Mar c h 2 01 2

DELTAWOMEN
P OWER

Editors Note

Power

POWER, In all its forms, Somehow, Resides, Only in the hands, Of those, Who constantly, Fail,

PT B

Learn to, Listen, love, care, About who you are, The world you, Live in, And for once, Give the POWER, Back,

ower is the only thing that drives people forward. It has always been every human beings main subject of mind occupation. his issue is not a love letter to women who seek power, its dedicated to every woman who feel like a real, natural and complete woman as its the secret of Womens Power. e a woman, Be powerful. Elaheh Zohrevandi

Article of The Month - by Kanika Jain Sah

EMPOWERMENT - The indispensable step towards development

When I can estimate my worth by what I perceive myself to be without waiting for others to endorse me, When I dont allow other to trample over my self-esteem, When I dont measure myself by what others perceive me to be, When I am not a slave to laudatory remarks from those around me, When I recognize myself as a complete unit in myself My personality luminescent and my soul self-reliant, That is when my soul, my being is truly empowered
While the importance of empowerment of an individual cannot be undermined, Nam inum equality empowerment of women in particular, holds the key to achieving thealia adicia Am ipsapid mi, and respect that women are still yearning for in todays modern society. eici Tem
faccum vendaeped.

Tip!

The concept of power lies at the core of empowerment. Interestingly, Weber (1946) reflects that power exists within the context of a relationship between

Tip!

them. hile historically women have struggled with the discrimination and oppression, today we have reached a phase in women development where reinforcement and empowerment of women is of prime importance. It has become increasingly important for our gender to be empowered on all fronts: spiritually, politically, socially and economically. Let us examine it as the next step forward in this long journey, wherein we are yet far from achieving the ultimate goal gender equality.

or exist in isolation nor is inherent in individuals. This implies that Peopleand things. Poweradoes notcan change the existingitsocietal relationships andascontexts that of power and power relationships change. Thus, empowerment can be viewed this process change to women as medium to bind

remember as a little India, while my worried about safety almost all Istill time, she introducedgirl growing up inAnd itself-reliancemotherwhooneducated,my half wayeducation the me to the concept of very early . The importance of to this end was vehemently stressed upon. is true, a woman is is home to being capable of becoming financially empowered and thus developing the ability to fend for herself.

Article of The Month - by Kanika Jain Sah

EMPOWERMENT - The indispensable step towards development
in a large number of cases, women suffer and tolerate abuse from their male Lets just say you are Financial dependence is,counterparts.hand on you.Ifthe causeable to earn your own bread, a man will think twice before raising his ideas freedom and creates that sense of self-worth which empowers an individual socially. Education as customs so many Furthermore,aeducation gives youworth aoflot more thanopposed toissocietalout to me.inShe is in countries, tell woman that she is what she made no way inferior to any man. When such feeling of high self-esteem lives in a woman, she can contribute a whole lot more to the society.

need to question her she needs to empowered to create positive difference in terms of changing not reactions of She doesa notbut societal discretionbeing; ratherPoliticsonly thebe politically the society to- not wards women as a whole. and women are often perceived to go hand in hand. While men belittle their position in politics, women themselves acknowledge politics as a concept that they do not want to be associated with, since they perceive it to be the same as power.

do women negativity? Power opposed to what many women believe, enable individuals pursue their values and aims. In fact, women more But whyoutlook andassociatetopower withfor the common welfare of societieswith amen communal with more concern than should set the standards. Women have a responsibility toward the community and should be involved in politics.

our own staff: Empowerment is recognizing ones right an individual and the ability This thought wasasperfectly worded by Lylin, onetoofhelp and transform the community. hat women really need is take control of their The to control their fertility is to womens empowerment and Wwoman needsownbe abletotodoanother fundamental is aown life.factorability of womenequality. A to plan her family which major in deciding the course her career will take and how healthy she will be. This is due course will enable her to become a more complete individual. Tip!

dditionally, there is an incessant need on this journey, to examine our beings in context. To overcome spiritual recognize Ainto the spiritual powerour spiritual hesitation andthe innatestagnation and torightspiritualand tap deep within us and assert and inalienable to live as empowered beings. why havent we made more headway major barrier women empowerment lie into the cultures and social of certain Sosocieties. Theseand equityhaveingrained in thisquietly accept being Anorms inferior to nations and customs led women to treated to men.
Nam inum alia adicia Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem faccum vendaeped. domain just as yet?

