Blog 1

The Status of Women Worldwide

As I read the information given in the PowerPoint, I couldn't help but wonder how much information I actually don't know. Growing up, people in your life can choose to expose or not to expose you to certain information. I feel like I was very sheltered in the sense that I never learned about the "bad things".  

Although I found almost all of the information surprising, I found the CEDAW Treaty very intriguing. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women was a Treaty made in 1979, and had 187 nations sign. Even though these nations had signed the treaty, there were still stories of bride burnings and honor killings. This amazes me because the fact that they publicly signed the treaty to me seemed like they would stop the horrific acts on these women, but it didn't stop them. The nations then say the abuse is accepted  as "normal" or private family and cultural matters. It's almost as if they never signed the treaty! What good does it do if it is not followed by its very own signees?

Another piece of information I found very interesting was that 830 women per day die from preventable causes of child birth as stated by WHO (World Health Organization). This makes me emotional because I have a strong passion for pregnancy, labor and delivery, mothers health, and babies health. That is 830 women too many for this world we live in today. We have the resources, skills, and technology to educate and implement new strategies on childbirth to save these women from unnecessary death and it blows my mind that this many women are dying in this decade.

Even though there are many improvements in treatment for women, I admired this the most. In 2015, 77% of mothers with HIV globally had access to medicines to prevent the transmission of HIV onto their babies. Also, HIV infections among children has declined by 50% since 2010. Even though that still leaves thousands untreated, I couldn't help but smile for all of the people it DID save! This by no means is a stopping point for the efforts being made, but it sure does make me feel better about the issue we have because people are working to make a difference and it is showing. 

Women in power has only just started, and I'm glad I live in the time I do to watch us women grow to be bigger and better. Today, 10% of the World Leaders are women. This means that only 15 women are a world leader. This may look like a ridiculous statistic but the number of female leaders has doubled since 2000. I know there aren't many women out there in power but I couldn't imagine a world that didn't have this many if not more women in power! It is crazy to me that the number has only doubled in 20 years- it should be more!

Overall after reading about global women's health I carry many emotions but one topic sticks out the most. Sex Trafficking is TERRIFYING. To know that 80% of people in trafficking are female, and 600 to 800 THOUSAND are trafficked ANNUALLY?! I'm scared to be a woman and I'm scared of being alone. To think of so many women and children that are taken and never seen again are then used for their bodies and tortured until they simply can't take the abuse anymore and die is gut wrenching. I feel like us women have to be SO CAREFUL for predators in our every day lives. It is even scarier to not know who you should even be looking out for. A predator can be ANYBODY. You seriously cannot trust anything anyone says.

BIO

Hello all! My name is Madeline (Maddy) McKenna and I am in my second semester at TWU. I am from Keller, Texas about 30 minutes south of Denton and I am majoring in Nursing. I hope to become a NICU Nurse or Nurse Practitioner! I am currently working as an Early Learner Teacher for Kumon- a tutoring company. I teach 3-5 year olds in reading and math and I absolutely LOVE going to work to see my kiddos!