Social Change Through Women's Sports
Promoting Social Change Through Women's Sports Leadership
The problems that cry out for social change solutions
No one who is intelligent, literate, and who is paying attention could avoid the fact that much of the world today is in need of fresh and creative ways to resolve cultural and social conflicts and to build better communities where families feel safe and futures seem secure. War, bloodshed, racial rage, and mindless military carnage -- in addition to the disturbing, ongoing violence against women -- make up too much of the front pages of daily newspapers. Dramatic social changes are desperately needed, and the plans for those changes have yet to be drawn up by present political leadership in the United States and elsewhere.
Over the first week in October, for example: suicide bombers killed 19 innocent tourists in Bali; car bomb blasts killed numerous citizens and soldiers in Iraq; 6 Hispanic immigrants were murdered in Georgia; two African-Americans were shot to death by a Mexican store owner in Los Angeles, to name a handful of incidents.
Meanwhile, actress Jennifer Lopez is starring in a movie now being filmed about the unsolved murders of over 400 women and girls in Cuidad Juarez, Mexico. Lopez' star power, fortunately, helps shed light on the hideous 13-year legacy of blood-letting against women in that Mexican community, which has been largely ignored by an American news media seemingly obsessed with the kidnappings of attractive young, mostly white American females.
Moreover, on the subject of women as victims, Amnesty International has released a report asserting that one out of every three women in the world "has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime" (Khan, 2004) ("It's In Our Hands: Stop Violence Against Women" www.amnesty.org). The report further asserts that: a) more than 60 million women "are missing" due to "sex-selective" abortions, and "infanticide" (notably carried out in China, where baby boys are allowed to live and baby girls are killed); b) "domestic violence" is the major cause of death and disability for women ages 14-44 in Europe; c) Russian government officials estimate that "1,400 women were killed by partners or relatives in 1999" yet no law exists in Russia addressing domestic violence; d) the World Health Organization (WHO) reports that "up to 70% of female murder victims are killed by their male partners"; e) in the U.S., "women accounted for 85% of the victims of violence in 1999."
In addition to those data, Amnesty International also reports that women in the Middle East and Asia "are killed in the name of honor"; women and girls in West Africa "undergo genital mutilation in the name of custom"; young girls in southern Africa "are raped and infected with HIV / AIDS because their perpetrators believe that sex with virgins will cure them of their disease."
And the problem goes beyond violence against women and against cultures. The problem is intimately associated with cycles of poverty, poor health, and a lack of education. Further, and importantly, the problem in Western culture is associated with popular personalities in the media -- in movies, television, magazines, books, the Internet -- and in the media's own marketing machines, which tend to promote roles, attitudes and customs that define women as physically desirable but not intellectually, morally or physically capable. Sex sells; and unfortunately, women are placed into unfair, untrue stereotypes that are promoted by advertisers and marketers.
The bottom line in this introduction is, women need to be empowered to generate a more positive future for themselves, their children, and their children's children, in addition to helping those women and children throughout the world who are unable to help themselves.
"Effecting Social Change Through Women's Leadership in Sport" Conference
The United Nations (UN), meanwhile, has launched a campaign to foster an improved international understanding of the use of sports as a unifying force to "bridge cultural and ethnic divides" (Kennesaw State University, "International Year of Sport and Physical Education"). And, the UN, through Resolution 58/5 -- titled "Sport as a means to promote Education, Health, Development and Peace" -- has set out to establish partnerships between governments, agencies, and community sports-related organizations. Those partnerships, the UN's resolution asserts, will seek to promote sports and physical education because the skills learned and fine-tuned in the process of athletics and games include "discipline, confidence, and leadership ... [as well as] tolerance, cooperation and respect."
These above-mentioned positives regarding...
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