Aid to women

The story on womenwatch that I thought was one of the most important wasn't one of hope, but one which simply informed. http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88685 tells the story of how women and girls are often given less food than they need, because the food is diverted to the males of the family. These people in Pakistan have been displaced by war, and now there is not enough food, and what is left goes to the men, women making up 58% of those malnourished.

This stems from culture, and so seems to be an endemic problem. Luckily, it seems to be an issue which is being addressed. http://fex.ennonline.net/20/targeted.aspx talks about how some aid programs in Afghanistan try to help households with malnourished women and children, recognizing them as the most in need. Furthermore, the UN mission in Haiti has responded to violence in food distribution lines, often resulting in men pushing women and the weak out of the way. This has resulted in the UN trying to give priority to women at food lines, http://www.wfp.org/content/un-prioritizes-women-food-aid-distributi... is the official statement on the World Food Program. http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/306860,world-food-programme... doc**ents how they have even created women only food distribution centres. However, problems still exist, and men still try to get food from these areas.

But no matter what happens, the programme will have an impact on peoples attention. Around the world women are discriminated and pushed back in the pecking order, with action that can change.