Achieving Gender Equity in Context of Conflict, Religion, and Enslavement
71% of the enslaved individuals today are women and girls due to conflicts, migration, religious wars leading to displacement of humans.
EXPERTS:
Ashish Damle
Honorable Bakoko Bakoru Zoe (Former Minister, Uganda)
Honorable Judge Mary Elizabeth Bullock
Honorable Harold D'Souza, Eyes Open International
Chair: Dr. Kalyani Gopal, SAFECHR ([email protected])
Program:
10 AM US ET: Introduction and housekeeping
10:05 – 10:25 ET: Speaker Ashish Damle on “The impact of conflict on Girls and families in Afghanistan and Bangladesh. Rescue Missions experiences
10:30 am – 10:45 AM ET: Speaker Honorable Bakoko Bakoru Zoe, Experiences of Refugee girls over a span of a lifetime. Addressing gender equity.
10:50 am – 11:20am ET: Speaker Judge Mary Elizabeth Bullock. Feminist Perspective of Overcoming Adversity and gaining Equity through the power of Education
11:30 AM – 1pm : Q and A and discussion
Hearing these stories is difficult but necessary
If you are unaware of what trafficking is, buckle up. The stories these kind people have to tell are nearly impossible to understand.
If you don't understand how war affects women and children, get some tissue.
If you don't understand how labor trafficking can be happening right down the street from you, listen to what Harold is sharing. He was tricked into a horrendous situation here in America.
It's a long road
Hon Zoe Bakoko brought me to tears when she was explaining how she has been part of speaking over and over at the UN and other places. It must be so frustrating to feel like nothing is really happening.
I participate in educating legislators here in Austin, TX. You have to go up to the Capitol year after year and teach the new ones and remind the old ones about the issues. It feels like you are running up a hill year after year and making little progress. And when a new election cycle hits, you're starting all over again.
And there's NO WAY I can imagine how people with lived experiences like this can put themselves through this constantly.
This is why I have grown tired of “being nice” when I talk about this topic. We just don't have time to pretend that things are getting better. Because we have SO FAR TO GO.
If you're reading this, commit to making ONE positive change today.
Change the word “Refugee” to “Displaced Person”
It's a small thing to you, but a BIG thing to someone that is without a home.
This suggestion from the group is making me rethink a lot of things, and I really like that it encourages retention of the DIGNITY of the person that is displaced, as the truth is that they ARE in a temporary situation that is NOT THEIR FAULT.
Get involved
When you hear their stories, start thinking about how YOU want to get involved in the solution. We always suggest getting educated as a first place. Many people want to donate money.
If you decide you want to help out with money, you do NOT need to give your money to a worldwide organization! You can make a big impact in your own neighborhood! Invest your cash and time locally. There are people in your town that need help RIGHT NOW. Go to your local church or community center in person. Bring them some water or food. Tell them how you want to help. They will accept it.
SAFE Coalition for Human Rights
This is the stream we were running live. Wanted to be sure to keep it here as well just in case the other gets deleted somehow.
Help our sister non-profit, Radical Empathy Education Foundation, raise awareness of human trafficking. Donate here.
Get educated about human trafficking yourself right now. Click here.