The average age of marriage for Yemeni girls is 12 or 13. Photo: Brajeshwar (flickr)

An article last week by the International Herald Tribune reported how Arwa Abdu Muhammad ran out of her husband’s house to a local hospital in Yemen, where she said her husband had beat and raped her for the last eight months. Arwa is nine years old.

Arwa sparked an international debate over child marriage. In Yemen and elsewhere, child marriages are a powerful illustration of misogyny and how it hurts developing economies.

The Global Gender Gap Index explains that women are a very important factor in the economy — when children are forced into young marriages, it leads to high rates of maternal and child mortality, an uneducated populace, and loss of economic opportunity.

The statistics speak for themselves. General health expert Dr. Abdullah Al-Kamil says a recent study found that the average age of marriage in Yemen is 12 or 13, and as Al-Kamil noted, “The problem here isn’t only early marriage, but also early pregnancy – and in most cases, early death.”

In a country where 30 percent of women between 15 and 19 have at least one child, early marriage and sky high maternal mortality rates are major causes of continuing poverty and underdevelopment. Suha Bashren, a policy officer from Oxfam, said she had no doubt that child brides were a significant reason Yemen’s ranking has recently fallen on the UN’s Human Development Index.

Yet in Yemen, poverty and conservative social values are driving forces in child marriage. Most parents in Yemen continue to believe that the earlier they marry their daughters, the better off their daughters will be. Early marriage is also encouraged by parents’ fears of girls being kidnapped and forcibly married, which is not uncommon.

Conservative Islamists supporting child marriage gained power after north and south Yemen reunited in 1990. In a government which recently modified laws to legally allow children under the age of 15 to marry, those against child marriage are a minority.

Because of Arwa’s bravery, child marriage is now being discussed. A few members of Parliament, such as Abdulbari Dughaish, are trying to change the laws in spite of religious opposition. The negative press within Yemen and internationally may be these children’s best hope for change — and their community's best hope for economic progress.

Albanian women took vows of virginity to live as men in patriarchal society. Photo: Marielito (flickr)

In the U.S., cross-dressing is considered an oddity. In Northern Albania, not only is it commonplace, but it's been around for 500 years.

A fascinating article in the International Herald Tribune talks about the unique Albanian custom known as sworn virginity. Pashe Keqi is 78 years old. She has been living like a man — dressing, eating, and interacting on equal terms with other men — since she was 20. Her father was murdered in a blood feud and her brothers killed fighting Albania’s communist regime, so becoming a man was her only way to support her family.

"Back then, it was better to be a man because, before, a woman and an animal were considered the same thing," Keqi says. But being a sworn virgin means she gave up marriage, children, and sex — because traditionally only a man could bring her family security.

As an American woman, it terrifies me that such a ritual could until very recently be necessary for women to play an equal role in society. At the same time, since I live in a country still burdened by homophobia, it's also incredible to read about a society in which women can live as men without stigma.

There's something tragic about the loss of such a rare ritual, even if it shows that Albanian women have made great strides. After the fall of the Communist regime and exposure to the outside world, Albania granted its women increased status and power. They play a role in the economy outside the home. But change has also meant the loss of their native culture and regional identity.

In a society that now allows Internet dating, perhaps it's no surprise that the custom of sworn virginity is fast disappearing.

In the Gulf area, religious customs and social norms make it a taboo for women to mix publicly with unrelated men, even for trivial purposes. In a male-dominated world, this makes it nearly impossible for women to earn an income. Now, economic necessity is forcing the conservative society to accept the idea of women in the workplace.

Many women-only ventures are being created to bring more women into the country’s workforce. Mega-retailer H&M is opening the first women-only department store in Saudi Arabia. Though small female-run stores already exist, this major venture is a landmark concession by the Saudi Government.

Saudi Arabia’s newest hotel is also women-owned, women-managed, and women-run – from the IT engineer to the electrical engineer. Until January, women could not check into any hotel alone unless accompanied by a male family member or if they had written permission from a male guardian.

Saudi and UAE banks have set up segregated branches for women only. In the UAE, a government holding company has set up an investment company run by women for women. These facilities allow women to manage their finances independently of prying fathers, brothers or husbands.

Home businesses and business dealings are also starting to crop up. The Economist reports, Western female bankers are seizing this opportunity and travel regularly to the region to hold private meetings with female clients in their homes.

Saudi official Faisal bin Muammar said high unemployment among Saudis and the reliance upon seven million foreign workers was forcing the societal change. “We cannot go on having seven million foreigners [at work] and our graduate women in their houses.”

To some, the Gulf’s women-only places are a sign of progress; for others, it simply reinforces gender segregation. Whatever the case, there are still problems for women gaining access to capital. It is difficult for female businesswomen to obtain loans, especially if they are not from prominent families. Even in Bahrain, where nearly one-third of businesses are registered by women, some can only get a business license in their husband's name. This just goes to show that the idea of women in the workplace has yet to fully materialize.

Photo: El Ojo Inoportuno (flickr)

"My husband lost his limbs working in the factory," Jyoti Dave, a surrogate mother in India, told Reuters. "We could not manage even a meal a day. That is when I decided to rent out my womb."

Commercial surrogacy is nothing new. In the U.S., where it is legal in many states, companies such as Growing Generations offer up to US$25,000 to surrogates while charging couples between US$30,000 and US$45,000 per child.

Today rent-a-womb has gone international. Its headquarters
are in India, where surrogate mothers can earn US$5,000 to US$7,000 per birth — income equivalent to a decade's worth of a rural wages for a woman.

