To Inspire or To Be Inspired?

By Lenien Jamir

Believe

Believing in yourself can be easier said than done for many. In today’s digital age, one is exposed to “extra-ordinary” people that seem ‘richer’, ‘smarter’, ‘prettier’, or ‘luckier,’ and this could impact one’s self esteem, making it difficult to back yourself and have faith that things will fall into place. Compared to all others, one’s life may seem so much more difficult and challenging. You start questioning why and often; there is no compelling answer.

A lot of people could give better advice on this, but I genuinely do not know the answer and being the pessimist I am, I know such advice will not go through until I convince myself of it first. Yes, I must accept and believe in it first before I even think of its application. Growing up I have learnt that a great strategy is to draw inspiration from peers, mentors, family, and friends. Mind you, these are not those “extra-ordinary” people but are ordinary people who do extraordinary things every day.  Knowing them, I try to convince myself that if they could pull it off, I probably can too and that’s how I push myself.

Coming from Nagaland

To begin with, I am an average indigenous girl from a middle-class family in a tucked away part of India that not many (including Indians) really know much about and who somehow made it all the way to the United States on a full ride. Ethnically, I belong to the Ao Naga tribe from a small landlocked mountainous state called Nagaland. If you look at the map, you will notice that Nagaland is to the east of Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and borders with Myanmar on the west. That’s the reason I look different.

Education, Tennis and Quitting

Two huge concepts about my life are education and tennis, and they essentially describe my life here in the U.S. too. My parents wanted me to play a sport and be athletic, and that’s how I started playing tennis when I was six-years old. Thanks to all the support, I enjoyed it (and hated it too sometimes), I got good (won some, lost some), and started to take it seriously. I was and probably will remain a nerd at heart, so while I loved my studies, tennis added greater depth to my personality and taught me so many more life lessons that I hold so dear. Throughout my school years, I played competitive tennis but after the ninth grade, I was weary and wanted to stop. My pessimism - disguised in the form of realism - took over and told myself I should quit while I’m ahead as I was never actually going to be able to do something of value with tennis. So, I quit. Yes, I gave it all up.

Being Realistic and Falling on Family

I missed tennis, but I couldn’t get myself to start playing again without a “realistic” purpose or goal. I was leaving high school and looking for colleges now and this made me realize that there were opportunities to study abroad through tennis. As a teenager, I was always into western culture (mainly through music) and I always dreamt of experiencing life in the western world. But realistically (I know, here’s that word again – it’s my favorite word), I knew it was expensive and beyond our family’s reach, and that’s when I started to seriously consider college tennis. Fortunately, my parents (and sister) have always supported and pushed me to be my best self, and that is important. Their support not only backed my aspirations but helped me focus on my ambitious plans, and so in order to help me chase my dream of playing college tennis in the U.S., they decided to translocate me to a tennis academy in a city more than 2,000 miles away.

Independence, responsibility and perseverance

I had never been away from home, and so it was a confusing transition, especially in a country like India where each state is almost a whole new country. Being in a new place was not the only challenge; the climate was completely different; the food was worlds apart and the cultural habits were alien to me. However, this move was amongst the most pivotal decision of my life too. Being away taught me to be independent and helped me mature as a person. I also had to deal with all the social anxiety of not just being an 18-year-old but to also carry the pressure of my entire future depending on whether I could execute near-perfect control over a little green ball in the court. It was during these two years that I also competed in most of the International Tennis Federation tournaments across Asia and Africa. While all this may sound dramatic, it really wasn’t at the time.

As an independent young adult, I had only two options now. To make it and be happy or to fail. The failure part was scary as that would mean I would have successfully wasted three years of an extremely crucial period of my life, wasted a lot of my parents’ money and fallen miles behind my peers. I will not lie; I did think of giving up a few times, deciding to cut my losses and go back home and focus on my academics (which I was good at), but I never followed through. I knew I had a responsibility, not only to my parents but to myself, and the onus was on me to persist and persevere.

