This one hour special is about how women overcome economic barriers to empower themselves and their communities. hosted by Reena Ninan. You’ll hear about justice for domestic migrant workers in Gulf states, the financial factors behind female genital mutilation and a program in the Congo working to overcome longstanding cultural barriers to women owning land.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
Overcoming longstanding cultural barriers to women owning land in the Congo
The program begins with a look at how a Women for Women International program in the Democratic Republic of Congo worked with families to try to overcome longstanding cultural barriers to women owning land. We hear from a mother, father, and son who participated in this program. Also, Women for Women International’s country director in the DRC, Rachel Boketa, explains how this project attempted to change male opinions about female property ownership.
Then Ninan talks to Isobel Coleman, the deputy administrator of USAID. Coleman explains why the Biden administration is doubling funding towards gender programming and how USAID plans to invest that financing.
The Hidden Economics of Female Genital Mutilation
Next the show examines how FGM or female genital mutilation is devasting to both the health and economic potential for women. Reporter Eunice Maina reports from a remote village in Kenya where financial factors incentivize elder women to perpetuate this practice. Maina speaks to a group of girls who are using their computer skills to develop an app that aims to provide elder women another means of earning a living.
Protecting Migrant Domestic Workers
The final part of the program focuses on the domestic workers employed abroad. Close to 20% of all domestic workers are migrant workers, according to the International Labor Organization. Most of these domestic workers are women and they are particularly common in Gulf countries like Saudi Arabia. But many women returning from this work describe horrific circumstances, and in an alarming number of cases, death. Reporter Pauline Ongaji talks with Kenyan women who have returned from domestic work in Saudi Arabia and the efforts being made to better protect domestic workers while employed abroad.
This special will air on Friday March 10the at 10 AM and 8PM here on 88.3FM KCPW.
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