According to Salon.com, the New York City subway system was hit with a series of ads from the organization Abortion Changes You. According to Metro International, they "depict either a woman saying,

'I thought life would be the way it was before,' or a man saying, 'I often wonder if there was something I could have done to help her.'"

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As we commemorate International Women’s Day with the theme “Equal rights, Equal opportunities; Progress for all”, we must bring to the forefront the challenges surrounding education of the girl-child, which remains a vital component for development in our society. 

Imagine your life today without an education. Imagine you in a world where you don’t have the right to go to school, not even a choice to consider education. What you see is the experience of so many females living in Nigeria, particularly in the Northern region, in which lies Jega Local Government. A lot of girls in this region didn’t have the right to choose education until the Local government chairman in Kebbi State enacted a bye-law, making female education compulsory. Isn’t that great news? After so many years of living in ignorance! 

Reports show that in a school of 150 students, only 2-3 are girls. ActionAID International (AAIN) discovered in their research that there was gap in favor of boys in school enrollment, retention and completion in these states. "The study on girls’ education revealed factors affecting girls’ education as cost of education, school environment, government policies and the culture of the people amongst others. There are no policies that specifically address gender issues thereby leaving room for the gender gap."

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If you look on any campus in the country you are bound to see students walking around with little white ear buds in their ears. In the age of mp3 players iPod is king. It provides the soundtrack to our daily lives as students. Even with less expensive choices for music players, iPods easily provide the most popular and aesthetically pleasing devise. iPod users brand loyalty to Apple goes far beyond just buying an iPod.  Consumers also dress their devices in colorful accessories, and download songs and applications from the iTunes and App stores.

Several weeks ago Apple decided that is was going to start regulating some of its Applications for the iTouch and iPhone. The change comes as concerned individuals have voiced their opinions about the sexual lewdness of certain iPod apps. While some applications have minor sexual overtones, some apps are nothing short of pornography.

Apple has responded by removing several hundred apps, and in the shuffle of doing so has deleted certain apps that were not inappropriate while failing to delete pornographic ones.  In the coming months the App Store hopes to create a explicit section to attract interested adult consumers.

Because Apple is becoming such a wide used product they have a real responsibility with the regulation of their applications. After recently reading an article in the San Fransisco Chronicle by Carol Queen, a cultural sexologist, I began to better understand the importance of this matter. Queen explains that everyone "has a right to sexuality" as well as sexual entertainment when that person is of age. It is in our nature to be interested in sex, so should Apple really hide it behind a barrier? The answer, I believe, lies in better regulation of the app store. Apps that clearly demonstrate pornographic purposes should be moved to a section specifically for pornography. Apps with minor sexual overtones should not be labeled explicit, and kept in with the other apps.

Apple has a huge responsibility here, and hopefully there going to make the right move. Sexuality is unfortunately stigmatized in cases like this, but hopefully will prevail. Adults who wish to enjoy adult entertainment and explore their sexuality have every right to do so.

On February 23^rd a very interesting article was posted about Nicaragua’s abortion ban that prevented a cancer patient from receiving necessary treatment for her cancer. First and foremost, I encourage all interested in topics concerning abortion rights to take a look at this article.

A 27 year old woman (Amelia) in Nicaragua was diagnosed with cancer that has metastasized in her brain, lungs and breast. She has a 10 year old daughter already and is currently pregnant. Focusing on the abortion laws of Nicaragua, I understand that it is illegal for any woman to receive an abortion operation EVEN IF her health or life is at risk. For crying out loud, when do we draw the line here?  We are dealing with a relatively young woman who is suffering from a LIFE THREATENING disease that is only worsening.  She already has a daughter that she needs to care for. The burden of another child while fighting this disease is not only detrimental to the woman’s health, but it is also detrimental for the child as well.

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First, I have some bad news to report: Last week the Speaker of Uganda's Parliament defiantly predicted that Uganda's "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" will not be withdrawn.

If you're new to this issue, here's the important part: if passed, Uganda's "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" will make being gay a crime punishable by death. Other "crimes" -- such as working in a HIV/AIDS-focused health organization -- would be punishable by an up to three-year jail sentence.

The international community has already roundly condemned this measure. Earlier this month, the global activist organization Avaaz urged the Ugandan government to drop the bill by handing it a petition signed by 500,000 people across the globe.

In light of the continued intransigence of some key Uganda politicians, however, it's clear that we need to ramp up our pressure.

That's why we're launching StandForUganda.com today, a website focused on stopping the "Anti-Homosexuality Bill" and defending the rights of Uganda's LGBT citizens.