Keep the Faith and Be Thankful

I had to keep my faith and believe in myself. Talking with my friends about their struggles really inspired me, but most importantly, I saw the belief and faith that my family had in me. When I didn’t believe in myself, I drew hope from theirs. It was the tough times that forced me to dig deep and find the gratitude within myself. This is important as it is the toughest part; this is where I had to allow myself to make mistakes and fail and be proud of myself for not giving up.

The Reward

After a tough two years of hard training, research for institutions in U.S., appearing for the SATs and the applications (to countless colleges), and numerous offers, I finally chose Monmouth University, NJ and am now in the Monmouth Hawks women’s tennis team. I was ecstatic to get a full ride to an American institution. I had made history in some ways as the first Naga girl to receive an athletic scholarship. My parents were proud and so was my community. Most importantly, I felt a sense of fulfilment and accomplishment that made it worth every drop of sweat and tears spend over the years.

Inspire and Be Inspired

I have a long way to go, but if there’s one thing that has really helped me throughout my teenage years, it is to find inspiration in small things--be it listening to songs and feeling the wind on your face, seeing your peers struggle and succeed, seeing plants bloom or birds fly, or the anecdotes from your mentors, be inspired. Writing this blog entry (by the way, this is my first ever blog) by itself is really inspiring me, and if there is one thing, I would like anyone to take away from my story, it is this. If I - an indigenous Ao Naga girl from an extreme underdeveloped corner of India - could do it, trust me, so can you. And ‘it’ could mean anything! Finishing school, learning a new language, changing your environment, striving to have a better life, connecting with yourself, or even just simply not giving up. I believe that we must all live not just to be inspired but to inspire as well. I hope I did.

Enough is Enough! Violence Against Women in Mexico Must Stop!

By Maria Cuevas

Gender-based violence against women has existed in Mexico for a very long time. Discontent about institutional violence against females was reignited in Mexico in February 2020 after a pair of grisly killings shocked the country. Along with a call for a statewide strike on March 9, 2020, this is a major test for Mexico’s government. Protesters claim that despite AMLO’s campaign promises to reduce crime, he has failed to address violence against women.

The murders of Ingrid Escamilla, 25, and Fatima Cecilia, 7, two days apart, sparked indignation across the country. There were many demonstrations against the media publishing photographs of Escamilla’s corpse, including thousands of vandals defacing the presidential palace. Social media users began burying the images by posting images of nature in their place.

Activists called for statewide rallies on International Women’s Day, March 8 2020, and the complete exclusion of females from public spaces on March 9 the same year, in response to connected murders. Activists in Mexico are calling for an end to femicide as well as other violence against women.

More than a month-long sit-in at the National Autonomous University of Mexico halted classes and sparked rallies against female violence in Mexico City and around the country.

Violence like this has afflicted Mexico for years. More than 75% of women above the age of fifteen have been physically abused by a love partner. In the span of two years, the rate of femicide in Mexico increased by at least 145 percent. As compared to most countries, Mexico distinguishes between homicide and femicide. A record number of murders, including those committed by women, were committed in the United States last year.

Other than Mexico, Latin America has a high mortality rate for females. There are fourteen countries in Latin America with the worst femicide rates in the world. Sexual violence against women has recently inspired protests in Latin America, and the Chilean national anthem “No More Rape” is an international symbol of condemnation.

Experts claim that the violence is fueled by a “machismo” mentality of male dominance and ownership over women. Traditional gender beliefs in Mexico have been criticized by critics of Mexico’s superior Catholic tradition, even inside the Church. The state’s Catholic leadership has also showed sympathy for related national protests and called for stronger steps to decrease femicide. In addition to women violence perpetrated by family members and spouses, girls and women are at risk of sex trafficking by powerful drug gangs in the country.

Protesters say that the indifference, complicity, and mishandling of cases by law enforcement contribute to the violence. Femicide in Mexico is punishable by prison terms of 40 to 60 years, which are harsher than those for other types of homicide, yet the perpetrators are rarely brought to justice.

