On Woman's Day

Celebrating women's day, I read some twits about how wonderful it is to be a woman. About how awesome we are. About how beautiful we are. About the hype that is the time to celebrate ourself being a woman. But behind those scenes, women around the globes are suffering. I'd like to share some of amusing facts from here. And in accordance to the celebration of woman's day, I'd like to share these facts, and ask for a minute of silence. The sentences in italic are my own  personal thoughts, feel free to agree or disagree.

• Women perform 66% of the world’s work, but receive only 11% of the world’s income, and own only 1% of the world’s land. Ever wonder why Indonesian factory owner prefer buruh wanita? Ever wonder why there are some gap of income, based on gender? Ever wonder how woman would actually take ANY means of work when it comes to saving their family, include a low paid buruh cuci, madi, even buruh bangunan and tukang ojek. And here I am being ungrateful about the salry I made.
• Women make up 66% of the world’s illiterate adults. Those who have privilages to information like us, we should do something to help. For underprivileged woman, being literate means having more access to information that can open their eye, build their awareness of their rights, and help them to get a better life. Information, nowadays, is everywhere. But having access to it, is a privilege.
• Women head 83% of single-parent families. The number of families nurtured by women alone doubled from 1970 to 1995 (from 5.6 million to 12.2 million). Here we are talking about women as the backbone of the family, and still, they earn less compared to their male colleagues. Woman would do anything, I repeat, anything when it comes to their family's survival. I had been in this situation, where without my mother, my family wouldn't be the one you see right now.
• Women account for 55% of all college students, but even when women have equal years of education it does not translate into economic opportunities or political power. Exactly. Women all over the world has been struggling for this : To have their voice and aspiration being listened to. To have policies and regulation that not only benefit mankind, but also benefit woman.  
• There are six million more women than men in the world. See the previous point. Woman are superior in number, yet their voice is not being heard. Yet violence happens to them almost all the time, and it is kept hidden down below. Yet access to education, information, and public facilities are somewhat being limited in some countries.
• Two-thirds of the world’s children who receive less than four years of education are girls. Girls represent nearly 60% of the children not in school. I read this and feel ashamed for all of the time I complained about having to go to school back then. It is seen here that again, the world does not think it is important for women to gain knowledge and have access to informations. Some still think that girls belong to the house, and well, it is ok for them not to continue their education. This is definitely not cool. 
• Parents in countries such as China and India sometimes use sex determination tests to find out if their fetus is a girl. Of 8,000 fetuses aborted at a Bombay clinic, 7,999 were female. Battle of sexes and preference that has been going on for centuries : male are preferred to woman. For some cultural shit reasons, I'd say. Even at prophet Mohammed's time, the arabs would kill or desert their baby girl. Seemingly, the price of life is cheaper when you're a girl. 
• Wars today affect civilians most, since they are civil wars, guerrilla actions and ethnic disputes over territory or government. 3 out of 4 fatalities of war are women and children. Who else? Wars are men's playground. Women mostly would opt for stability and peace. Plus, they are helpless amidst the casualties of war. I always believe that given the option, any woman would go for peace instead of war. 
• Rape is consciously used as a tool of genocide and weapon of war. Tens of thousands of women and girls have been subjected to rape and other sexual violence since the crisis erupted in Darfur in 2003. There is no evidence of anyone being convicted in Darfur for these atrocities. Talking about Darfur always broke my heart. Those rapist and soldiers, they forgot that it is a womb of a mother that brought them to the world. 
• About 75% of the refugees and internally displaced in the world are women who have lost their families and their homes. Help. Behind the buzz of fashion weeks across the globe, there are these homeless, helpless woman crying for help. Not to be pitied of, but to be empowered and accepted. But the cry for help always lost and being silenced, as always, when it comes to woman. 
• Gender-based violence kills one in three women across the world and is the biggest cause of injury and death to women worldwide, causing more deaths and disability among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accident, and war. Again, as I stated in the previous point, the price of life is cheaper when you're a woman. Some men thinks they owe women, and it is ok to treat them in whatever way they want. 

I am thankful that I was born as a woman. 

I cried for my fellow sisters across the globe, who are suffered, who are seeking for helps, who are helpless, who are murdered, who are treated inhumane. I cried for my fellow privileged sisters who did not knows about this facts. I cried for their ignorance. I cried for myself, my helpless, privileged self that has done nothing. I am aware we can't save all of the women in the world in a blink of time, I do. But I believe, if a woman would empower another woman, we'll end up helping ourselves, and helping humanity.

So today, empower any women, any girls near you. Inform them about gender issues. Help them learn. Teach them to read. Help them building a small business. Cooperate with them. Build a female-friendly working place. Hold their hands. Tell them that life's worth the same, for both male and female. 

Happy women's day, ladies :)