Will you help us spread the word about this new advocacy resource? Here are three things that you can do right now:

1) Visit the site and send your message to President Obama.
2) Share StandForUganda.com on Facebook and Twitter.
3) Email the URL http://StandForUganda.com to three of your friends.

Thanks for taking action! As this new site evolves, we'll continue to post campaign and news updates here on Amplify.

FUN FACT:
Microsoft Word will ask if you want to change the spelling of “womanism” to “womanish.”

This little correction is particularly ironic. Womanism, the ideology, and Africana Womanism, the scholarly field were created to focus on the “unique experiences, struggles, needs, and desires of Africana women.” (See Clenora Hudson-Weems) This assertion of black female identity is necessary because black women in the 1960s were in a “double bind”: neither the women’s movement nor the Black Freedom movement addressed their interlocking oppressions. (See Patricia Hill Collins) More simply put, black women have faced sexism in Black Freedom movements and racism in Feminist movements. They have been defined as black-ish, woman-ish. For those interested, this was the topic of my senior thesis: how black female activists in the 1960s navigated this double bind. I examined Elaine Brown in particular, the first female chairwoman of the Black Panther Party, and how she negotiated the gendered spaces of a party mired by sexism and violence against women. I could go into more detail, but my adviser is found of asking the question, SO WHAT?

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Every year, thousands of women all over the World gather to celebrate womanhood and address various problems affecting us, such as social [gender inequality], economic [poverty], and cultural [early marriages] problems, and also issues relating to their sexual reproductive health and rights.

Focusing on Africa, and specifically Nigeria, women’s rights have been infringed upon in various ways.  Young women and girls are particularly vulnerable. For example, in some parts of Nigeria, girls are still being denied formal education because it is regarded as a waste of time and resources, while the male child is allowed to attain formal education. This singular act shows gender inequality, even though it is stated in the 2003 Child’s Rights Act (CRA) that every child has the right to education irrespective of their sex. The Nigerian constitution and the Universal Basic Education (UBE) Act further buttress the right of every chid to education irrespective of gender. Furthermore, there are a lot of cases where young girls below the age of 18 are handed over for marriage, mostly against their will, and mostly to far older men. This is because they are regarded as a source of wealth or income from suitors to their family.

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Editor's Note: This post is from James Wagoner, President of Advocates for Youth

Last fall, conservatives in Congress managed to include funding for abstinence-only-until-marriage programs in one of the health care reform bills. Currently abstinence-only funding remains in the Senate bill that will serve as the backbone of the final health care package. Without your assistance, these funds- $250 million over the next five years- will remain in the bill. We are continuing to work with colleagues on the Hill to remove this funding, but we need your help! It’s not too late for Congress to take action.

Last year, President Obama took the long-overdue step of eliminating federal funding for failed abstinence-only-until-marriage programs. But, abstinence-only supporters in Congress are determined to find new ways to funnel federal dollars to these ineffective programs.

After more than a year of debate about health care reform – and more than a decade of research – three things are clear:

1. Abstinence-only-until-marriage programs simply do not work. In fact, they leave young people at risk by denying them information about contraceptives and condoms.
2. Abstinence-only programs are not health care reform. This amendment was nothing more than an ideological give-away.
3. It’s time for Congress to stop throwing good money at bad programs. The federal government has already wasted more than $1.5 billion on failed abstinence-only programs. We don’t need to waste $250 million more.

Today, March 8, is International Women's Day.

It's a time to reflect, remember, and respond. In reading the media's many celebrations and retrospectives today, I can't help but approach the day from a personal angle. I think of International Women's Day and think of my mom, a first-generation immigrant who gave and continues to give her kids all the love and resources in the world.

As a Sudan activist, I also think of the resilient women of Darfur, more than a million of whom have completely lost their homes in a campaign of mass killing and systematic sexual violence perpetrated by the Sudanese government. Today, Darfuri rape survivors like Halima Bashir are making their voices heard in halls of power across the world. To date, they have courageously shared their stories at the White House, the UN, and on college and high school campuses -- all in the hope that their testimony will mobilize a big enough response to end the violence in Darfur and South Sudan once and for all.

And you? Who are you thinking of today?

In recognition of International Women's Day, Amplify is hosting an International Women's Week Blog-a-thon this week. We hope you'll take part by writing a blog post and sharing it with our community here.

Feel free to write about any women's issue that interests or moves you. In case you need some topic ideas, though, here are some questions that could use YOUR answers:

- What are issues that young women face in your country that affect the decisions they make about their reproductive and sexual health?
- Who are young women leaders in your community that represent the progress you envision for our future?
- How accessible are male condoms for young women? What about female condoms?
- What about family planning services and different methods of contraception?
- How can women be sustainable agents of change in your community?

We look forward to reading your posts this week!