Thursday 20 November 2014

October- The Ladies’ Month

October is always a very interesting month for the female folk. It is that time of the year when the world pays close attention to various issues affecting women! Itisfor instance the breast cancer awareness month, (every October 11 is the International day of the girl).But also because there was random and particular coverage of general issues affecting women in the world- the so-called ‘women issues’- in the media. In my country, we had four pages of a key national newspaper dedicated to the International day of the girl, with the role of my first lady in these celebrations carefully highlighted. I bet feminists that campaigned for such focus five decades and more ago were smiling in their graves and the living felt rewarded. Among the issues randomly covered in the media was ‘the Taboo menstruating in India’ http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia and street harassment in New York http://time.com/.
Both articles confirmed that every October is indeed a month for the female folk. The articles only highlighted the issues that women confront everyday, in different societies. Issues that have been normalized and will only receive focus in October next year-if at all. I do appreciate the focus but it is all a half-baked cookie. For instance, since it was the breast cancer awareness month, women got discounted pap-smear tests and free breast cancer screening in different hospitals in the city. This was a great initiative but it ought to be conducted through the year- considering that a majority of Kenyan women cannot afford such tests. Also, are such testing centers like this available in the village? Not really.
This is my way of saying that October is a blessing in disguise for women issues, but it is also over-rated causing it to be a challenge. The real challenge is as a result of setting aside a particular month for women issues-Women concerns continue to lag behind the global and national agenda because they are separated from society issues. October has almost become like December, the Christmas-month or the Ramadan month. Like these religious months, it is easy to postpone women issues until that time of the year- despite the fact that most women are affected by most of these issues through out the year and the issues are intertwined in other society issues. If this remains the case, women and their fundamental concern swill remain at the bottom of critical agenda and will be kept waiting for another October before these issues are raised again (okay I may sound extreme but this is the reality).

In turn, men that occupy key decision-making posts will never understand the need to put these issues on whatever agenda. Men will still not understand why sanitary towels should be made free or cheaper for girls. They will not bother to understand certain diets for female teenagers in high schools.Sex and reproductive education in mixed schools will remain a topic that teenage boys giggle about. As for the women, they will remain apologetic for their anatomy, and elderly women will continue speaking in hushed tones when discussing the female body. Sex and everything else it comes with like condoms and contraceptives will remain  ‘the sweetest taboo’- to never talk about until marriage. If the October hype continues, we will never have male feminists that understand gender inequalities and strive to address them in our society.  We will continue to have bitter female feminists that campaign for the wrong causes and often bring their understandable emotions to dealing with issues affecting women.Then, sadly, we will never be the kind of feminists that Chimamanda Ngozi-Adichie hoped for. Check the video below or visit this link here

Wednesday 5 November 2014

IDENTITY IN AFRICA AND THE WORLD

Identity_hmm,
who am i?
what do i see when i look in the mirror?
what do people say or think when they see me?
Do they see my color?
Do they see my talent?
Do they see ME?
Do I see ME?

These are some of the question most girls, young women and mature women ask themselves each day about themselves. Is it that we are brainwashed with what we see on media and social networking sites, trying too hard to fit into the 'right type' that inevitably forget who we are?

One of the most talked about item concerns race but most of all color; racial color. I watched the following video which stressed some of the concerns young women and girls face as they grow up, whether in Africa or the global world.

Although not in the same situation as that of Professor Yaba Blay - founder of (1)ne drop, many of us have experienced discrimination one way or the other based on their nothing else but their color.
which begs the question, "what is and is it to be dark skinned or light skinned, and what effects does it have on the little girl growing up in this digital age where light is considered better, but is it?"

I hope the following documentary covered reported by Soledad O'brien, provides you with a hind sight of identifying who you are or what are.


COLORISM


Tyra banks also talked about what color is and why people think that being lighter is better. does that mean being darker your are not good or even better? does it mean that you are any less of a person?

by Caroline Mbinda

Wednesday 8 October 2014

BREAST AWARENESS & EXAMINATION


October is considered to be pink significantly as it is the month women across the world strengthen their sisterhood bond by creating awareness of breast cancer and cervical cancer. Survivors voluntarily offering to become mentors and young women volunteering their services to promote this agenda.

