ARTICLES/BLOG POSTS
Storytelling and Advocacy combine
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ENDING CHILD LABOR, FORCED MARRIAGE AND LABOR EXPLOITATION: A SUCCESS STORY FROM RURAL INDIA PT 1Varanasi is a very special spiritual place for those of the Hindu faith who believe that anyone who dies in Varanasi city will attain salvation and freedom from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. All hours of the night and day you can witness devotees by the river Ganges worshiping, holding sacred rituals and sending off loved ones who have passed away, all in the hopes of a better future. But about 30 minutes outside Varanasi city, is a village called Nagepur (Usrapatti) where an organization called Lok Samiti is focused on improving the living conditions for people in the here and now.
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PRISON LABOR: WHAT HAPPENED IN THE 5 STATES THAT HAD THE EXCEPTION CLAUSE ON THE BALLOTThe 13th Amendment is the legislation that “ended” legal slavery in the U.S., it reads “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” While it does end legal slavery broadly, what stands out is the exception baked in called The Punishment Clause which permits involuntary servitude (slavery) so long as it is imposed “pursuant to a criminal punishment”. This clause effectively created an economic incentive for law enforcement to incarcerate people and exploit them as a source of low cost labor.
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CLIMATE CRISIS = HUMAN CRISIS: AT THE CROSSROADS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUMAN TRAFFICKINGIn 2008, with climate change becoming a growing global concern, I began working with the Earth Hour Global team in Sydney, Australia. There was a lot of optimism on the subject of climate change, Obama had just been elected, it felt like the world was changing for the better and real change was possible. Alongside many other organizations, we worked hard in the lead up to Copenhagen Climate Change Conference (COP 15) in 2009 to try and draw attention to how the world would be impacted if the global community failed to act.
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TIP THE SCALES THIS NOVEMBER AND HELP END FORCED PRISON LABOR IN 5 KEY STATESWhen we think about the term “modern slavery” we usually think about issues from around the globe that fill the news headlines lately. Child labor in mines and agriculture in Africa, migrant construction workers in the lead up to the Qatar 2022 World Cup, or maybe crews working on shrimp boats and fishing boats across Asia. But modern slavery encompasses any work that robs an individual of a choice to continue, or even begin working. This includes not just forced labor, but other types of more hidden slavery, like debt bondage, forced marriage, and forced prison labor.
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100 WOMEN 100 DREAMS- KHORSHID AND MADINAH’S STORIESThink back on your childhood for a moment, can you remember a day you were playing outside with friends, the sun slowly going down as you laugh and run around? Amidst the laughter you hear your mother’s voice calling you to come in as it is almost dinner time and guests are coming tonight to eat with you. She asks you to wash your face and change into something clean before they arrive. For many of us the memory, while peaceful, is a fairly ordinary one. We likely went inside, cleaned up and sat down to dinner at home with family and the special guest. But not for *Khorshid, a young girl from Afghanistan, for her this typical childhood day ended very differently.
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ENDING CHILD LABOR, FORCED MARRIAGE AND LABOR EXPLOITATION: A SUCCESS STORY FROM RURAL INDIA PT 2During the 10th session of the United Nations Inter-Agency Network on Women and Gender Equality (IANWGE) an Inter-Agency Task Force on rural women was established to provide strategic direction and guidance to relevant UN processes and UN agencies working in rural areas. As part of their findings the task force stated “Rural women’s access to education and training can have a major impact on their potential to access and benefit from income-generating opportunities and improve their overall well-being.”