In November 2020 the International Day Elimination of Violence Against Women (IDEVAW) organized a campaign to promote a “zero tolerance” policy for violence against women in Mexico.  Government initiatives to raise public awareness and train security officers in gender sensitivity were also mentioned. In response to the death of Escamilla, AMLO vowed to support women and decried the disclosure of crime scene images, which he called “disgusting.” He thanked protesters for their role in passing a law that increased the penalty for femicide.

Even yet, when the attorney general proposed eradicating abuse of women from the criminal code, his government drew criticism. By accusing his political rivals of leveraging the strikes, the president claimed that the press was twisting the matter. As a result of the “neoliberal” economic policies of his predecessors, he keeps blaming the situation on social decay and asks for Mexico’s “moral regeneration.”

However, my thought about the women violence situation in Mexico is that new legislation isn’t enough to reduce these cases. There are already existing laws but have had little impact on the situation. When it comes to protecting young girls, leaders including congressmen need to push for current laws to be implemented and for the media to reevaluate their coverage of the subject. The task of advocacy of human rights against violence should not be left entirely to activists. The main issue, however, is that it remains to be seen whether AMLO can combine his hostility to the protestors with his commitments to curb violence against women.

References

Agren, D. (2021). Ten women and girls killed every day in Mexico, Amnesty report says. the Guardian. Retrieved 2 June 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/sep/20/mexico-femicide-women-girls-amnesty-international-report.

Amnesty. (2021). Mexico: The Age of Women: Stigma and Violence Against Women Protesters. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Retrieved 2 June 2022, from https://reliefweb.int/report/mexico/mexico-age-women-stigma-and-violence-against-women-protesters.

Hundreds join violence against women protest in Mexico. BBC News. (2021). Retrieved 2 June 2022, from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59162501.

Sieff, K. (2020). The death of a 7-year-old girl in Mexico provokes new outrage. Washington Post. Retrieved 2 June 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-death-of-a-7-year-old-girl-in-mexico-provokes-new-outrage/2020/02/18/44cf6416-51f2-11ea-80ce-37a8d4266c09_story.html.

From Pakistan to New Jersey: Embracing Education No Matter Where You Are

This day, International Women’s Day, and every day, WAGE embraces the value of education no matter what that may look like. This blog was written by a college student in New Jersey who is now an intern for WAGE.

Education has always been important to me and my family, and my parents instilled this value in all their children, my brothers and I, from a very young age. Being the oldest, and the only daughter, I was expected to set an example for my younger siblings, and that included doing well in school.

My parents are both very highly educated, and they went to school both here and in Pakistan. My father received a master’s degree in Pakistan in physics, and then went to Syracuse University in 1992 to obtain yet another masters, this time in telecommunications.

My mother went to graduate school in Pakistan to get a masters in geography. Having gone to school both in the United States and in Pakistan, I thought it would be interesting to ask my dad about the difference in experience between both countries.

 After complaining about the cost of tuition in the United States for some time, he told me that he valued his education at Syracuse more, and he felt lucky to have that opportunity.

Pursuing a higher education is daunting task, as is immigrating to a different country, so I imagine the culmination of both left him feeling overwhelmed at the time. He admitted he felt as though he had to work harder, study more, and pay more attention than in Pakistan, but he felt very fulfilled with his schooling.  

He ended up being awarded both teaching and research assistantships that covered most of his tuition and was offered a job almost immediately after graduating. My mom, who came to the United States after my dad started his job in 1996, always had a passion for learning. Even now, decades after finishing her degree, she continues to take one-off classes on topics that interest her. She currently teaches kindergarten age children, and I have never heard her complain about it once.

When I was younger, my parents always made sure I was doing well in school. They helped with my homework, kept up with my teachers and counselors, and brought me to my tutoring classes.

In middle and high school, I was always more invested in my humanities classes, and I didn’t connect with what I was learning in math and science. When it was time for me to go to college, I was weary to tell them that I wanted to major in political science, and forgo the pre-med or engineering route.

