Women's rights and their historical development

¶ … rights of women is one of the issues that have been a center of focus of various lobby groups. So important is the issue of human rights that the United Nation deems it one of the basic human rights that must be accorded to all women of this world (Olcott 733).In this paper, we explore the formation and operation of Women for Women International, a not for profit organization which champions for the rights of women in war torn countries.

Overview of Women for Women International

Women for Women International, is one of the many organizations all over the world who are involved with the defense of women's right. The organization has indicated that they work in several countries in which women have been excluded as a result of long drawn wars and conflicts (Women for Women).The organization believes that every woman deserves a peaceful coexistence in the society. The organization helps women by enrolling them in a one-year program that helps them in acquiring new job skills. They are also teach the women appropriate business skills that allows them to earn a good living in this male dominated world. The women are taught their basic rights, how to protect their homes as well as communities. The women under the Women for Women International program are taught to become real world leaders. The organization believes that a long lasting change can be achieved on by providing women with the appropriate resources as well as knowledge to help them in making good use of the resources.

History of the movement

Women for Women International was founded in 1993 and has since helped several women who it considers to be socially excluded while being the sole providers for their families amid the horror of civil strife and war. The women that it helps are the ones who have suffered from the loss of their families, who have been raped, tortured, forcefully migrated, trafficked while being starved and while in abject poverty. These women are helped in the rebuilding of their lives, their livelihood, families as well as their families. According to their website (www.womenforwomen.org), the organization was founded by a husband and wife Amjad Atallah and his wife Zainab Salbi. The two were saddened by the plight of women who were surviving in rape camps that were located in the former Yogoslavia. The slow response by the international community saddened them. The initial move by Women for Women International was to launch a connection program which it was dubbed "sister-to-sister" that existed between the women survivors of civil war in Herzegonia and Bosnia and their respective sponsors in the U.S.

The initial year saw the non-profit organization work with 8 women and it distributed direct aid worth $9,000. Over the years, organization's staff came to realize that financial assistance by itself was not enough to elicit the deeper change in the women's life. This is because these women lost almost everything that they had. The women who were widowed by the civil strife needed proper marketing skills. They also needed to understand their human rights as well as their potential as women in the creation of secure channels of earning a living for the rest of their lives. This form of empowerment allowed the women to build their strength bit by bit as well as their stature which would be necessary for their own survival in a region which had been devastated by war. The aim was to make them active and productive members of their communities.

Core values and beliefs

Women for Women International is an organization which is guided by five maim principles. These principles are what constitute the organization's core values and beliefs

Equality

Women for Women International believes that all people should be free and must be accorded equal level of rights and dignity. These should be exercised at all stages be it social, political, economic, civil or cultural.

Empowerment

Women for Women International believes that all women whose lives they touch are leaders in their own ways. The organization empowers the women by providing them with various tools that they can then use in rebuilding their lives.

Respect

Women for Women International believes that each and every woman deserves to be respected. This is why they allow the women whose lives they tough to chose their own system for value creation. They however first of all present all the available options to the women and then allowing them the chance of making their own choice. This makes them responsible for their own choice.

Diversity

Women for Women International believes that the women whose lives they tough are not mere refugees or unfortunate victims of war but are real individuals and survivors. The organization believes that no two women require similar support to help them heal. They also believe that no two societies can undergo similar rebuilding processes and periods. The organizations therefore values diversity by honoring the differences between the women in regard to their backgrounds, race, origin and even religion.

Investment

Women for Women International believes that a one-on-one approach to dealing with the various macro issues can be achieved via micro solutions. The organization therefore strives to strengthen the local charters in an attempt of building as well as strengthening the civil societies in their nations of operation.