As the US celebrates Thanksgiving, women and girls living in the midst of humanitarian crises around the world share what they are thankful for.
By Juliette Delay and Chiara Trincia
This week the US marks one of America’s most celebrated traditions: Thanksgiving. Families and friends come together to break bread, united in celebrating the blessings they have in their lives. This year, the Thanksgiving holiday also marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
There is much to be thankful for: attention on women’s equality and safety is at an all-time high. And yet, one in three women around the world will experience gender-based violence in their lifetimes. Seven hundred million women alive today were married as children. Sixty million girls are not in school—forever changing their chances at safe, healthy, and productive lives. Despite making up one-half of the world’s social, economic, and cultural capital, women and girls face persistent barriers to equality and the full attainment of their basic rights.
The International Rescue Committee asked women and girls from around the world, in true Thanksgiving tradition, to tell us what they’re thankful for — celebrating what they love, and what they hope for the future.
Here is what they said.
PAKISTAN
Shanza, 14 years old — Islamabad, Pakistan
In Pakistan, 4 in 5 children do not have access to elementary school — one of the highest rates in the world, with over 5 million children out of school. 60% of them are girls, contributing to Pakistan’s nearly unparalleled gender gap. Unable to read, write, or do simple math, these years are critical to a child’s future and their potential as adults. What’s more, in many parts of Pakistan, women and girls risk their lives by going to school, faced with the ban on girls’ education imposed by the Taliban — with ongoing attacks on schools, teachers and students. Shanza, a 14-year old currently enrolled in the 8th grade at the Islamabad Model School for Girls, is one of the lucky few able to pursue her education. Shanza loves to draw and write, loves her school and her teachers — and is grateful for a chance to learn.
NIGERIA
Mary*, 18 years old — Adamawa, Nigeria
Women and girls face particularly acute safety risks in northeastern Nigeria, the epicenter of the war against Boko Haram, where 1.5 million women are at risk of gender-based violence and over 7 million people are in need of life-saving humanitarian aid. Little access to education and basic health services means that girls like Mary — who escaped captivity at the hands of Boko Haram — rely on international NGOs like the IRC for many of their basic needs. Mary, who is originally from Northeast Nigeria, is also a survivor of rape, falling pregnant during her captivity — particularly difficult in a context with significant social stigma in reporting sexual violence or asking for help. Mary escaped while pregnant, but lost the baby at birth. Today, Mary is an apprentice in Adamawa, learning tailoring and sewing so she can provide for her future.
LIBERIA
Helen, 15 years old — Flumpa, Liberia
The deadliest Ebola outbreak on record swept across West Africa in 2015, claiming the lives of over 10,000 people — and in Liberia alone, 75% of the dead were women. On the front lines as caretakers, and with very few health clinics especially in rural areas, thousands of women fed, washed, and cared for Ebola victims without any gloves, goggles or masks — making them uniquely susceptible to the virus. The impact of Ebola on the futures of women and girls in the country is long-lasting, affected by a severe shortage in health facilities, greater hurdles to pursuing education, and rising rates of child marriage and gender-based violence. Helen’s goal is to succeed in continuing her studies, and fulfill her ambition to one day become a lawyer in her country.
NIGER
Zeinab, 18 years old, Diffa, Niger
From ongoing displacement caused by Boko Haram to chronic poverty and access to basic rights, Niger is the world’s least developed country. It is also one of the world’s worst places to be a girl: just less than half of Niger’s elementary school girls ever reach the 6th grade, and nearly 75% of Nigerien young women are married before the age of 18 — dramatically decreasing their odds of ever pursuing an education, and dramatically increasing their odds of having children earlier and becoming the victims of gender-based violence. Zeinab is one of the 80,000 women and children displaced by the insurgency in Niger’s Diffa state ; she hopes to be a doctor one day to help her friends and family be safe and healthy.
BURUNDI
Rosine, 15 years old — Bujumbura, Burundi
Plunged into turmoil after contested elections in 2015, over 300,000 Burundian refugees have fled to neighboring countries — most of which are vulnerable women and children. As displacement continues in this troubled region of central Africa, Burundi also hosts over 50,000 refugees from neighboring countries. Rosine is a 15-year-old Congolese refugee living in Bujumbura with her family. She suffered rape at the hands of strangers as she was leaving school in her new hometown, and fell pregnant as a result of the attack. Initially ostracized by friends and neighbors, Rosine found the strength to continue school while looking after her child. She hopes that gender-based violence prevention will spread in Burundi and her homeland of DRC, so what happened to her doesn’t happen to other girls.
ETHIOPIA
Tirunesh, 14 years old — Bensa Woreda, Ethiopia
Ethiopia remains one of the poorest countries in the world, facing persistent drought and long-standing development issues. It is also one of the most unequal countries for women in Sub-Saharan Africa. From literacy to basic human rights, women and girls are strongly disadvantaged in Ethiopia: female genital mutilation still affects 75% of the population, only one in five women have access to and use contraceptives, and one in three women of reproductive age are chronically malnourished. Tunesh likes going to church every Sunday, and uses her sewing machine to make personal sanitary materials for her friends in her spare time.
SOUTH SUDAN
Natalin*, 21 years old — Ajuong Thok Refugee Camp, South Sudan
More than 2.3 million people — one in every five — have been forced to flee their homes since the conflict began in South Sudan, the world’s youngest country. Sexual and gender-based violence is a pervasive threat, with nearly half of the female population reporting having experienced one or more forms of violence. Pregnancy is a matter of life and death: an adolescent girl in South Sudan is 3 times more likely to die in childbirth than complete elementary school. With all odds against her, Natalin, a mother of five children currently living in Unity State with her husband, has grown to be a voice for women and taken the lead in advocating for women’s issues in Ajuong Thok Refugee Camp.
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Mwamini, 12 years old — Kalemie, Democratic Republic of Congo
Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo remains one of the most volatile areas in Africa. More than five million people have been killed here since 1996, making this conflict one of the world’s longest and bloodiest. Last year alone, insecurity and violence due to the DRC’s ongoing war with over 40 armed groups has displaced 3,000 people a day from their homes. From economic disenfranchisement to GBV, women and girls bear the brunt of the conflict in Congo — and tens of thousands, if not more, have been the victims of systemic rape and sexual assault. Mwamini is a 12-year old schoolgirl from a town called Kalemie, in Tanganyika, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo — and she wants peace, so that her family can afford enough food, clean clothes and her education, and one day she can become a doctor.
More people are forcibly displaced today than at any other time since WWII. From Afghanistan to Nigeria and South Sudan, those the International Rescue Committee seeks to serve may be out of sight, but not out of mind. From the frontlines to behind the headlines, this is WITNESS.