Infact, empowerment is a significant procedural concern while addressing human rights and development. The Human Development and Capabilities Approach and The Millennium Development Goals to name a few eminent efforts, acknowledge participation and empowerment as a necessary step not just in women development but necessary for the development of a nation.

go

Empowerment is not an end in itself, but as we see a means to many ends. So this is an important message to all you women out there If you wake up one day and Look at your reflection in the mirror and see a woman, a real woman, youre a woman.

If you have a pair of open eyes that look strong and never shake when you say something as a woman, you are a powerful woman. Elaheh Zohrevandi (Staff of Deltawomen)

Strength Training A Must for Women!

W C M A

hen it comes to Power, we always think of The best, The strongest, and the most influential people but what about the ones who suffer from a disability?

an they also be powerful? any people are born with ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and sadly many other just get to have it later on in life.

dult ADD is now a very common problem all around the world.

Adult ADHD Quiz

psychcentral.com 1. How often do you have trouble wrapping up the final details of a project, once the challenging parts have been done? 2. How often do you have difficulty getting things in order when you have to do a task that requires organization? 3. How often do you have problems remembering appointments or obligations? 4. When you have a task that requires a lot of thought, how often do you avoid or delay getting started? 5. How often do you fidget or squirm with your hands or feet when you have to sit down for a long time? 6. How often do you feel overly active and compelled to do things, like you were driven by a motor?

W F

omen are diagnosed less but tend to suffer more from the symptoms of Adult ADD. Whatever it is, Its all Nam inum alia adicia about our brain. Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem irst, Lets see if we have ADD: faccum vendaeped.

Strength Training A Must for Women!

he body was designed to be pushed, and when we push our bodies, we push our brains, too. Learning and memory evolved in concert with the motor functions that allowed our ancestors to track down food. As far as our brains are concerned, if were not moving, theres no real need to learn anything.

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ow lets go get the power inside:

mart Exercises to Improve ADD/ADHD Brains Do an aerobic activity regularly -- jogging, riding a bike, playing a sport that involves sprinting or running. Aerobic exercise elevates neurotransmitters, creates new blood vessels that pipe in growth factors, and spawns new cells in the brain. Do a skill activity, as well -- rock climbing, yoga, karate, Pilates, gymnastics, figure skating. Complex activities strengthen and expand the brains networks. The more complex the movements, the more complex the synaptic connections. Bonus: These new, stronger networks are recruited to help you think and learn. Better yet, do an activity that combines aerobic activity with a skill activity. Tennis is a good example -- it taxes both the cardiovascular system and the brain.

Practice a skill activity in which you are paired up with another person -- learning to tango or waltz, for example, or to fence. Youre learning a new movement and also having to adjust to your partners movements, putting further demands on your attention and judgment. This exponentially increases the complexity of the Nam inum alia adicia activity, which beefs up the brains infrastructure. Add in the fun and social aspect of the activity, and youre Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem faccum system. activating the brain and the muscles throughout the vendaeped.

Duality

April Avalon
The pleasure to speak is my lost privilege, And now insanity dwells on a page, However, its changing the color in days, Revealing the truth my white pencil portrays. But Im getting sick of the poetess fate, I only enliven the worlds your create, Denying the myths you dont want to believe, Or perpetuate every side of my grief. Today its triangular, soon to be square, Or even linear, in case you are there, You skillfully play with my changeable mood, Id steal such a talent from you if I could. I paint the reality, live in a dream, Duality kills me, I just want to scream, Ill find the salvation when holding you close Ill speak of my feelings and keep them in prose.

Art Shop
Kirthi Jayakumar

Art Shop
Kirthi Jayakumar

The Leftovers

Tracy Hauser

Story Contest Winner

I accidentally got a book mailed to my old inner city school that they renovated and re-staffed, but I didnt call to see if it was there or if anyone had picked it up. That school was on the eastside where no one could find it, off Eastern Avenue and towards Essex. It was around the corner from the Eastpoint Mall where they had haunted houses every year and a new hibachi to-go grill restaurant. It was two miles south of North Point Boulevard where if you got in a car wreck youd be there for hours. It was practically right on the city and county line and the cops from each district wouldnt know whos territory was whos. From across the hall sat Diane who helped all of us. She used to play with a desk Zen garden that had sand, stones, and a rake. Michael would leave his lunches in this room for days and days after he ate them. Like this one time when he made cold salmon and brought it in a mosaic glass platter and seven days later he remembered to take it back home. Corey used to come up to our third floor break room to purposely leave her frozen quesadillas in our freezer so she could warm them up, talk to Diane , play with Dianes Zen rake, and complain. Andrea, the new teacher whod previously taught ninth grade was up on our floor this year hanging up curtains width-wise with her ITunes turned to a Latino radio station. Ms. Burke in the room next to mine hung up charts with her students names on them and wrote for homework, for classwork, for tests/quizzes. Mr. Roberts room was just like mine. We had piles of ungraded work near the windowsills and when it would rain on the weekends we would come back to find the left sides of the stacks soaked and the kids wondering why their Algebra homework was wet. We got new computers up from the ones that were built in 1995, in 2010 and we stored them at the end of

