Gospel for Asia

What is exploitation? Exploitation includes any form of slavery or abuse that denies human dignity to the individual, such as child labor, child marriage, human trafficking, sexual abuse, sex trafficking and indentured servitude. The UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights reads, in part, “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms,” and, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” 1 Any action against any human who does not conform to this standard is a violation of basic human rights worldwide. This answers our question of what is exploitation. How do we stop this atrocity against children and the vulnerable? All of us must ask these questions as our global economy becomes more and more intertwined between countries. Slavery is not a concept of the past. It still exists all over the world and can happen in both developed and developing countries. Slavery is an

Though there are many reasons why girl child education is important. We will focus on three main areas that can have the most impact on a girl’s future. Health and Safety If a girl is never taught to read or write and have basic math skills, she will be vulnerable to situations that jeopardize her and her family’s health and safety. One important area is in reading labels for food and medicine, as well as basic healthcare information. She or someone in her family could consume something unsafe, resulting in illness they cannot afford. She might also be asked to sign a contract for work that turns out to be akin to indentured servitude, a situation too many vulnerable people find themselves in. 1 Her Children’s Future In the most destitute places, the cycles of poverty trap generations. A family may be able to afford to send their children to school, but the children are at an immediate disadvantage if their parents are illiterate. A mother who has never learned to read or write cannot

To answer why is gender inequality a problem in South Asia, we must understand some of the long-held customs and understandings of that country. As many countries have experienced, boys have traditionally been more valued than girls. This stems from practical things like income and provision, but also from beliefs like women being the cause of a husband’s death, resulting in her ostracism from the community. Families often must also pay the groom’s family a dowry when a couple marry, which can put extreme financial stress on already vulnerable families of girls. The practical along with the cultural combine to reduce the value of a woman in the society at large. And as with any prejudice, this belief system has perpetuated centuries of unfairness in how women are treated in South Asia. 1 However, there are solutions to both the practical and the cultural. Organizations like GFA work to overcome the different stigmas and gaps that prevent women from building a life and providing for the

Women in poverty face many challenges as they struggle to care for and provide for themselves and their families. Poverty is defined as subsisting at or below $1.90 a day. 1 Many of us can hardly imagine a life like this when we can spend almost three times that much on one cup of coffee. However, there are ways to help that address the issues faced by women worldwide. 1. Education Education has long been understood as the number one way to fight poverty. However, receiving enough education simply to read and write is one of the toughest struggles women face. The levels of female illiteracy in South Asia alone are 57%. 2 One of the ways you can help is by giving to GFA’s Women’s Literacy Program . Women in places like South Asia gather for literacy classes to learn reading, writing and math skills. When a woman completes the course, her life is changed. She’s finally able to read things like labels for safety and contracts for fairness. She won’t get cheated at the marketplace becaus

In 2007, a female MIT economist went to a country in South Asia, to see what aspirations parents and girls had for their education. Of the 495 villages she and her colleagues visited, they reported that “parents were 45 percent less likely to state that they wanted their girls to graduate from school or study beyond the secondary-school level, in comparison to the parents’ aspirations for boys.” 1 The study highlighted one of the many issues that gives rise to gender inequality in school for girls in South Asia. A centuries-old mindset that boys are preferred to girls still pervades many countries in the world, even those that have seen large economic growth and expansion. 2 With this increased economic opportunity, why is gender inequality a problem in South Asia ? At the root of this prejudice is the idea that boys will become men who can work, fight or farm. The expectation for girls is that they will learn and do domestic chores like cooking, cleaning and raising children, which