Despite my hesitation about telling my parents about the path I wanted to pursue, they were very supportive and told me they wanted me to excel in my education, no matter the major I chose.

Initially, I had thought that I wanted to go to law school, so I chose a concentration in legal studies. After a few semesters, I realized that I was more stimulated by my international relations and politics courses. I felt similar to how I felt at the end of high school--I was weary to tell them about the change of plans, but again I was met with encouraging words.

 Now that I am in the last semester of college, I am doing a bit of reflecting on my experience. I struggled in the beginning, as most do, but I am lucky to have had a strong support system of friends, professors, and of course, my family.

Many women and girls do not even have the option to pursue an education, and it is even rarer to be surrounded by people who motivate and uplift you through all your hardships. I had my parents to show me the success and fulfillment that education can bring, and this idea should be universal. This is why WAGE’s mission is imperative; strengthening and creating education systems for women and girls will lead to a better future for them, and for all of us.

—Areebah Zia

Mentoring: From Darkness to Light

By Heather Mistretta

"There is no darkness but ignorance."—Shakespeare, Twelfth Night

Over 400 years ago, Shakespeare challenged his readers to embrace knowledge, calling ignorance the darkness that is the weapon used to oppress, abuse and stifle. The longevity of his words alone speaks volumes and the lessons they have taught today.

As National Mentoring Month nears its end, I am reminded of the countless mentors I am grateful to have had throughout my life, those vehicles of knowledge both big and small—from the Sunday school teacher who empowered me to belt out “Jesus Loves Me” when I could barely say hello to a passerby to my dogs who inspire me to live in the moment and relish it to the colleagues and academics who challenged me to strive for more and dare to step outside the box to the friends who believed in me even when I didn’t.

Each one has played a part in shaping me into who I am, and I’m grateful for all of them.

Mentors come in all shapes, sizes and colors. They are a crucial part of our development and learning. They instill confidence, impart wisdom and sometimes are the listening ears we need to keep moving forward. Sometimes they are intentionally in our lives like a teacher or an older colleague, but those indirect mentors like an older person who shares a memory or a mother of three children who returns to attain a college degree in spite of obstacles can sometimes be just as important.

One of the most important lessons we learn from mentoring is that it’s okay for us to ask for help, particularly for women and girls who may sometimes be afraid to appear helpless or vulnerable or feel as though they are opening themselves up for failure.

As I said, I am grateful for all the mentors I have had in my life, but I’m also grateful to have the opportunity to impart some of my experiences into the lives of our youth through WAGE’s mentoring programs. Every time I am reminded of how mentoring is always a mutual experience.

I remember this past summer how each week we visited a school in Asbury Park to share a little bit about global and local heroes like Cesar Chavez or Penelope Lattimer, take part in an art project and share a snack.

But perhaps the most rewarding part of the day was the conversation, those times when the children afraid to open their mouths for fear of rejection would share a word or two, or the young woman who passionately shared that she aspired to be a fashion designer. She had it all planned out how she would eventually be known as a fashionista as she worked on building her own business! In the face of all the abject poverty, violence and lost dreams around her, the confidence she exuded along with enormous compassion was quite inspiring to me! But equally as important was the young man whose voice had been stifled by domestic violence who opened up to share one element of his life in private.

We are celebrating the 20th anniversary of National Mentoring Month this January, but it is believed that the concept of mentoring originated with the character of Mentor in Homer’s Odyssey. In this saga that dates back about three thousand years ago when stories were spoken, not written, Odysseus entrusts his young son, Telemachus to be taken care by the Mentor, his trusted companion, when he goes to fight in the Trojan War.

Fast forward to the 1970s when businesses more openly recognized the benefits of “mentoring.” Since then, it has burgeoned into a crucial part of an employee’s development and a way to strengthen relationships and opportunities for our youth. It has the power to make them feel empowered, encouraged and understood.