the year in Mr. Allots computer classrooms closets. We could get on YouTube, access the web from United Streaming, and use them on some of the teachers whiteboards. Michael even had an LCD projector that he captured and kept in his room for the entire year that he used for PowerPoint warm-ups at the beginning of classes. There was no heat but I borrowed space heaters one year and I shot out half of my rooms electrical sockets when I tried to add a micro fridge next to my computer table. I managed to get a microwave in there that I hid from the kids between a sliding cabinet door and a red table cloth napkin. All the teachers would come in and secretly use it on their lunch breaks and planning periods. Theyd strike up stuff to talk about if they hadnt used up all their energy trying to get the kids to be quiet, or from chasing down Darius in the hallway so he that he wouldnt be seen by the second floor administrator. None of us really expected anyone to leave, wed each always separately talked about getting other jobs but wed never really held each other to it. So when our school administrator told us that we were all bound to have to leave our jobs and apply for new ones we werent really shocked, just dismayed. Wed stood in lines behind each other, with each other, opposite each other, for the same English or Math or Social Studies job. We had to sign up for the voluntary transfer fair at a local high school and when we came there was no air conditioning on so if you had long hair or had it down to your shoulder, it stuck to the backs of your neck. There was bottled water but most of it had been taken by the teachers with nice prospects whod had good interviews. Some of us threw out everything when we left and some of us kept stuff in the thin plastic bags that the Spanish speaking custodial workers tore off on a roll and gave to us. Diane had a flea market in her room. She left new notebooks, highlighters, pens, and paper clips that she had never used out for any of us to grab. Some of the other teachers did the same things too. We had a barbeque after school was over at one of our teachers houses where some came who made the cut and where some came who got jobs at other places. Michael got a job teaching elementary school and I got a job teaching middle school. Our academy principal Josey got a job as a librarian and we all came to find out that she was going for her library science degree. We were kinda shocked. Some of us had bought houses because we thought this job would be a long term gig, so some of us were struggling. We still keep in touch on Facebook but I guess we can all say that none of us has or acts like weve really moved on.

Dont Mess With Us

Kirthi Jayakumar

hen an image of a girl being beaten up and stripped by soldiers on a street did the rounds on the internet, it was no surprise that it went viral. Activists world over were flabbergasted at the sheer callousness of the soldiers for putting the girl through that, people were outraged at the display of flippancy in the soldiers treatment of the girl. The biggest display of antagonism came from thousands of women in Egypt, demanding the end of military rule in the country. nd what a movement it was!

n the evening of December 21, 2011, thousands of women walked the streets of Cairo, shouting out their anger at the flagrant disrespect of women and denouncing the brazen indecency in the soldiers behaviour exhibited in the beating, stripping and kicking of female demonstrators at Tahrir square. Drag me, Strip me, My Brothers Blood will cover me, they shouted aloud. Demanding to see the top military officer in the country, Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, the women shouted out, Where is the Field Marshall? The girls of Egypt are here!

A O

Tip!

ot since 1919, has Egypt witnessed such a large scale demonstration by its women. About 82 years ago, a march against British colonialism was the only other instance of a massive display of womens activism in Egypt. The burst of outrage is particularly commendable aliabeing a rarity in the Arab world. adicia has been Nam inum as adicia Nam inum alia Egypt strictlyipsapid mi, eici Tem Am rooted in patriarchy, in its culture and socialTem Am ipsapid mi, eici setting, to the extent that several attempts through thisvendaeped. hope of faccum vendaeped. faccum year in the bringing in womens protest events into fruition actually fizzled out before materializing, and the only one that did, actually wound up ending in physical harassment of the women protesters by a bigger group of men.

Tip!