These surrogates offer their services to an international clientele hailing from Italy, Singapore, Sweden and other wealthy countries. Most of these couples turn to surrogacy after multiple failed in-vitro fertilizations or repeated miscarriages. It's no surprise India appeals to medical tourists; it offers affordable service, highly qualified doctors, and fewer legal hurdles than found in other countries.

Boston Globe columnist Ellen Goodman is among critics of commercial surrogacy who are disturbed by the idea of the human body as a commodity. Others are uneasy about the ability of the wealthy to essentially rent wombs from the poor.

Many participants in international surrogacy, however, argue that they are helping those in financial desperation. "How else will us uneducated women earn this kind of money," one surrogate mother explained to Christian Science Monitor, "without doing anything immoral?"

Photo Credit: 3pom (flickr)

Technological advances have significantly impacted India's recent growth. But one technology may be causing more harm than good.

India is experiencing an alarming rise in sex-selective abortions. As the middle class has grown, more pregnant women are able to afford ultrasounds. One result is that many couples are choosing to abort female fetuses. Traditionally, boys are preferred over girls — they carry on the family name, can more easily find paid work, and don’t require expensive dowries. Even though India is becoming increasingly modernized, these traditional values remain intact.

The numbers tell the story: In 1981, India had 962 girls for every 1,000 boys. In the 2001 census, the ratio was 927 to 1,000. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recently called the problem a "national shame."

Indian society is starting to experience the repercussions. With fewer available women to marry, some Indian men are resorting to buying their brides from poor communities outside their own, the BBC reports.

It's well-known that women's empowerment and economic development go hand-in-hand — which is another reason to support a Mexican woman's fight to allow women in rural Oaxaca to vote.

Women can vote in places as conservative as Afghanistan, as repressive as Burma and as closed-off as Bhutan, but the L.A. Times reports that women in rural Oaxacan communities cannot vote or run for office.

One woman, Eufrosina Cruz, is fighting for a change in Oaxaca, Mexico's second poorest state. (Three of four Oaxacans live in "extreme poverty.") Her state governor and Mexican President Felipe Calderon now support a change in legislation, which would grant thousands of Oaxacan women the right to vote and run for office.

Women in neighboring Guatemala can vote. Photo: El Canche

Photo: Cassandra Nelson/Mercy Corps

Liberia lacks doctors, teachers, lawyers, electricians ... but they may have too many cooks.

Why? To help provide jobs following the end of Liberia's long and costly civil war, many international humanitarian agencies began delivering skills trainings to women. The most commonly taught skill? Baking, of course.

But there just aren't enough jobs for all the newly trained pastry makers. So women who learned to make wedding cakes and fancy foreign pastries are now selling two-cent donuts on the street. And foreign-owned companies (mostly Lebanese) continue to dominate the pastry making business.

In the rush to help Liberia, it appears that well-intended job trainings did not reflect market demand. The problem goes beyond baking. Other aid organizations continue to train women in the art of tie-dying. But unless Liberia's demand for tie-dyed shirts and sarongs reflects 1960s America, they may be wasting their time.

Photo: Shirine Bakhat/Mercy Corps

You would think that female access to education within one country would be roughly the same. Not so for Afghani girls trying to get ahead.

Radio Free Europe explores the deep inadequacies in education offered to female Afghani students. Educational opportunities are vastly different for female students in northern provinces and their female counterparts in southern Afghanistan.

The problem emerges not only from a lack of funds, but increasing lack of security due to the Taliban's presence in the south. Schools have been burned down by members of the Taliban and female teachers terrorized or killed.

The connection between education, female economic empowerment and poverty alleviation is essential and the growing inability of female students in the south to access safe educational opportunities worrisome.

Read the article and also check out what Mercy Corps is doing in Afghanistan.

Kabul, Afghanistan. Photo: twocentsworth (flickr)

China has entered the business of producing and selling burqas-- and Afghani women are responding to the "modern" designs. With the resurgence of the Taliban and violence, many women are choosing (or being forced to) cover up. The result is that China's new industry is driving out the traditional Afghani burqa industry.

Check out the Wall Street Journal article and video about China's growing presence in the burqa industry from this week's Post Global.

In a land where three farmers commit suicide per day, microfinance is making positive difference in Vidarbha- India's primary cotton growing region. Over 500,000 female small entrepreneurs there are determined to lift their families from the burden of debt by forming microfinance groups and finding alternative ways to make an income.

The micro credit banks urges them to save with them, with each member depositing money, ranging from 50 rupees to 1,000 rupees every month. The bank in turn provides credit to the group, whose members borrow money from the group depending on their needs.

Thatcher Cook for Mercy Corps

Wangari Maathai is the 2004 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, and founder of the Greenbelt Movement. She has spent her life as an activist promoting women’s rights, civil society and environmental protection. The international arm of the Greenbelt Movement focuses on empowering African women and girls, especially nurturing their leadership and entrepreneurial skills.

Ms. Maathi has said that ‘‘Africa is not poor. But the people of Africa are poor. They do not have the skills to use the resources they have in abundance. There can be no development in Africa if the continent does not use its resources effectively.''
In this short film, Ms. Maathai discusses the value of human rights and politics in creating a just society.

Photo: Shirine Bakhat/Mercy Corps

Today's Christian Science Monitor has a hopeful piece on female entrepreneurs in Afghanistan.

The success of Sediqi and a handful of other Afghan businesswomen come amid difficult circumstances, despite steady growth in the overall economy. In the face of a resurgent Taliban, stagnant reconstruction, and the high-profile kidnappings of foreign aid workers, these women push forward, propelled by entrepreneurial grit and desire to support their families. While no official figures track their numbers, they can be found in pockets of Afghanistan, launching consultancies, furniture factories, and printing houses. Many of them say better business conditions, rather than more talk of their plight, are critical.