With the prevalent cases in increase of breast and cervical cancer, promoting their awareness through the media, social networking sites and outreach programs provides the common citizen with information commonly ignored or brushed aside.


BREAST EXAMINATION


The resource center in support of Breast cancer and Cervical awareness program, is encouraging its beneficiaries in participating in open programs sponsored by medical hospitals within Nairobi such as Mater Hospital - BuruBuru and South B, and have free check-ups and learn how to perform a self examination by themselves and how to detect lumps.

The following is a demonstration of how to correctly perform a self breast examination



If you do not know your own body, who else will.
Be aware of your body

Monday 15 September 2014

SISTERHOOD





 A sisterhood is my key to happiness.
True sisterhood is beautiful and rare,
It cannot be measured in gold or silver.
Good sisters are treasured for life.

As the heart needs a sister, all the time, 
To heed to love lost and Sisterhoods ended,
To admonish, guide, advice, and to cherish, 
In my best and worst moments.

 Sisterhood is love without wings,
Builds my confidence and makes it soar.
Sisterhood means caring and loving
Without judgment;
Sisterhood makes me feel special,
Race, size shape, background, and culture,
Don’t matter.
Sisterhood brings joy to all my days,
As it’s generous in loving;


I’ll sow, nurture and grow it,
My purest spring of life.
 Author: Caroline Mbinda

Sunday 7 September 2014

SISI PIA NI WANADAMU.

Utamaduni yaani Mila,ni Jadi na Desturi za Kundi la Jamii fulani. 
Mila za Makabila hapa Kenya na hata Nchi zote za Dunia,hasa hapa Afrika, Mwanamke amewekwa baada ya Mwanaume.Swali ambalo Wanawake hujiuliza ni: ''Nani aliyetuweka baada ya wanaume hawa?''.

Kwa kuwaza na kuwazua....kweli hatuwezi tukapata jibu mwafaka.Lakini tunavyojua Mwanaume hujitetea kuwa katika uumbaji wa Binadamu,Mola alimuumba Mwanamke kutoka kwa ubavu wa Mwanaume.Sawa! hatukatai, lakini wanaume wamebadilisha maneno haya nakuongezea yao...''Ati wewe Mwanamke ulitoka kwa ubavu wangu kwa hivyo wewe ni mali yangu,pia niko na haki ya kukufanyia kitu chochote..''.Bado anaendelea,''Naeza kukwadhibu,Unafaa kunizalia hadi nitosheke..kwa sababu wewe ni ubavu Wangu!''. Lo! Jambo hili   ni Upuzi mtupu na Ushindwe.

Haya na turudi kwa mazungumuzo yetu.Nilidhani kuwa Wakoloni walikuja kuvunja Utamaduni kama hizi ambazo kwa wakati huu zimepitwa na wakati..Wanaume watudhibitisha kuwa kila Mwanamke ambaye ana urithi mwingi, anaiba kutoka kwa Mwanamme ama amefanya ushirikina iliapate urithi wote huo.Ukweli ni kuwa sisi wote kama binadamu, Mola alitupa akili SAWA.Hakumpa Mwanamme akili kubwa kuliko Mwanamke ama akampa Mwamamme mkono mzima na Mwanamke akapata nusu.Sisi sote tuko sawa.Wanawake wanastahili kuheshimiwa na wasionekana kama viumbe wa kukaa jikoni pekee,wa kujifungua sana ama wa kupigwa vinyama.
 
 Mwanamke pia ana kibali kutoka kwa Mola.Yeye ndiye aliyepewa kibali cha kuleta uhai hapa duniani jambo ambalo mwanamme hawezi.Ingawa Wanaume hudai kuwa wana nguvu.Kwangu Mwanamke ana nguvu sana kuliko Mwanamme kwa kila kitu kwa mfano nguvu ya mwili hata hisia.Mambo ambayo Wanawake hupitia kwa kweli Wanaume hawawezi vumilia.Kwa mfano,jambo mbaya na nzito likatendeka Wanawake wengi wata jaribu kulitatua na wanafaulu kulitatua.Kwa Wanaume wengi ni heri watoroke ama waliache likiwashinda.Pili,watajaribu kuzungumza na mtu ili awasaidie kulisuluhisha kama Mama,Dada ama Mkewe ambaye pia MWANAMKE.