Mentors don’t have to be rocket scientists or Plato prodigies. Mentors can be a helping hand or a lending ear to someone in need, someone that a young person who has been dealt an unfair share of rejection and mistrust a healthy dose of hope and trust.

In those darkest moments in our lives, it may seem as though there is no way out or it may seem just too scary to travel down that dark path, but those glimmers of hope tucked in the caverns of that dark path can sometimes be enough to guide us into the light and a brighter future.

Through WAGE, we are trying to be the best mentors we can be. Let us know if you’d like to get involved!

Important Stuff

Stuff. What is it? When it comes to financial matters, “stuff” consists of bank statements, brokerage accounts, life insurance, health insurance, retirement accounts and of course taxes along with the documents needed to prepare them.

All too often a client will call with upsetting news about their spouse becoming ill or even death. As upsetting as this news is to receive, the person left behind is now solely responsible for the household finances. A problem almost always arises because the healthy or surviving spouse is completely unprepared to take on this new role.

I recently received a phone call from a potential new client whose world was turned upside down after the death of her spouse. This person had no knowledge of their bank accounts, savings accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, health insurance nor taxes.

The famous words, “my husband took care of all of that stuff,” were already being spoken in my head. However, with the review of their most recently filed tax return and a look at their checkbook and bank statements, I was able to figure out their receipts and disbursements to a point where I compiled a list of all these items.

But, there was another problem emerging in the background that unleashed itself about two weeks after the passing of her husband. An IRS notice indicating over $80,000 was due for taxes in arrears. This woman was beside herself. She not only had no money to pay the tax bill but also had no idea they jointly owed this money to the IRS. I asked, “Did you not review your tax return before signing it”? Again, those same words were being spoken in my head, “my husband took care of all of that stuff.”

The point here is to educate yourself on your finances. Whether you are single, head of household, married with a family or just the two of you, education is key. It is ok for one family member to take care of the household bills, but make sure you discuss them regularly.

Know where to get the banking information, know your life insurance, know what investments you have by reviewing monthly statements and most of all, review your tax return together. Today, most, if not all tax returns are e-filed. Make sure you understand it. Ask your tax preparer to review it with you. Be aware of any tax due because if it is a jointly filed return, you are responsible for it whether or not you are aware of its contents. Both spouses must sign Form 8879 which equates to your signature for that year’s return.

No matter the life situation, there are many other reasons besides illness or death why educating yourself on your financial affairs is vital. It can help with managing money, setting long-term financial goals, or just simply understanding credit. Financial literacy can be achieved together!

—Lorraine Lang, CPA

Stay tuned for a comprehensive financial literacy plan coming soon from WAGE!

A Jug of Positivity

Have you ever heard the fable about the woman and the wine jar? As the story goes, a woman, who liked wine, found a wine jug by the road. She hoped it was full but it was not. At least she got good memories through sniffing the jug.

Although this story can have a multitude of interpretations, it always reminds me of the power of our minds and how thinking about something positive or “good,” can be almost as good as the thing itself. When dealing with anxiety, the ability to redirect our thoughts is extremely important towards making oneself begin to feel better.

You see, it’s very simple – when a person suffers from excessive anxiety, the focus is on what COULD happen, which isn’t always the same as what WILL happen. Think about it, isn’t it always easy to imagine the worst of any situation? To be so stuck on what’s going to go wrong you lose sight of any possibility for success? This is how we become paralyzed in our thoughts and trapped into a spiral of negative thinking. “I know I’m going to fail this test.” “”I’m never going to be in a serious relationship.” “No one is going to want to pick me for their team.” These negative thoughts become the mantra we sing to ourselves so often we begin to believe it.

So how do you combat this? Well, think of the fable – even though there was no wine in the jug, the woman’s positive thoughts (her memories) were good enough for her. Even though the mind is a miraculous thing, it still has limitations. One being, you can’t think about negative things and positive things at the same time. Therefore, a good way to challenge growing anxiety and negative thinking is to begin to fill your mind with positive thoughts to combat the negative one.

