Tag Archives: Hillary Clinton

Educating Girls for Peace, Pro-Women Laws in Pakistan & More

Pro-Women Laws Emerge in Pakistan
Women in Pakistan have historically struggled to achieve gender equality, however there have been several breakthroughs over the past few years thanks to the efforts of the government and various advocacy groups. Last year, the Acid Control and Acid Crime Prevention (Amendment) Bill gave the State guidance on how to punish offenders and support victims of violent gender-based crimes. Most recently, on International Women’s Day last month, the President of Pakistan signed the National Commission on the Status of Women Bill into law, which allows the commission to investigate women’s rights violations. Read more here.

Empowering Girls and Women to Achieve Peace and Prosperity
It has become well known that educating and empowering girls and women leads to a wide variety of benefits, from greater economic growth to healthier children and families. However, the positive effects also extend into making and keeping peace. In fact, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recently released policy guidance on gender instructs embassies and bureaus across the world to implement policies that promote gender equality and advance the status of women and girls in order to foster conflict prevention, as well as relief recovery, in post-conflict situations. To read more go here.

Girls’ Education Top Concern for Afghani Women When US Troops Leave
When the Taliban fell from power in 2001, there were 5,000 girls attending school in Afghanistan. Today there are 2.5 million. A recent nationwide survey shows that a massive majority of women are terrified about the possibility of a return to a Taliban-run government when US troops pull out of the country. One of the main concerns mentioned was their daughter’s education, which many believe will suffer greatly if the Taliban returns.  Not only are young girls fighting for their education, but also an escape from forced marriages and other practices that limit their freedom. Get the rest of the story here.

Young Girls in India Struggle to Stay in School
India’s government has made significant efforts to provide free compulsory education to all children ages 6 to 14 after passing the Right to Education Act in April 2010. Even more, all enrolled students receive 27 essential items such as a uniform and backpack as well as a free hot lunch. Despite these efforts, India’s poorest still struggle to stay in school and it seems to be even worse for girls. Durga Jadav is an 11 year old who lives under a bridge with her family in Mumbai, India. Despite having nothing to eat at home and pressure to help her family by getting a job, Durga perseveres and goes to school. To read more about her story go here.

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Clinton On Global Economy, Empowerment In Pakistan & More


Global Economy Depends on Women, Says Clinton
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke at the Asian-Pacific Economic Cooperation’s (APEC) Women and the Economy Summit on Friday, where she stressed the importance of women’s involvement in the economy. “By increasing women’s participation in the economy and enhancing their efficiency and productivity, we can have a dramatic impact on the competitiveness and growth of our economies.” Read more.

Women Empowerment Through Social Entrepreneurship in Pakistan
Two young Pakistani women are making a difference for the lives of underprivileged women living in Pakistan. Khalida Brohi, 23, who hails from a tribal area of Balochistan, and Saba Gul, 28, part of Lahore’s upper economic class, are social entrepreneurs who have created innovative programs aimed at empowering women and girls in Pakistan. Read more.

Girls’ Education a Priority in South Sudan for USAID
Education is among the highest priorities for the people of the newly formed nation South Sudan. USAID is on the frontlines of this mission, especially when it comes to educating girls. Over the past five years, USAID has given over 9,000 scholarships in an effort to increase school attendance and also raise low literacy rates. Read more.

UK Launches New Program to Help Poorest Girls in the World
Britain has just launched the Girls Education Challenge, a new program that will help up to a million of the poorest girls in the world get an education. The program will call on NGOs, charities and the private sector in order to find better ways to get underprivileged girls in school. The program will focus on girls living throughout Africa and Asia. Read more.

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“At just the right moment, I light the match.”

Mia Hamm

Mia Hamm

“I am building a fire, and everyday I train, I add more fuel. At just the right moment, I light the match.” -Mia Hamm

Ever since the day I picked up my first soccer ball, it’s been a great passion in my life. I spent nights, weekends, and many holidays traveling with the roughly the same team of girls for about 10 years, one of which is still one of my best friends to this day. For the last few weeks I have been lost in the 2010 South Africa World Cup. It’s absolutely fascinating to me. As I’ve been watching these amazing athletes compete, I’ve been reminiscing a lot about my times as a player.  I learned so much in my time playing soccer, about sportsmanship, perseverance, friendship, and myself. My coaches taught me how to keep going when I thought I had no strength left in my body. My teammates taught me the meaning of friendship, sharing and team work. And then there was Mia.

Mia Hamm (now Mia Garciaparra), my childhood hero, taught me that any adversity could be overcome to achieve whatever your dream you may dream, whether it be winning a world cup in soccer or pursuing higher education (mine ended up being the latter). I will always remember the Mia Hamm poster that I hung in my room as a little girl. I vaguely remember it said something about how she loved orange soda, which I do too. I even chose the number 9 for a while because that was Mia’s number. Every little girl has their heroes, and Mia was mine.

Mia was born with a club foot and had to wear corrective shoes as a child, yet she has scored more international goals than any other US soccer player in history, male or female. She has two Olympic medals and was part of two FIFA women’s world cup championship winning teams. Not only was she a stellar athlete, but Mia, now a mother of twins, is also an author. She wrote a children’s book called “Winners Never Quit,” about the value of sportsmanship and perseverance. She achieved many firsts in her lengthy soccer career and inspired so many young girls to follow their dreams as well. Soccer ended up not being my calling in life, but through the playing of the game I learned so many valuable life lessons that have gotten me to where I am today. So, as I’m intently watching the Chile v. Brasil match on TV, I must say thank you, Mia.

Today, one of my modern day heroes, Queen Rania, has backed the 1Goal campaign promoting the completion of primary schooling by all boys and girls by 2015 AND to ensure that girls have the opportunity for education on all levels by 2015. On October 6th 2009, the 1GOAL campaign kicked off in a satellite-linked ceremony led by the 2010 FIFA World Cup host, South Africa President Jacob Zuma, Her Majesty Rania Al-Abdullah, Queen of Jordan, President of Ghana John Atta Mills, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, President of Spain, Jan Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister of Australia, Hillary Clinton, the US Secretary of State, Ban Ki-Moon, the UN Secretary General and Sepp Blatter, the FIFA President. So far 9,630,974 people have joined. This combines two of my great loves: soccer and promoting education. Through the awareness that the 1Goal campaign receives, perhaps we will be able make significant progress towards the goal of promoting the girls and women’s opportunity for a quality education worldwide.

Hopefully all of you are enjoying the World Cup as much as I am (other than the heartbreaking defeat of the US team the other day!) Happy Maisy Monday!

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