Basi Wanaume sisi Wanawake ni Watu muhimu kwa maisha yenu Mkubali msikubali hilo ndo ukweli wa mambo.Tafadhali Mwache tabia  duni za kutunyanyasa,kutufanyisha kazi ya sulubu na la mwisho kupiga Wanawake vibaya mnafaa kujua kuwa kila binadamu ana haki ya uhai.Kwani,hata katiba yetu haina ubaguzi wowote.Hakuna mtu dhahabu kuliko mwingine sisi wote tu sawa mbele ya Sheria.SADAKTA.

Mwandisha,
Edith Nene 

Wednesday 6 August 2014

'I want you to make more Lego girl people and let them go on adventures'

Below is a story of a young girl who was tired of seeing male lego toys in stores. She made sure her voice was heard. She criticized the manufacturer of the toys through a handwritten letter that she sent to them saying that she wanted to see more lego girls. Please see more below on how this young girl influenced the lego toy store to manufacture female toys which sold out in three days!!!

 
A Lego toy set that shows female scientists hard at work was released by the toy company on Friday and is out of stock. 
'The Research Institute' includes three female minifigures: a chemist, an astrologer, and a paleontologist.
Included in the set are pieces that form a telescope, a map of constellations, a Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton, a microscope, and a laboratory station.

Sold out: 'The Research Institute' includes an astronomer, a paleontologist and a chemist
Sold out: 'The Research Institute' includes an astronomer, a paleontologist and a chemist
In January of this year, a letter shared on Sociological Images revealed that a girl named Charlotte Benjamin criticized Lego for its female-oriented toy options. 
'[...] I don't like that there are more Lego boy people and barely any Lego girls,' the 7-year-old wrote. 'Today I went to a store and saw Legos in two sections. The pink (girls) and the boys (blue).
'All the girls did was sit at home, go to the beach, and shop, and they had no jobs but the boys went on adventures, worked, saved people, and had jobs, even swam with sharks. 
'I want you to make more Lego girl people and let them go on adventures and have fun ok!?!'
Lego's website says its recently-released set was '[c]reated by real-life geoscientist Ellen Kooijman.'
Elite Daily pointed out that Lego said Kooijman's idea was under review before Sociological Images published Benjamin's letter. 
Science rules! The astronomer is seen next to a telescope with a chart of constellations behind her
Science rules! The astronomer is seen next to a telescope with a chart of constellations behind her

Charlotte Benjamin's letter criticized Lego for its female-oriented toy options
Charlotte Benjamin's letter criticized Lego for its female-oriented toy options
Kooijman tweeted on Friday 'Just bought #LEGO Research Institute set at LEGO Store CPH. So awesome to see your own idea on the shelves!'
The scientist also positively reviewed the Lego set, which was based off of her original designs, on her blog. 
Though only five reviews are currently on Lego's product page, those customers also gave the product top marks.
A parent wrote, 'I made my first visit to a Lego store just for this set. It is great to see my daughter really enjoying this set.'
Another customer said 'I would love to see a second scientist set in the future from Ellen Koojiman, she did a beautiful job designing this one. I loved sharing a set with my daughter that focused on women in fields of science.'

Story from the MailOnline News

Saturday 7 June 2014

LIVE LIFE TO THE FULLEST





Keep doing what you know in your heart is right

Let your dreams be bigger than your fears and your actions louder than words.

Live by choice, not by chances, make changes not excuses,

Be motivated not manipulated, work to excel not to compete,

Choose to listen to your inner voice, and not the jumbled opinions of everyone else

It’s YOUR road:

Others may walk it with you but no one can walk it for you.

*********************************************************

Every successful person has a painful story,

And to every painful story, there is a successful ending.