In Egypt, women were jostled out of politics almost entirely. Even when the winds of change blew over the country, swinging it into action in overthrowing its dictator, women who were at the helm of affairs during the initial rounds of the revolt were few and far between. Revolutionary coalitions that sprang up in the aftermath of the despots ouster did not have room for many women in prominent roles. The demonstrations against military rule that have come up in the wake of the military authoritys obduracy in the wake of a full-blown affinity for power have happened to descend into chaos as fights erupt between the youngsters and the police, as rocks fly full arcs between both factions. The military rule in Egypt has been the denounced by most displeased observers. Human Rights groups denounced them for their ridiculous invasive virginity tests on women who were detained after a protest in March this year. However, despite the gross violation of their rights through these disgusting measures, only few women spoke out against the humiliation. This is evidently because of the hotbed of conservatism that Egypt is. The demonstration by the Feminine Face of Egypt isnt just a representation in an open challenge to the militia after Tip! their hero, an anonymous female protester was stripped and beaten, and another who attempted to rescue her was brutally beaten and now remains in a coma. It is a strong message that they send to the militia, that the protesters Nam inum alia adicia wanted more than anything, to Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem councils dent the military faccum vendaeped. efforts to project the protesting masses as mere hooligans and arsonists.

Women Power

POWER TO BELIEVE

Power

he women demanded a place, a voice, a reserved right in politics in Egypt. This demand hits the recent election victories of the conservative Islamist factions squarely in the face. The march brought out such a massive range of women out to the streets- housewives who came out into the demonstrating arena for the first time; mothers with newly born children, young university students. Most women had the traditional Muslim headscarf in place, some had veils covering their faces entirely. The assemblage was replete with chants demanding empowerment and gallantry from their male counterparts.

he conflagration of outrage burst out in response to the shameless indecency on part of the soldiers in Egypt. Video after video streamed a similar scene set in different parts with different officersdemonstrating and protesting women were grabbed, beaten and stripped. The most prominent and haunting picture (and video, of course) of the entire array was the one where a woman lay supine with a pair of soldiers grabbing her arms upwards, and one of them ripping off her veil, revealing a blue bra. The video goes on to show one of the soldiers kicking the woman in her chest. The incident was explained in

ory detail at a press conference, when the girls friend called Hassan Shahen, narrated that he had told the soldiers that he was a journalist, and she was a girl, and he would take her away from there. But the soldiers wouldnt listen, and one of them began beating him with a baton. For her part, the poor girl has remained obscure so far as her identity is concerned, and is known only as the blue bra girl. n the one hand, there are people like you, me and Katherine who denounce this cheap behaviour. On the other hand, there have been a bunch of ridiculously parochial thinkers

ho have actually questioned the girls presence at Tahrir, going on to suggest that she should have been kept home in the first place, and some others who had the gall to remark that she would have wanted the exposure because she wore fancy lingerie, and still others who believed that she should have worn something under her veil. s if.

n 19th December, 2011, General Adel Emara, one of the members of the military council in rule, acknowledged the incident, but laid claim that the incident was blown out of proportion and studied without regard to broader circumstances that would explain what happened. Almost immediately, a stunning repartee stung back from a female journalist who demanded an apology, warning that a womans revolution wouldnt be too far a prospect. The General brushed her remark aside like one would, a stray thread on their jacket. his is a terribly surprising and callous mentality on part of the military council, and reflects a filthy set of double standards. When about a month ago, Aliaa Elmahdy and her friend Karim Amer posted naked pictures of themselves in an attempt to use their bodies as a sign of protest, all hell broke loose and the two girls were chastised verbally, by orthodox clerics denouncing them as violators of morality and inciters of indecency. Some wanted to punish the two girls based on their Constitution which is based on Islamic Law and Islamic Sanctions. And yet, it is the people from the very same brand of mentality that have beaten and stripped women. n my research, I came across this website. It explained to me that the Quran says, Women have the same rights in relation to their husbands as are expected in all decency from them, while men stand a step above them. Sura 2:228. This only specifies the degree of responsibility, not privilege, in mans role as provider, protector, maintainer, and leader of the family. Further down in the same article, the website explains, During the rein of Umar, women participated in law making. Umar made a proposal of a certain regulation concerning marriage. A woman in the mosque stood up and said, Umar, you cant do that. Umar did not tell her, Shut up, you are a woman, you have nothing to do with politics, etc. He asked, Why? She made her argument on the basis of Quran. In front of everybody, he stood up and said, The woman is right and Umar is wrong, and he withdrew his proposal. That was the spirit in the early days of Islam. In the most authentic collection of hadith, Hadith Bukhari, a section is devoted to the participation of women, not only in public affairs, but in the battlefield, too, and not only as logistical support. Women carried arms, and when there was great danger to the Muslims, they volunteered to participate even in the battlefield.

