WOW! WORK OF WOMEN
A membership organization of World Neighbors
Advocacy
Advocating for policy that supports World Neighbors work with rural communities and organizations is one way that you can help us ensure that the progress we help people make is maintained and expanded.
As an organization, World Neighbors is actively involved with several international coalitions that promote the dignity, rights and well-being of people in poverty, almost three-quarters of whom are women. Our priority areas for global advocacy work over the next few years are (1) people-centered food systems and (2) women's equity, rights and health.
You can play a vital role promoting policy that empowers women and girls and allows them the opportunity to improve their own lives. Help women worldwide by taking action on one or more of the options listed below!
Legislation
Please help WOW! and the work we support by encouraging your elected officials to sponsor these important pieces of legislation. For your convenience, you can search for your elected officials here.
Restore Funding to UNFPA
 On June 26, 2008, the Bush Administration said it would withhold $39.7 million authorized by Congress for the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). This is the seventh straight year the President has chosen to do so. The Bush Administration claims the reason for witholding funding is that UNFPA supports forced abortions in China, but in the areas where the UNFPA has set up model programs, there is no compulsion and the abortion rate is lower than in the U.S. Nevertheless, since 2002, the administration has withheld a total of $235 million from UNFPA, which provides voluntary family planning a reproductive health care programs in 154 countries across the world.
Help End Global Poverty
The Global Poverty Act would direct the U.S. President and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) to create and implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce poverty worldwide. It would ensure that U.S. foreign policy includes implementation of the Millenium Development Goals set forth by the United Nations to alleviate poverty and promote long-term sustainable development, to improve people's lives and the health of our environment.
Ratify CEDAW
 The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
Currently, over 185 countries - over 90 percent of the members of the United Nations - are party to the Convention. However, the United States has yet to ratify this important document and is not bound to the provisions of the Convention.
Find out more about the provisions of CEDAW and take action today!
Tell Congress to Pass the GROWTH Act
The GROWTH Act, or Global Resources and Opportunities for Women to Thrive Act, is U.S. legislation that was re-introduced in the House in July 2007 and in the Senate in September 2007. WOW! and World Neighbors, along with other coalition members of Women Thrive Worldwide, support passage of this act. The bill has the potential to help lift millions of women in the developing world out of poverty. If passed, it would make the U.S. a leader in reducing poverty and promoting opportunities for women and families around the world.
End Violence Against Women
 Violence against women is a major cause of poverty and a huge barrier to economic opportunity. In addition to being an extreme human rights violation, it keeps women from getting an education, working and earning the income they need to lift their families out of poverty. The International Violence Against Women Act (I-VAWA), if passed, would consistently incorporate solutions for reducing violence against women into U.S. foreign assistance programs. WOW! and World Neighbors, along with other coalition members of Women Thrive Worldwide, support passage of this act.
Current Senate Co-Sponsors of I-VAWA
| Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) * |
Sen. Richard Lugar(R-IN) * |
| Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R-NM) |
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) |
| Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) |
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) |
| Sen. Thomas R. Carper (D-DE) |
Sen. Robert Mendez (D-NJ) |
| Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA) |
Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD) |
| Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) |
Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) |
| Sen. Christopher J. Dodd (D-CT) |
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) |
| Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) |
Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) |
| Sen. Gordon H. Smith (R-OR) |
Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD) |
| Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) |
*Original sponsor of I-VAWA
Student Action Center
Host a Film on your Campus
Everyone knows that movies can be powerful, moving, and influential. Few artistic media have the power to reach across cultures, languages, and even time itself to influence millions of people in the language of our daily lives. Film has such power. Each year many talented filmmakers work against long odds, short finances, and threatening politics to bring to the screen powerful stories of human struggle, sacrifice, and triumph. Some documentary filmmakers have risked their very lives so that we may be moved by far-off stories that, once told, seem very much closer to home.
Help organize a film festival or a movie showing on your school campus or in your community.
Plan a Walk for Women
Involve your group and campus in a Walk for Women fundraiser. Download the planning kit!
Start a Student Group
There is no better way to become informed about and involved in global women's issues than to organize a WOW! student group on your campus or at your school. By becoming a registered student group with WOW! you are on you're way to shining the light on women's rights!
- More information coming soon!
Shop for a Cause!
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Sport Your Cause. Visit our online WOW! Store for more gift ideas that help WOW!, including messenger bags, mouse pads, t-shirts and more. |
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Organic Bouquet. Are you looking for a gift that will be treasured and will make a difference in the world? Send a bouquet of flowers from Organic Bouquet. Click here for details and to order. |
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