Don’t focus on what could go wrong, focus on what could go right. Think back to times where you had similar or even harder challenges, and were successful. A positive mindset can lead to positive outcomes. Start using those positive thoughts and memories as the fuel to begin challenging that negative, irrational thought with positive, rational thinking. Asking yourself questions like: What are some clues that your worry will not come true? If your worry does not come true, what will probably happen instead? If your worry does come true, how will you handle it? Will you eventually be okay?

After you answer these questions for yourself, you’ll slowly start to see that your worry will begin to change. Hey, if thinking about positive memories worked for the lady in the story, I’m sure that it can also work for you!

—Arthur Howard, WAGE board member and outpatient therapist at Millhill Child and Family Development

Making the Invisible Feel Visible

To the more than 4.5 million Native Americans in the United States today, we support you, and our eyes and ears are wide open to your struggle that is generations deep. We are so grateful for the rich culture, wisdom and courage you represent, and one of our goals will be to refill the cavernous hole that exists in our history.

As the late poet and civil rights activist, James Baldwin once said, “Neither love nor terror makes one blind: indifference makes one blind.”

For Alvin Deer, memories of his daughter, Michelle are bright and filled with happiness but lurking behind that joy are memories of sorrow and pain. In 2006 Deer’s 33-year old daughter, who was part of the Kiowa, Caddo, Wichita and Muscogee tribes, went missing, her body found shot in the face and neck on the side of the road. Years later her father is remembering his brave daughter who shortly before her death made the decision to seek treatment for her addiction before leaving behind six children and joining a staggering statistic that also includes Ida Beard, Aubrey Dameron and countless others. May 5 marked the fourth anniversary of the day designated as the National Week of Action to honor and call for justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls (MMIWG) by the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center.

For the Native American community, this is just one more way they have been made to feel invisible, which many see as the modern form of racism against the community. Because Native Americans are often “invisible,” so are their struggles.

The murder of Michelle Deer happened thousands of miles away, so for some it may be easy to turn a blind eye. But imagine being one of the more than a million American Indian and Alaska Native women aged 10 to 24 who have died from violence but whose case is never solved. Imagine being a victim of COVID-19 and instead of being included in a separate column labeled Native American, you are among those in the “Other” column. Imagine being told as a child that you need to “act more American” so that you can fit in, or that you need to abandon or suppress your culture in school so as not to disrupt the school day.

In talking with many Native Americans over the past year, it became evident that almost every one of them felt invisible, a sobering reality that many say leads to their vulnerability.

The murder rate of Native women is more than 10 times the national average. These disappearances or murders are often connected to domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking and sex trafficking. Despite how high these statistics are, they cover only a small percentage of all the Native women who are victims of violence every year. Many of violent crimes do not end in murder, but most studies show that four out of five Native American women experience violence in their lifetimes.

And as the chokehold of the pandemic strangled the freedoms of many, reports of all forms of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic abuse, began to rise.

But time and time again Native Americans are ignored, told to be compliant, keep their histories to themselves and made to feel invisible in spite of all the contributions they bring. There are more than 570 federally-recognized tribes, which of course does not count all those who are not recognized. With these many tribes come their own cultures, languages, spiritualities and histories. In spite of over 600 years of occupation, Native Americans continue to make enormous contributions to the church and to civil society.

It has been said that this feeling of invisibility along with unresolved historical trauma passed on from generation to generation, widespread poverty and healthcare disparity lead to this higher incidence of violence.

Native American women endure appalling levels of violence. According to the National Institute of Justice, about 84% of Indigenous women experience domestic violence in their lifetimes, and more than 50% experience sexual violence.

In recent years, Native Americans have become more vocal about this epidemic, causing some politicians to turn their attention to the issue. Now with a champion and Native American in their corner, Native Americans are hopeful that substantial change is on the horizon.

