Women & Gender
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Photo: Miguel Samper for Mercy Corps
Ensuring equity between women and men is the key to unleashing the full potential of communities to transform their lives. Mercy Corps addresses the unmet needs of women and girls in places where they have been marginalized and disempowered, while recognizing that it is vital to involve men and boys in the process of helping women and girls claim their equal place.
Throughout our programs, we consider the needs of both genders and build on the courage and resourcefulness of women to help them improve their families and communities.
All stories about Women & Gender
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Guatemala: Women stake their claim in the land of machismo April 3, 2012
Their roots of land conflict may date to the Spanish conquistadors, but today we’re giving women the tools to resolve them without resorting to lawyers or guns.
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Indonesia: From the source: Mothers provide perfect nourishment March 27, 2012
Infant mortality remains high in Indonesia, the result of acute malnutrition and illness. Breastmilk imparts key nutrients to protect babies' health, yet many mothers are misinformed and choose to feed their infants formula or other foods.
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Tajikistan: A new hope for new mothers March 12, 2012
Traditionally, new mothers in Tajikistan were taken care of for 40 days after giving birth, kept from household chores and even brought food in their room, where they spent all their time bonding with and caring for their newborn.
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Iraq: Teachers celebrate women in Iraq March 8, 2012
It’s fitting that teachers from our Women’s Awareness and Inclusion (WAI) program got together to celebrate International Women’s Day — many of them for the first time.
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Ethiopia: Dowries to degrees: An education for Ethiopia's young women March 8, 2012
Mercy Corps is helping girls in one of Ethiopia’s most remote regions explore a future full of new possibilities by providing them with scholarships to complete secondary school.
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Tunisia: Organizing a movement for her new country March 8, 2012
Sabrine Wafi is a dynamo. Young and filled with energy, it’s difficult to keep up with her. More than once during our conversation, I found myself asking her to hold up so I could wrap my head around her ideas.
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Afghanistan: International Women's Day: Working hard for our futures March 8, 2012
While we at the Mercy Corps office in Kabul celebrate International Women’s Day, it remains a sad reality that much of the rest of Afghanistan is not.
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Indonesia: Healthier babies in Jakarta's poorest neighborhoods March 7, 2012
Did you know that a father holding his infant on his shoulder at the end of the day may be the best way to soothe a cranky child? The baby is often comforted by the father’s heartbeat and his calm demeanor, which relieves a tired and stressed mother after a long day of infant care.
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Colombia: Children find brighter futures off the streets March 1, 2012
Espacios para Crecer, or Spaces to Grow, uses education to fight child labor in Bogotá's most impoverished neighborhoods.
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Uganda: Acting up for healthier communities February 27, 2012
There’s been a lot of action in northern Uganda lately. But in an area still recovering from the government’s 21-year war with the Lord’ Resistance Army, this is, for once, a welcome kind of drama.