Editorial Feature: Be The Change You Want To See

Hi everyone,

Today’s post is a little solemn but we feel it’s necessary to shed light on an issue that is prevalent and plaguing the world that we live in today.

Quoted from one of the characters in The Great Gatsby; a novel written by F. Scott Fitzgerald,
Daisy Buchanan laments after her daughter is born: “All right, I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool – that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
To Daisy, most of her feelings and happiness boils down to one fact: she’s a girl. In her mind, women need to be foolish, one step below her male counterpart and used.

credits: http://nyaaheverywhere.tumblr.com/post/60351820018/the-great-gatsbys-best-scene

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel speaks truth, even after 88 years since it was published.
Sadly, in our world today, being female can mean being sentenced to a life of poverty, abuse, exploitation, and deprivation, often in developing countries. Despite great movements made by the international women’s rights organizations over many years, women and girls around the world are still married as children or trafficked into forced labour and sex slavery.

These issues are sometimes unbeknownst to us about what’s happening, given the safe and ideal living conditions that we live in, but every year there are thousands of little girls being denied access to education and making personal choices that affect their lives.

credits:http://patkashtock.squarespace.com/ 

And sometimes these issues happen right here at home too: workplace sexual harassment, sexual violence, physical violence, outrage of modesty. 

credits: http://shardsofchina.wordpress.com/2012/05/11/chinas-gender-crisis-domestic-violence/

Clothesxenvy is a fashion blog, but we’re also five real young women who fiercely believe in the empowerment and support of women, both here at home and around the world.

We believe that every woman and girl in this world, in no matter what country, should have the basic right to live, the opportunity to receive an education, the right to proper healthcare, to stand up for herself, to not be forced to perform or submit to sexual acts, to choose whether or not she wants to become pregnant and to have the same freedom as men in her society.

There are many organizations that support women’s rights, one of which is successfully increasing awareness women’s rights around the world: Chime for Change. Founded by Gucci – is one such community of people that work towards promoting education, health and justice for every girl and women everywhere. Beyoncé, Frida Giannini and Salma Hayek are part of the founding committee, each representing issues that matters to them.

credits: www.chimeforchange.org

These celebrity spokeswomen serve to convene, unite and strengthen the voices of girls and women all around the world. For more information about Chime for Change, you may visit their website. If you wish to join them in their movement, go to www.chimeforchange.org/join-in. If you wish to support a project that means more to you, you can find one on their website here for more details.

For those who want their numbers, here's a video to show how much good if change takes place:

Another community that believes in true gender equality is AWARE. They are a community dedicated in removing gender-based barriers through research, advocacy, education, training and support services.

AWARE is Singapore’s leading gender equality advocacy group that “believes in the rights of women and men to make informed and responsible choices about their lives and to have equal opportunities in education, marriage and employment, and in the right of women to control their own bodies, particularly with regard to sexual and reproductive rights.” AWARE aims to remove all gender-based barriers so that women can develop their potential to the fullest realize their hopes and dreams.

If you wish to partake in any of these projects, you can email AWARE at advocacy@aware.org.sg or visit their office here:

AWARE Centre

Association of Women for Action & Research

Block 5 Dover Crescent #01-22

Singapore 130005

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. 
There’s so much that has to be done to completely eradicate these issues at home and around the world. But the more people are aware of these issues that are present today, and stand up for the change that they want to see, we think it’s not an impossible dream. Whether it is to fund a project, being a volunteer, joining a movement that grows towards empowering women or donating a small sum to aid efforts. It’s not just one voice, but billions. 

“Giving women the power to save their lives, to save their children’s lives, and to give their families the best possible future.” - Melinda Gates, TED Speaker, Co-founder of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Go on, be the change you want to see in the world.