The new U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said, “In spite of our agonizing history, Native American people find much to celebrate. The songs, the dances, the culture and traditions surrounding planting and harvests, the prayers that are sent upward for healing and peace, and the welcoming of children into our families, are all reasons for us to keep moving forward with optimism.”

Haaland’s appointment represents hope for undoing destructive policies, and it represents renewed hope for the land and for the Indigenous nations of this country. In an effort to provide more resources to investigate thousands of unsolved cases of missing and murdered Native Americans, on April 1 she launched a new Bureau of Indian Affairs unit.

Without the proper resources like access to healthcare or adequate transportation, victims are often lured into cars. According to the Urban Indian Health Institute, homicide is the third-leading cause of death among American Indian and Alaska Native women aged 10 to 24. But without assistance from non-tribal federal, state and local agencies, these cases have gone underfunded and uninvestigated.

This past March, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) re-introduced the Survivors’ Access to Supportive Care Act (SASCA), a bipartisan, bicameral bill to help improve and expand access to healthcare services for survivors of sexual assault, who face steep challenges in being able to get medical care and sexual assault examinations critical to their ability to seek justice. The bill will develop national standards of care for survivors of sexual assault, strengthen the sexual assault examiner workforce and expand access to sexual assault examination services—including to rural and Tribal communities, and for higher education students.

Haaland also announced April 22 that she is creating a joint commission, led by the Department of the Interior and the Department of Justice, to identify and curtail violent crimes targeting Indigenous women. Her action stems from the enactment last October of the Not Invisible Act, which calls on the Interior Department to oversee grants and programs to tackle the crisis.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

At WAGE, it is in these small places that we have hope that we can be part of the change.

Our new Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland has said, "If we're not protecting our women and we're not protecting our girls and we're not protecting the most vulnerable people in this society, who are we as a country?"

—Heather Mistretta

Seeing Women Through the Lens of Many Women

When I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a writer like Margaret Mitchell. I would create book after book, sometimes written with a crayon and sometimes fastened with tape. Ne’re a piece destined for the literary canon. But to the people who loved me, they were masterpieces. I was encouraged to be the best I could be, and I was often asked the question, what do you want to be when you grow up?

My world, no matter how small or imperfect it was, was full of opportunity, full of promise. My future was there for the taking. My life would later take some sharp turns I would have rather bypassed, some hills that proved to be harder to climb than others, but opportunity was still an option.

But halfway across the world or down on the other side of the equator, there were women for whom opportunity was not part of life, chasing dreams was never part of education and the future looked scary or highly unlikely. Our lenses of the world were far different, colored with different experiences, beliefs and influences.

Today is International Women’s Day, a day when women across the world are celebrated no matter what lens they are wearing. But with the cohesion that women bring, with the weight that women shoulder and with the courage and compassion that women around the world dig deep in their souls to find, women are changing the world every day.

Whether it is the women in South Africa defying the scourge of gender-based violence or the counselors in the past year who stay connected to their clients who face the threat of domestic abuse while quarantined at home.

As the chokehold of the pandemic strangled the freedoms of many, reports of all forms of violence against women and girls, particularly domestic abuse, began to rise. As the problem escalated, champions for human rights held on tighter and listened longer. They extended the web of support to reach as many as they could.

Projects like The REDress Project, which is doing its best to address violence against Native American women, ramped up their efforts as the need grew. In a population where women are three times more likely to face violence, the need has never been greater.

Like the famous writer, Gabriel Garcia Marquez said, “To oppression, we respond with life.” Throughout history trailblazers have paved the way for others to follow. They have provided opportunity for those being oppressed. They have infused life. The reverberations of those initial calls to action and the courage that has ensued ever since are seen through the lens of many women throughout the world.

This year’s theme for IWD is “Women in leadership: Achieving an equal future in a COVID-19 world.” The theme celebrates the tremendous efforts by women and girls around the world in shaping a more equal future and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today is the day we recognize disparities like the representation of women in national and global COVID-19 policy spaces in spite of the fact that they make up the majority of frontline workers.

