Women's eNews (https://womensenews.org/author/masha-hamilton/)
Recently, in northern Lebanon, our organization, Concern Worldwide, took in the stories of Syrian women living as war refugees. “For so long I’ve wanted someone to come,” said one. “I’ve been waiting to tell my story.”
Ethiopia has a strong economy for sub-Saharan Africa but women disproportionately bear the burden of the country’s hardships. Through a micro-lending support group, our organization, Concern Worldwide, has found a way to help.
Just a few months ago both these women led very different lives. But now they live side by side in a refugee camp and provide a glimpse of the human toll of the bloody conflict in the world’s youngest country.
Drug addiction is mounting in Afghanistan as wives get hooked on the smoke their husbands exhale. A women-only treatment clinic opened last year in Kabul, where the clinic’s director estimates about one-third of the women in the city are addicted.
A widespread drought has East Africa in its grips and aid agencies warn that food supplies are running short. Among the nomadic herders of Kenya, women are the hardest hit as men leave them behind to search for food and water.
Women, often uneducated, unemployed and still covered by the burqua, are heads of at least 30 percent of Afghan households. But with close to 70 percent unemployment, the stigma against hiring a woman remains widespread.
As Afghanistan holds its first democratic elections this weekend since the fall of the Taliban, the situation for women in the country remains dire. For many women, refusing to accept inequities like arranged marriages can mean jail time.