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nother website explains, According to it (The Quran), both man and woman have been created for the sake of each other. The Quran says: They (women) are raiment (comfort, embellishment and protection) for you, and you (men) are raiment for them. (Surah al-Baqarah: 2 : 187).

hat Islamic Law allows for this? What Islamic Law says women should be disrespected? What Islamic Law allows men to shamelessly beat, strip and kick women? Why are there double standards in the understanding of morality? When one hand drums a beat saying that women should abide by a certain morality, how can the other hand drum up a different drum and say that it is okay for a soldier to strip a woman? Until this warped understanding of Islam ideology changes, it is painfully true that women will always be under the thumb of male domination. rue power is sincere, it knows responsibility. All power corrupts. But absolute power? It corrupts Absolutely.

Art Shop
Kirthi Jayakumar

The Power Within Paola Brigneti

Margaret Mead once said: Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man. I wonder if Ms. Mead were alive today, if she would change her words to include not only men, but also entire communities. Ms. Mead obviously saw womens potential to make a change in those around them. She identified womens ability to positively affect the world. This capacity, this special power, is unique to women, and especially adolescent girls. Every adolescent girl on our planet has the power within herself to change the world. In fact, some argue that if you want to change the world, you should invest in an adolescent girl. When girls reach adolescence, they reach a point in their lives when decisions about their futures are made. Unfortunately, many factors such as early marriage, early pregnancy, forced labor, or plain gender discrimination, get in the way of adolescent girls potential for achievement, and for changing the world. The existing research on the potential of girls is limited. This is not due to lack of evidence, however, but simply a reflection of how much importance and value our society has placed on adolescent girls. The existing evidence, nonetheless, suggests that when adolescent girls are not forced into early marriages, but instead allowed to stay in school, to remain healthy, and to gain real skills, they will marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and they will earn an income that they will very likely invest back into their families and communities. It is truly amazing to think about the power girls have to make such a huge impact on their communities. At the macroeconomic level, educating a girl and arming her with skills results in a more competitive labor force. If those in charge of running our world were fully aware of the potential of girls for improving a countrys economy, they would probably be investing more money in their girls. However, if they keep ignoring girls, over half of the countrys potential will be wasted, and the country will continue to fall behind.

The Power Within Paola Brigneti

The evidence available regarding the impact of enabling girls to succeed shows that a countrys per capita gross national product rises when girls complete secondary school. When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries four years later and has 2.2 fewer children. An extra year of primary education increases a girls eventual wages by 10 to 20 percent. An extra year of secondary education increases her future wages by 15 to 25 percent. The most valuable finding showing girls power to make a change is that when they earn income, they reinvest 90 percent of it into their families and their communities. Men, in comparison, only reinvest between 30 to 40 percent. However, if a girl is forced to follow the path of poverty, she will probably have to leave school, get married and have children. All around the world, this happens to many girls at a very young age. As a young, unskilled mother, she will not be able to use the power she has within herself to reach her full potential and to help those around her. As a result of this sad turn of events, her children will likely be forced into this downward spiral triggered by poverty, and by practices that oppress and disenfranchise them. The reality is that girls have the power to shape future generations and to help end the cycle of poverty in their families and communities. The welfare of girls today shapes the prospects for future families. The physical and intellectual health of todays girls directly affects the health and educational achievement of future generations. An educated mother is more likely to ensure that her children, boys and girls, will be educated as well. And the cycle of education, success, health and good choices will continue. This is the power of adolescent girls, the power they have within, even if they are not fully aware of it. Knowing the power girls have to change our world, we should be doing everything we can to allow girls light to shine in our world, and to turn it into a better place for them, for us, and for the future generations.

