One of the biggest hurdles facing gender equality is that there simply isn’t enough financing. VAKOVAKO looks to change that this International Women’s Day — but we need your help.
Nearly 50 years ago, the world celebrated it’s first International Women’s Day. While much progress has been made, there is still a long ways to go for the world’s women and girls. In fact, according to UN Women:
- Poverty makes girls twice as likely to marry before the age of 18
- 60% of hungry people are women and girls
- Women in sub-Saharan Africa spend 40 billion hours each year collecting water
- Out of the nearly 800 million illiterate people, two-thirds are women
- The number of women in conflict-afflicted areas has risen by 50% since 2017
- 1 in 3 women have been subjected to violence
Hear Her Voice: Women & Girls in Gaza
One of the most dangerous places in the world to be a woman right now is Gaza.
Nearly 1 million Palestinian women and girls have been displaced in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023. 70% of the nearly 25,000 people killed have been women and children. 2 mothers are killed every hour. Behind these numbers are human beings that deserve to live without terror. For those that remain, they risk their lives to maintain some semblance of the life they had before. These are their words:
“In every single moment, an eerie uncertainty surrounds us. I live in continuous fear of what could happen to my children and family. My primary responsibility is to offer unwavering support, but the sheer gravity of this duty is crushing.” — Amani, 34, on losing her friend (UN Women)
“I was always an A+ student in my school…Now, I am just sitting around … I am afraid that, with time, my parents will have [to have] me married.” — Beit, 17 (UN Women)
“Two weeks after the war started on my due date, I went to the hospital knowing that I was risking my life and that of my long-awaited baby. I risked my life and I hope that I didn’t bring my baby [in]to this world for him to just be killed for no reason!” — Female, 30 (UN Women)
When you donate through VAKOVAKO, you fight for human rights. Your contributions go towards leading humanitarian organizations, including UNICEF, ICRC and MSF.
