Surprise! It's a Girl?

Okay, okay, I am definitely not pregnant, and neither am I adopting a baby, but there is somebody I would like to introduce you all to. Please welcome the newest addition to my life: Josefa, age 12, from Bolivia.

Last week, I made the decision to sponsor a child through World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, described by their website as, "dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice."

During college, a friend and I co-sponsored a little boy named Armel through World Vision, though after a period of time I gave up custody to my friend as I wasn't doing a good job of maintaining my finances in order to help support this little boy. Since then, the way I gave up on Armel has often weighed on me and I've considered sponsoring a child multiple times. Life, as it tends to do, got in the way and though my intentions have always been good, my follow-through has often fallen on the side of rubbish.

I'm a selfish human being, as most of us are (it's not our fault, I believe it's just our nature), but I think I'm a good person as well, which means I'm constantly battling my demons (that most frequently take the form of comfortable beds/chairs and television sets). I can be lazy. I excel at being self-absorbed. To my shame, I spend more time taking life for granted and don't spend enough time considering the injustices in the world.

I want to change that.

I recently read A Year of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans, in which she tackles legalism and the role of women in the Church, in order to better understand herself and how God wants her to serve. In this book, she dedicates a chapter to championing women's rights on a global scale, describing many of the atrocities that are committed against women daily - some of these acts are so heinous, I was immediately brought to tears - and that, as women of valor, we are called to support our sisters and do what we can to change the global understanding that women are somehow inferior to men.

Now, I'm not the kind of feminist who tries to elevate women by putting down men; that's sexism, not feminism. I am the kind of feminist who believes in equal pay, equal voice, equal education, and equal rights, including the right to not have to live in fear of being raped, mutilated, or killed just for possessing two X chromosomes. According to Amnesty International, 1 in 3 women worldwide will be "beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused in her lifetime."

30% of women worldwide? I'm blown away. Why aren't these kinds of statistics shared as often, or as publicly, as say the latest box office reports or NFL stats?

The title of my blog post seems innocuous enough, or even exciting for expectant couples awaiting their bundle of joy, but there are countries where discovering your unborn child is female is one of the most disappointing pieces of news that can ever be received. It startles me that female infanticide appears to be on the rise, not the decline. According to an article from the March 2010 issue of the Economist, in the 2000s, the ratio of boy to girl babies was 124 to 100 in China, and as high as 130 to 100 in some provinces. In the 1980s, it was 108 to 100.

I was lucky. I was born into a family that not only welcomed me with loving arms for being a girl, but one that deliberately wanted a girl and tried hard to have one (and managed to get one after having just two boys, phew!). Millions of girls around the world are aborted or abandoned and left for dead simply for being born female. I am grateful that I was born into a family that loves me for who I am, who understands and celebrates my value.

Lately in the US, there has been a lot of debate regarding Gun Control and Gay Marriage, both important issues, but where are the conversations about human trafficking? Where is the outcry over young girls being forced into marriage? "Honor" Killings? Domestic Violence? "Dowry" Deaths? Female Infanticide? To me, these issues are just as serious, just as important, and just as deserving of public attention.

So, how can I/we help?

An obvious way to help is to get involved, of course. There are many humanitarian organizations out there, requiring a great deal of research. I want to be involved, but the issue is so enormous that it will take a lot of time and consideration to determine where I can fit in and contribute.

Another way I thought I could help, in a very tangible way, was by sponsoring a child. I specifically wanted to sponsor a young girl on the precipice of adolescence, one of the most precarious times in any girl's life, and especially for those living in places where their rights are limited. Though our connection will be over quite a distance, with the exchange of letters occurring over the course of months instead of days, I'm hoping that by knowing there is someone out there specifically thinking and praying for her, and through the love and support of her family, that Josefa will come to know her value - her great, unquantifiable value.

As I figure out how and where to get involved, there is one important way that I can help out in the meanwhile: I have a voice. I can use it on behalf of women everywhere whose voices have not yet been heard. The power of a collective voice should never be underestimated.

My encouragement for you is to also share your voice - men and women, alike. Start a conversation - anywhere, with anybody. Use your voice, get somebody's attention. Then maybe that person will get another person's attention and so on, until we have the world's attention and everybody will know that we will no longer abide violence against women.

So listen up, World. We're ready to be heard.

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Women In Prison: A Fact Sheet, provided by Amnesty International.