No one has traveled the road of success without crossing the street of failure,

God has never promised as an easy journey in life, but only a safe arrival.

May you have the heart to keep on pressing on even when the going gets tough.

Author Carol Mbinda

Tuesday 27 May 2014

Three arrested after girls are gang-raped and left hanging from tree in India By Harmeet Shah Singh and Jethro Mullen, CNN


 
New Delhi (CNN) -- A police officer and two other people have been arrested after two teenage girls were gang-raped and left hanging from the branches of a mango tree in a northern Indian village, authorities said Friday.

The shocking attack on the girls -- two cousins aged 14 and 16 -- sparked outrage in the village of Katra Sadatganj and beyond.

Angry villagers protested around the bodies, preventing police from taking them down from the tree for about 15 hours Wednesday, the day after the attack, said Mukesh Saxena, a local police official.

A photo from the village, in the state of Uttar Pradesh, showed the body of one girl, dressed in a green tunic and pants, hanging from the tree. A large group of people, many of them young children, were gathered around the grisly scene.

Police said an autopsy confirmed the girls had been raped and strangled. The cremation of their remains took place late Wednesday night in line with Hindu customs, Saxena said.

Armed police officers have been deployed in the village to prevent any further unrest, he added.

Alleged gang rape, hanging of 2 girls in India sparks global outrage

Police under scrutiny

The girls' families accused three brothers of carrying out the rape and killing. Two of the brothers are now in custody, said R.K.S. Rathore, a deputy-inspector general of police. One was arrested Thursday night, he said.

Police are still searching for the third brother.

iyThe families of the victims have accused local police of initially failing to respond and siding with the suspects when the parents went to report the case. The allegations have fueled anger among the villagers.

Saxena said three police officers have been temporarily suspended for negligence of duty, and one has been arrested.
He said the girls had gone out into the orchard to relieve themselves Tuesday night when they were grabbed by the attackers.
Some people saw the abduction but were unable to stop it, he said, citing eyewitnesses.

'Endemic' violence

The horrific gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old woman in New Delhi in late 2012 shook India, focusing sharp attention on violent crimes against women in the country, the world's second most populous after China.

The case prompted protests in many cities, soul-searching in the media and changes to the law. But shocking instances of sexual violence continue to come to light with grim regularity.

"Laws can only do so much when you have to end something which is as endemic and as entrenched as violence against women," said Divya Iyer, a senior researcher for Amnesty International in Bangalore, India.

The country's new prime minister, Narendra Modi, has said he wants to take steps to make sure woman are safe, particularly in rural India. But women's rights groups have criticized what they say is a lack of specific proposals to tackle the problem, suggesting gender inequality doesn't appear to be high on his list of priorities.

"There is a lot more to do," Iyer told CNN. "That political leadership is unfortunately missing."

Four men convicted over gang rape of photojournalist in Mumbai

 
'Medieval lawlessness'

An opinion article in The Times of India, a prominent daily newspaper, linked the attack this week to rising crime and a crisis of authority in Uttar Pradesh, which it said was sliding into "medieval lawlessness."

It wasn't immediately clear whether India's entrenched caste system, which continues to cause prejudice and persecution in some rural areas, played a role in the attack. Rathore, the police official, said that the victims and the suspects belonged to different low caste groups.

Zainab Salbi, the founder of Women for Women International, pointed out that "violence against women is a global issue," not limited to developing countries.

But Salbi told CNN that in many Asian and Middle Eastern countries, "the concept of women as property is still a common thing," meaning they don't get treated as equal human beings.

***********************************************************************************

Food for thought

Such acts of violence and abuse to girls as young, or less, as these Indian girls, and all over the world should probe the government into actions that prompt for justice to be implemented.

When these acts are thrown under the carpet, and go unsolved, unfairly proven and at worst be the brant of unwarranted comments. 'Where is their justice?'.

It's ironical when a country aims to provide and fight for equality of women when they can't even protect them at best!!!

Wake Up. and look around you. It only takes a step to make a change happen.
 
Ask yourself, What have I done!!!