Violence, rape and little or no education is a fact of life for many women all over the globe. While the feminist movement took off in parts of the Western world, many women are still treated as second class citizens. Many endure violent daily events and manage to persevere and take care of their children in hopes of a better tomorrow.
- Haiti. 75% of women in Haiti give birth at home. If that weren’t enough to deal with, AIDS is rampant and women are threatened by gangs of men whose only purpose is to hunt victims to rape. Many women have taken to the hills above Port au Prince just to stay safe as they try to work as street vendors. To make this trek, female street vendors usually end up spending a large portion of their profits to travel to safe territory to work. Girls as young as 11 and 12 years old turn to prostitution to help support their families since education for females in Haiti is non-existent in some areas. Nearly 50% of Haitian will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime.
- Papau New Guinea. Here women only receive an education until the fifth grade and then enter the work force. Women are four times as likely to have HIV as men. It is nearly impossible for women in Papau New Guinea to achieve financial independence due to lack of education. While the legal age for a female to be married in the country is 16, in most rural villages menstruation will suffice for making a young girl fit for marriage. In 2004, the UN released a report that said 21% of girls between the ages of 15-19 are widowed, divorced or married. According to Amnesty International about 150 women per year are executed for accusation of practicing witchcraft.
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