For So long she Had adhered into perfect Place~ An invisible shield of feminine Armor~ What lay beneath had always been Perceptible to me neath the layers of articulationCareful consideration~ Bound tightly in oceanesque Hues of blue~ She had always kept a silent tremor Off-limits to entry~ Pleading me to physically Force it from her~ To exorcise the Extraction of her pain For the sake of One more Day Of Composure~ Broken moments of release in disguise~ A constructive camouflage For her liberation~ She had become immobilized by her restraints~ Meticulously mummified~ The repressed tension of Every emotional injury~ Breaking was a Necessity back thenBut it was Never really about The exercise~ Both of Us Wrestling such Similar demons~ We were the Perfect balance of force and reason~ Fire And ice~ A strong tonic cocktail of sweat and Profanity~ Endorphin provoked junkies fisting Our self-imposed archetypes~ It was never about The controlIt was about the euphoric moments Of losing it~ The crash and crawl into blissful Depletion~ Clawing through psychological Fevers~ Delineating wounds left Denied and unspoken~ Equipment And Space Were only a Backdrop for our training~ Our solidarity was a therapy of a different kind

Poems of A Woman
Solidarity
Leila A. Fortier

Power: Breaking the Culture of Silence

Lylin Aguas
Many women today, despite all the sophistication the world has to offer, continue to suffer in silence from domestic violence. They live secret lives of abuse, dysfunction, poverty, sickness or depression. They are being beaten by a partner or a family member, an unfortunate reality that violence exists even at home. This makes it doubly hard to contain and address the problem because it is viewed as a private matter. There are two major factors why domestic violence in the home is tolerated: (1) ABSENCE OR LACK OF EMPOWERMENT; and (2) CULTURE. ABSENCE OR LACK OF EMPOWERMENT Most women who silently accept domestic violence have total dependence on partners or family members who abuse them. For how can a woman speak out if everything she needs is provided for by her husband or family? Her dependence on others for her and her children to survive prevents her from standing up for her right or what she believes in. The moment she argues, her means of support is withdrawn and she and her children can be left empty-handed.

Tip!

Tip!

Being deprived of an education further weakens womens chances of empowering themselves to become independent. It lessens their capability to explore opportunities for themselves. Theyre left with their own simple devices borne from lifes experiences of Nam inum alia of themselves and their children. Nam inum alia adicia how to best take care adicia It is therefore critical that women obtain an education to empower themselves and have the financial means to be independent. They will have a better chance of defending themselves without fear of being left out in the cold when doing so.
Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem faccum vendaeped. Am ipsapid mi, eici Tem faccum vendaeped.

CULTURE Though the times show a marked improvement on the statistics of educated women and women in the working force, one cannot simply say that they cannot be victims of violence within the home. In Nigeria, more than half of all women say they are abused by their husbands. A 2010 study conducted in the Lagos and Oyo states revealed that nearly 65 percent of educated women said they had been beaten by a partner, boyfriend or husband, while 56 percent of lower-income market women experienced similar violence. It is evident that socioeconomic status cannot always prevent domestic violence in the home. There is a culture of silence that exists and demands obedience from women. This can be traced back to years of patriarchal dominance that women should observe obedience to their male partners.

Leading Article

Societys pressure for women to keep the marriage and family intact despite being battered and beaten further aggravates the violent situation in the home. Society normalizes acts of violence in the home and gives false hopes that it will end. The pressure makes it hard to walk away from the comfort of ones home. But can one call it a home when memories are drenched with vivid pictures of beatings and violence? BREAKING THE SILENCE Going outside the norm and breaking the culture of silence can seem a formidable step for women who live in a society where marriage gives the man the license to dominate women to the point of battering them. But such violence should never be tolerated. It is imperative that assistance for the victims be made available to immediately arrest a worsening situation. Knowing women have a haven to run to for protection makes a big difference. It can give them the courage to stand up for their right. Women deprived of an education since childhood should be offered livelihood programs that can give them opportunities to earn their own living and be financially independent. They definitely should have a say in the decision- making when it affects their lives and homes. Through the years, more women have made their presence felt. Many have been involved in improving womens lives and have given positive contributions economically, politically and socially. Some have become world leaders and earned their place in society. Women cannot simply be ignored. And it is certainly time to break the culture of silence.

POWER OF FUTURE

POWER OF FEAR

Editor: Elaheh Zohrevandi Production Coordinator: Elsie Reed Designer: Elaheh Zohrevandi Proofing: Kirthi Gita Jayakumar, Aanchal Kumar Photographer: Effat Allahyari Information is correct at press time. Check http://deltawomen.blogspot.com/ for updates. DeltaWomen is published monthly by the DeltaWomen (NGO) at 2nd Floor 145-157 St John Street, EC1V 4PW London, United Kingdom. Signed articles do not necessarily reflect the official company policy. 2012 DeltaWomen. All rights reserved. Reproduction in part or whole without permission is prohibited.

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