But today will become tomorrow and tomorrow will become the next day. Today is just the start. Change can happen anywhere, anytime. It is time for us to see the world through the lens of many women, recognizing our differences and then embracing them. It is time for us to remove our masks that hide our insecurities and accept our flaws as part of who we are.

Eleanor Roosevelt once said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

At WAGE, it is in these small places that we have hope that we can be part of the growth, one word at a time. One way we are doing that in 2021 is by broadening our outreach to specifically include Native Americans as the pandemic bears down on their communities to reveal an epidemic of violence.

—Heather Mistretta

Standing up for human rights

More than 260 million (~14%) children around the world are being deprived of an education, an inalienable right for many but a distant dream for many others. Over half of these are girls, and 75 million are out of school because of conflict and natural disaster. The staggering statistics seem unfathomable to most of us who enjoy a steady dose of structured education, clean running water and a safe place to live and thrive. But the blinders need to be removed, and the boundaries determining who is able to receive an education need to be razed.

December 10 marks Human Rights Day 2017. In 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a milestone document that proclaimed the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being -- regardless of race, color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. It is the most translated document in the world, available in more than 500 languages…and for good reason.

Drafted by representatives of diverse legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration establishes the equal dignity and worth of every person. Although a solid foundation was built, its promise is yet to be fully realized. But there is still plenty of hope.

As we approach the document’s 70th anniversary, it is time to embrace its power and value and realize that equality, justice and the freedom to learn prevent violence and sustain peace. The principles written decades ago are timeless despite the changing landscape of our world. We need to stand up for our own rights and those of others. We can take action in our own daily lives, and rally others to do the same.

This is a humanitarian crisis, but it is also an epidemic that needs to be resolved for economic growth and prosperity around the world.

Girls and boys who go to school, learn to read, write, count, live healthy lives and will provide a better future for their families. Also in school, they learn the importance of respecting and supporting one another and ways to interact that foster growth, not fear or suppression. The benefit is an exponential one and those reverberations are what lead to more growth throughout the world.

Nearly 70 years ago, when this important day was proclaimed, Eleanor Roosevelt said, "Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home -- so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. [...] Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home, we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world."

At WAGE, it is in these small places that we have hope that we can be part of the growth, one word at a time. One such way is through mentoring programs. Please stay tuned for an upcoming project we are working on in Asbury Park.

--Heather Mistretta

#StandUp4HumanRights

https://youtu.be/5RR4VXNX3jA

Be A Man: Stand Up, Speak Up, Show Up for Women & Girls

It may come as a surprise that I volunteer my time advocating for women’s rights. After all, I am a busy teenager busy with work, a full school schedule and sports. However, my interest began over discussions at the dinner table. In 2013 my mother told me about a book she read, “I am Malala”. This story about a girl’s fight for her right to an education really packed a punch with me. Besides learning about the history and politics in Pakistan, I am now a believer in the power of one person’s voice to inspire change in the world. My eyes were opened of how much I take for granted every day: freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the fact that I attend one of the best schools in the area.

Men, there is no way gender equality can be achieved without our involvement. Your sisters, mothers, aunts and women around the world are depending on us. We must come together to change our biased world.

So what can we do? I once read that equality is a verb. I love that. Encourage, share, advocate, and intervene. Expose yourself to different perspectives than your own. If you are serious about change, lead by example. Model respect for women. Don’t condone sexist jokes or stories. If you witness an injustice, be bold and say something. Avoid any behavior that causes anyone to feel diminished. Speak out when you witness others behaving this way. 

This fall WAGE will be holding our annual 5K fundraiser. Come on out and support us in our mission to empower girls and women.

Men should want equality for all as much as women do. Improving women’s standards benefits everyone, not just women and girls. Everyone has a role in advocating: men, women, moms, dads, teachers, neighbors and leaders. Let’s banish harmful stereotypes and support human rights of all people, everywhere.

Matthew Meyer, age 18