work against sex trafficking of women in Cambodia and neighboring Thailand. Vital Voices honored Mu Sochua  with the 2005 Human Rights Global Leadership Award for her efforts to stem the tide of human trafficking. To highlight her work, Mu Sochua, was profiled in the documentary play Seven.

Please share this with your network and friends and raise your voice in her support.

Mu Sochua’s letter:

As I Walk to Prison

Between 1975-79, over 1.7 million Cambodian women, men and children were killed by the Khmer Rouge, among them my parents. The world community knew about it but watched from afar. Cambodia has come out of genocide and on the road to reconstruction but this stage of reconstruction is stuck and in many ways quickly falling back to point zero. 30 years after the genocide of the Khmer Rouge, Cambodia has made some progress but too small. Over 2,000 innocent Cambodian women die every year of childbirth, at least one million Cambodian children go to bed hungry every night, hundreds of thousands Cambodian children and female youth are ruined in brothels, over 200,000 families have been brutally forced of their land and homes, and over 75% of Cambodia’s forests have now been destroyed. Innocent lives of my people could be saved if justice were served, if top leaders of my broken nation were less greedy, if development were meant for all.

I left Cambodia as an innocent young adolescent because the Vietnam war was approaching and hundreds and thousands of sick, wounded and hungry families were already telling us that Cambodia was lost. I returned home 18 years later with two young children, to a nation in ruins. A new beginning gave us hope when the UN came to help Cambodia organize its first democratic election in 1993. It cost the world community 2 billion dollars. I became a leader in the women’s movement, moving communities and walking the peace walk in city streets and dirt roads to pray for non-violence. I joined politics and became the first woman to lead the women’s ministry that was lead by a man, campaigned nationwide to put an end to human trafficking, authored the draft law on domestic violence, signed treaties with neighboring countries to protect our women and children from being prosecuted as illegal migrants but to receive proper treatment as victims of sex slavery.

I witness violence not as a victim but I listen to hundreds and thousands of women and children speak of the shame, the violation, the soul that is taken away when violence is afflicted on their bodies and on their minds. As a politician I always try to take action, to walk to the villages where life seems to have stopped for centuries, I challenge the top leadership of the government — I question international aid.

Today, I am faced with the real possibility of going to jail because as self-defense I dare to sue the prime minister of Cambodia, a man who has ruled this nation for 30 years. Having been assaulted to the point where I stood half exposed in front of men, by a general I caught using a state car to campaign for the party of the prime minister, I found myself assaulted again, this time verbally by the prime minister who compares me to a woman hustler who grabbed men for attention.

Within days my parliamentary immunity will be lifted so the court can “investigate” my case. This is normal procedure for politicians from the opposition party or human rights activists or the poor who cannot bribe court officials.  I will be detained in the notorious prison of “Prey Sar” for as long as the courts wish to take.

Many of my colleagues in the opposition, including my party leader have faced this fate for speaking out.

Cambodia receives close to a billion dollars in 2009 from the international community, the USA contributing close to 60 million. Is the world still watching in silence while Cambodia is now ruled by one man? Is the world afraid to say that its aid is actually taking Cambodia backwards?

Let no Cambodian children go to bed hungry anymore. Let no Cambodian woman be sold anymore.

We must walk tall despite being people bent from the trauma of the Khmer Rouge, which is still a part of us. Let us not let our leaders and the world-community use this trauma to give us justice by the teaspoon.

Let there be real justice.

Mu Sochua
Elected Member of Parliament
Sam Rainsy Party

In Kuwait, elections are giving women a chance to change politics. The election, which will be held on May 16, will be the second in the year since the parliament was dissolved. Since 2006, five governments have resigned and three parliaments have been dissolved, leaving the political situation highly unstable.

In 2005, in the midst of a volatile political situation, women gained full political rights, including the right to vote. Yet only gradually has this brought on faith in women’s leadership, and while about 45 women candidates ran in the last two general polls, none were elected. But this year, there seems to be a new excitement around the potential of women to bring progress and stability to the country. Continue Reading »

CosmoGIRL! was looking for an entrepreneurial student to interview Martha Stewart and I wanted to be THAT student!  Through a friend and Columbia alum, I heard about the opportunity.  She gave me the encouragement to apply even though I was not the ideal candidate.  They had been hoping to find a student affiliated with Barnard College/ Columbia University, since it was her alma mater but I still felt that I was qualified and applied!  Having a network of powerful individuals to inform me of these amazing experiences has added a significant advantage to my career path, which I have gained through 85 Broads, a women’s professional network.   Knowing that a fellow member thought I was a solid candidate enabled me to feel confident writing a unique cover letter.  Your network will only recommend you if they feel that you are qualified so once you hear about an opportunity the ball will be in your court follow through.  I knew that the cover letter would make or break me so I decided to be bold and said that “I wanted to be the next Martha Stewart.” Continue Reading »

Women in Afghanistan have gained many rights since the fall of the Taliban.  They are receiving an education, owning businesses, and serving as members of Parliament.  Yet a law recently passed in March reminds many of the Taliban’s violations of women’s rights.  A CNN article explains that although the majority of the Shi’a Family Law was written to protect and solidify the identity of the Shi’a minority group, critics feel that some aspects consequently endanger another vulnerable group-the society’s women and children.  The law, which would only apply to the Shi’a population, includes a section that permits a husband to engage in sexual intercourse with his wife, regardless of whether or not she gives her consent.  Women who have enjoyed their post-Taliban freedoms, government ministries, lawmakers, human rights groups, and organizations in Afghan civil society have expressed their many concerns regarding the passage of this law.  According to an Associated Press article, over 100 Afghan officials and public figures have signed a petition arguing the law violates the nation’s Constitution and human rights.  Although some fear the conservative society will revert to the ways of the previous regime, the petition and President Hamid Karzai’s review of the law exemplifies the society’s progress. Continue Reading »

LA Times writes:

Back when Maria Bello was majoring in peace and justice studies at Villanova, she may have dreamed that she’d one day be a successful actress, but it’s hard to believe she ever imagined she’d one day help bring together an unprecedented summit of Africa’s first ladies.

That’s exactly what will occur Monday and Tuesday, when more than 20 of Africa’s first ladies will be in town to discuss a range of health and women’s rights issues that continue to obstruct development in their countries.

Bello — along with a number of other leading actresses — will help get the event off to a star-laden start as she joins California First Lady Maria Shriver at a welcoming luncheon at the Westside’s Skirball Cultural Center. Bello’s role in the summit is part of her long-standing interest in African issues, especially those that touch on the welfare of women.

Read the full article - LA Times

In Afghanistan, where women are traditionally treated as second-class citizens, more and more Afghan women are speaking out for their rights. Last week the Afghan Parliament passed a law, signed by President Karzi, which forbids a woman from resisting the sexual advances of her husband, effectively legalizing rape. The law, which applies only to the country’s Shiite population, has sparked international outrage and divided Afghan women.

Some Afghan women refuse to remain silent. On April 15th, 300 women protested the law by walking two miles to the Capital to deliver a petition demanding its repeal. One woman, Fatima Husseini, explained why she was fighting the law saying, “Whenever a man wants sex, we cannot refuse. It means a woman is a kind of property, to be used by the man in any way that he wants.” Those who demonstrated courageously stood up for their rights while facing an anti-protest crowd three times the size of their own. The Afghan police held back the crowd of both men and women who threw rocks and called the women “whores.” When one man shouted to a young woman that she was a “dog” and “not a Shiite woman,” she quietly replied, “This is my land and my people.” Continue Reading »