By Anastacia Villis
It is no secret that 80% of humanity lives on less than ten dollars a day. It is no secret that the underdeveloped world keeps falling deeper into a cycle of poverty while the rich just keep getting richer. But the underlying question that may never be answered is, why? What sets apart the majority of the world’s population and dooms them to be stuck at the bottom of this incredibly unequal society?
One cannot blame lack of intelligence or innovative skills, or even lack of motivation. The Grameen Bank is a perfect example to shatter the stereotype that poor people are poor because of laziness. Muhammad Yunus provided microloans for thousands of people living in some of the worst conditions; but once given the leg up, those in these less fortunate situations proved to be more than capable of creating a lasting and profitable enterprise.
Women in the third world are repressed in more ways than just monetary restrictions. They lack not only the capital, but the basic rights that are necessary to make any progress toward a more equal world — both socioeconomically and based on gender. Organizations like Prospera and Mama Cash are paving way in this realm of socially motivated initiatives, organizing grants to be given to different movements internationally that are centered around equal rights and opportunity for women and trans women everywhere.
Prospera was founded in the 1970’s by a group of women hoping to change what they saw as a malfunction of society. With their “global hub of women’s funds, Prospera seeks to create opportunities for greater collaboration between our members and across sectors, develop technical skills and knowledge, and mobilize resources to strengthen and support women’s funds to realize women’s rights.” They also strive to maintain a network across the organizations they support, so as to maximize the opportunities for females who are suppressed in a patriarchal society. One of their many partners and grantees includes the African Women’s Development Fund, one of the leading advocates for social justice, economic empowerment, and women’s rights in Ghana.
Mama Cash, very similarly, serves as a resource base for feminist activism around the world. They are heavily donor-based and partnered with many donor member organizations that provide the capital for their grants. This organization has made it their mission to advance the rights of women, girls and the trans population on a global scale — to intensify equality where it can be, fight against the gap that continues to grow between the rich and the poor, the man and the woman. Mama Cash is committed to proving to the world that if given the resources, women and trans people can be just as, if not more successful than the often oppressive male population. Among many partners in Africa, Asia and Europe, one of the grant recipients is called Insight: an organization in Ukraine dedicated to fight restrictive legislation having to do with reproduction and gender rights. They also use womens funds from Mama Cash to provide healthcare and legal counsel to bisexual, or trans women who are not given access to it by their states otherwise.
These two womens’ funds are so much more than just another social justice initiative, more people will good ideas that never come to fruition. The success of these organizations represents a victory for women across the world. If those find themselves in the poorest conditions can rise above, can prove their capability in hard work and innovation, then the rest of the repressed female population can do the same.
