Greetings! My previous newsletter, "Gender equality, we must do more than hope", recommended the United States announce a policy in support of gender equality and begin allocating foreign aid dollars accordingly. All but one, who wrote in response to the newsletter, supported this proposition.
Yesterday, I read the news report of the trial in Somalia of a 27 year old woman, who alleged she had been raped, and the reporter who wrote the story. The judge refused to hear testimony from three witnesses who planned to testify in support of the woman and reporter.. The man accused of the rape was not questioned by the court. "A midwife testified ... that the woman was not raped after conducting a finger test, an unscientific and degrading practice that has long been discredited because it is not a credible test", according to Human Rights Watch. The woman and reporter were sentenced to serve one year in prison.
As a consequence of this intervening event and others, I am more convinced, than the day I wrote the newsletter, of the need to do more than educate, advocate, empathize, sympathize, criticize, protest, and be patient.
At Deb Shattil's suggestion I posted a petition on the internet.The petition will be sent to members of Congress and President O'bama. Obviously, the more support we are able to demonstrate, the more likely it will be that the petition will be given serious consideration. Please click here and take 30 seconds to sign the petition. It is equally important that you ask family and friends to do the same. If you think it would be helpful for them to read the previous newsletter, it can be found on the landing page of our website, www.trustineducation.org.. Unless you forward this email, you will need to include the address of our website and the link to the petition in your email. Copy and paste these web addresses to your email.
Will this work? I'm reminded of the Yale admissions officer who told a group of anxious parents and seniors, "100% of the students who don't apply to Yale, don't get in"
Best Regards,
Budd
Trust in Education 985 Moraga Road Suite 207 Lafayette, California 94549 925 2992010    |
