I’m not feminist, but…

Feminism: The belief in the right of women to have political, social, and economic equality with men. (Wikipedia) According to this definition, how can people NOT BE feminist?

Well, it seams that most of us don’t believe in these rights:

• Women in South Africa walk the equivalent of 16 Earth/Moon back-and-forth a day in order to get the water their families need. (source: UNEP)
• Half of the girls in Africa will drop elementary school due to its unsatisfactory sanitary conditions, hence lack of bathrooms or water. (source: UNPD)
• Systematic rape was a prominent feature of the conflicts in Bosnia-Hergovina, DR Congo, East Timor and Haiti, and is ongoing in the Darfur region of Sudan. (source: BBC)
• In Canada, on average, women still make only 70% what men make, even when employed full-time, year-round. (source: Statistic Canada in NDP)

I think being feminist is to be hurt, as a woman or a man, when you think about this pain and all the potential that will never bloom because of someone’s gender. It’s to shake your head when a girl gets involved in gangs to get some “love” and “protection”. It’s to be proud when women get involved in influential fields strongly dominated by men. It’s to feel angry when a government doesn’t recognize the right for women to fight for equality in the workplace.

Here’s something for you. And for the geeks among us, he is the stickiness deconstruction of the video.:

Do you believe in the Girl Effect? What would be the girl effect necessary where you live? What is the place of social entrepreneurship and social media in the equality and justice for women?

News: Technology and learning at Concordia

As found on their website:

For the first time ever, eConcordia will be holding a unique event designed to offer academics, professionals and key decision makers a better understanding of the cultural paradigm of technology and learning. The eConcordia Summit 2009 will welcome professionals, experts, practitioners, researchers and educators to meet and network with high-profile eleaders who will address how technological advances are impacting the way we learn today.

More + registration at http://www.econcordia.com/summit2009/

We’ll be there.

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