WHYS in Boston
| 08:48 UK time, Thursday, 28 July 2011
Morning, Sarah here posting this on behalf of Fiona and Chloe in Boston.
There are just under 100 young women between the ages of 15-19 in Boston to attend a conference which aims to support and inspire female leaders from the 19 countries that are represented here. There were supposed to be more but the Air France strike grounded them!
Women 2 Women is a annual event from Empower Peace and we'll be live from the Fletcher School at Tufts University (one of the plethra of colleges in this town) tomorrow they will be discussing and debating issues faced by girls growing up around the world.
From Saudi Arabia to Nigeria, Palestine to Morrocco, Bahrain to Iraq, they have suggested things that are big problems for women in their countries. And tomorrow with the help of WHYS' first 100% female on-the-road team we should be on air.
So, here are just some of their suggestions but they fall mainly in two main areas. Justice and age.
Is getting a fair trial harder if you are female?
From lenient sentencing for those guilty of attempted honour killings, to female drug mules with heavier jailterms that the dealers, and rape victims imprisoned for breaking sex before marriage laws - is the justice system weighted against women?
And
Are women not allowed to be girls first?
Are girls having sex, getting married, giving birth earlier? Why is that? Is it poverty, exploitation, a more sexualized society? What's the best age for these things to happen? When should girls be working? When was the first time you protested?
