• French minister defends 5-day baby leave
• High prevalence of child marriage in India
• Confronting medical issues for women
• Africa the worst hit by AIDS, by far
• An International Women's Day call for women to know their osteoporosis risk
• Toll of Malaria high for African women
• London 2012 - a chance to nurture strong female role models
• Being a woman
• Violence against women
• I want to go to school
• Men and women together for a better world: From Uzbekistan in Central Asia
• Closing the Gender Gap on International Women's Day - and Every Day
• It is now more dangerous to be a woman than to be a soldier in modern
• Sewing a better future on International Women's Day
• Pakistan's women struggle for recognition
• S.Arabia urged to halt floggings, give women rights
• Reporters stripped by S.Leone circumcision society
• Agree to differ over women bishops - Anglican leader
• Few women follow pre-pregnancy recommendations
• India grapples with high maternal death rate
• Olympics-Women's boxing takes step closer to Games inclusion
• Human rights still poor in Africa, US says
• Birth control knowledge lacking in developing world
• In hard times, more U.S. women try to sell their eggs
• Billie Jean King targets gender unity
• A drink a day poses cancer risk for women
• Are women the key to soft power?
• Why Isn't Anne Burras Famous?
• Baby-Boomer Women Have Experienced Gender Issues
• Cost of a life was worth $2.00
• The Alternative - Developing Culture of Peace
• Women's self awareness and leadership
• Women and Sport
• Being A Woman
• IWD in Kenya
• Women demand bigger say in UN climate talks
• Norway tops gender gap index, Yemen ranked worst
• Educating girls single most effective strategy for economic growth
• China sees more female than male suicides per annum
• 4 in 10 births worldwide not attended by doctor or health professional
• Number of women holding university qualifications overtaken men for first time
• Gender gap closing on health and education but not economics and politics
• Harassment forces Afghan girls out of school
• Women's rights key to Africa AIDS crisis
• Vodka for women said to fuel Russia's acoholism
• Add an article

Sewing a better future on International Women's Day

* This article was submitted by the British Red Cross

On International Women's Day (8 March) the Red Cross highlights the plight of vulnerable women as 70 per cent of the 1.2 billion people living in poverty worldwide are female.

In Kyrgyzstan, crippling poverty experienced by many families prevents girls from receiving an education, making it difficult for them to find jobs or provide for themselves or their families.

The British Red Cross is supporting the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent in running education and vocational training courses to give vulnerable women useful qualifications that will help them find jobs and become more integrated in everyday society. The programme is co-funded by the European Commission.

Learning to sew:
When 18-year-old Saera Orunbayeva's father died, the future looked bleak for her family. Her mother, who suffered from depression, developed serious health problems after her husband's death and had to quit her job at a textile factory.

Then Saera's friends told her about sewing courses run by the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent. She proved to be a fantastic student and now works in a dressmaking shop, creating and mending clothes.

Gemma Dowbekin, programme support officer, said: "The programme is making a huge difference to women's lives. Since 2007, more than 1,200 women have received vocational training and nearly 90 per cent are now employed or self-employed."

Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent:
Rosa Shayahmetova, secretary general of the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent Society, said: "International Women's Day is my favourite holiday. I like it as much as I like New Year celebrations and my daughter's birthday."

Asked whether she believes there are particular difficulties linked to being a woman and a leader of a national organisation, Rosa said: "Difficulties do not have gender. Like any manager, I sometimes have to be quick in making decisions and tough in implementing them.

"In our culture, being a woman means being a mother and the guardian of the 'home fire' - in this sense I am 100 per cent a woman. Only my home fire is much bigger than normal, and I feel responsible not only for my home, but also for the family called the Kyrgyzstan Red Crescent." ... more

Whats your opinion?