Buenos Aires, October 30, 2008 - More than 200 hundred women including former U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, President of The Republic of Chile, Michelle Bachelet and President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, gathered recently to develop strategies to move women in Latin America and the Caribbean forward.

“There has been a huge change in the cultural role of women in the region and in my country,” said Bachelet, one of very few women in political leadership in Latin America and the Caribbean.  “I am a doctor, a pediatrician and now I am president of my country. When I was growing up, the idea that a woman could be president was very remote.  When I was growing up, women in Chile wanted to be a doctor like me, now they want to be president.”

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We at Vital Voices are excited by a bit of little known, but ground-breaking news. Rwanda has just sworn in the world’s first women-majority parliament, as well as their first female Speaker of Parliament, Rose Mukantabana! The Vital Voices Global Leadership Network pledges its support to these women leaders to ensure that together, we can create lasting change in women’s lives.

The lower house of the Rwandan parliament (the Chamber of Deputies) is now 56.3% female, and leads the world as #1 for the percentage of women in parliament, according to the International Parliamentary Union (IPU). Other African countries to rank among the IPU’s top 20 for percentages of women in parliament are Angola at (#8 with 37.3%), Mozambique (#13 with 34.8%), South Africa (#17 with 33%) and Uganda (#20 with 30.7%). The USA ranks number 69 with 16.8%.

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Estelle Marilyn Nguemo Chime, an alumna of our Women’s Leadership in Public Life program, won an alumnae action plan grant to provide a 3-day leadership and project planning training for 26 young women, ages 19-32, from urban and rural areas. The Young Women’s Project Planning & Leadership Workshop was held in Douala, Cameroon from August 5-7, 2008. Marilyn, led the training herself, along with Stephenie Foster of American Legacy Foundation and Kah Walla, a City Council Representative and Director of STRATEGIES!

In Cameroon, 45% of the population is under the age of 15. Voter turnout is extremely low, with only 4% of registered voters actually voting in the last elections. There are few after-school or youth leadership organizations, and those that exist are church-based and are limited in the skills and activities they offer. Young people feel disillusioned, like their voices and concerns are not heard. There is very little accountability among public leaders, so social and economic concerns often go unresolved. There is a tremendous need for training that empowers young women to take action and be empowered to improve their own lives and communities. Continue Reading »

As the official launch of the 2008 Olympics commences and over 100 countries join together in sportsmanship, this event- a celebration of unity, is undermined by the cruelty that divides us between those who have a voice and those who are denied their most basic freedoms.

The New York Times reports that China selected 08.08.08 for the official launch of the Olympic games because the word “eight” sounds like the word for “good fortune” in both Mandarin and Cantonese. Yet for China’s (approximate) 40 million Burmese neighbors, this time conjures anything but the notion of good luck.

Twenty years and one day prior, marks the death of an estimated 3,000 peaceful demonstrators and the continued severity of a devastating military regime that commits the most gruesome of atrocities against its people.
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April 24th marked the closing session of the 2-week training program, “African Women’s Leadership in Public Life” supported by ExxonMobil.

I had the good fortune of observing the conclusion of this program at American University in Washington DC.

When I arrived to the campus in mid afternoon, I was greeted by a group of women leaders and 2 aspiring youth who, together, represented every region throughout Africa.

The energy in the room was incredible- one sensed that the participants had forged a strong camaraderie throughout the course of the program. As the session progressed, however, it became apparent that these leaders had established far more than friendships—they had, in fact, been successful in building a collaborative working group dedicated to promoting women’s leadership in public life.

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The alliance between Vital Voices and Diane von Fustenberg, had me flying across the world this time . . . and it was an amazing experience!!!

More and more, as women, the awareness of who we are, our possibilities, our role in creating a beautiful world, become evident and fascinating!!! This week was a peek into it!!

Before the trip, I was somehow nervous . . . the journey from working with women in rural Guatemalan communities to Washington, through Vital Voices, seemed far enough!! But to be able to go into a totally new world, the Fashion World is something I never imagined . . . but was possible because of Diane working together with Vital Voices.

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To celebrate International Women’s day Vital Voices has planned various events across the globe. The London event was the first to kick off at the Diane von Furstenberg shop in Mayfair. As I arrived promptly at six for the cocktail I was greeted by all the Brower Lewis staff (Diane von Furstenberg’s PR people) and the wonderful sales assistants all dressed in various DVF dresses. Soon the shop was buzzing with a good atmosphere as it was filled with the 100 or so people who attended, including some guests who came all the way from Paris. With people talking, networking and shopping, it made for a very lively event. Women loved the fashion and quite a bit of shopping was done!
I spoke about Vital Voices and their role not only in training and empowering women leaders but also in combating Human Trafficking. Young women who I spoke to were very interested in the issue of Human Trafficking.
We all left with a bag, containing Vital Voices literature and a Diane von Furstenberg t-shirt.

Memories of a small woman with a huge voice leading hundreds of women in singing ‘Bread and ‘Roses’.
They were celebrating women who lived in a time when women’s rights had no name. Women whose names will never be known who had fought the shadow of injustice so that their daughters and granddaughters could live in the sun.

Memories of warmth and laughter as women of different traditions and communities in Northern Ireland stepped outside their own worlds, exchanged stories and discovered the pleasure in each other’s company

Memories now of watching a play in New York which honored the courage and determination in the lives of all such women across the world.

Through telling the stories of seven women who had embarked on journeys for which there were no footprints, the women playrights and actresses resonated the strength and determination of women around the world who make these lonely choices.

Humbled at being one of the seven, honored by the company I am keeping, marveling at the ingenuity
of the women in vital voices who used their space and power to insist that such voices be heard as of right and respected as the necessary pre condition for the health of our world.

Memories of a night of strength, of pain but most of all memories of a night of love and laughter in good company.

I grew up in the Soviet Union and was used to women receiving gifts and flowers on March 8th from their husbands, fathers and boyfriends as a celebration of women’s beauty, femininity and motherhood. Only many years later I have learned that this holiday is actually dedicated to women’s rights and solidarity. When I started a help line for battered women, I’ve learned that March 9th for many women is the day of abuse following the yesterday flowers.

I guess as a combination of my childhood memories and my experiences working with issues of violence against women this holiday still signifies to me a beauty of a woman’s soul, women’s ability to care and ability to make changes, our survival and at the same time strength, but also pain and struggle of women suffering day after day from violence and injustice.

We can make this holiday a true celebration of women’s rights and solidarity only by investing in women’s leadership around the world, supporting each woman who takes the initiative and risk to make a breakthrough for other women to follow, giving opportunities to women and girls to fulfill their potential, dreams and as we all know the world will only benefit from it.

For me, International Women’s Day comes as a great reminder. As IWD approaches, I can’t help but think of the women in my life who have invested their time, energy, love and nurture in me. These reflections conjure feelings of gratitude and remind me that I too, have many roles yet to fill- as a future mother or aunt, friend or mentor. International women’s day also inspires me to remember my heroes- trailblazers who fought for positive change and continue to pave the way for progress in their communities, countries, regions and beyond. The stories of these courageous women inspire me and remind me that I can also act to make change. I believe in the importance of investing in women’s leadership because I know that the kind of change I want to see in the world can only evolve from the joint efforts of both men and women.