Kim Campbell: 19th Prime Minister, first female Prime Minister

Canada's 19th Prime Minister was also the first female PM. She was born on March 10th 1947 as Avril Phaedra Douglas Campbell. Her family moved to Vancouver after she was born and at the age of 12 her mother left her home and she decided to change her name to Kim. She attended Prince of  Wales High School where she was elected the first female class president and her interest in politics kept growing. 


 Kim Campbell is one of the leaders that helped show this world that men and women should be treated equally because we're all qualified to do anything as long as we believe in ourselves. 
I think that she was good leader despite the fact that she a female. 
Leadership has nothing to do with gender, culture or seize. It's all about the heart and work and the love for the people. That is what makes you a good leader. 
I believe that Kim was strong and had faith in herself that she can achieve her dreams. She defeated Jean Charest, a long time conservative and highly respected member of the cabinet in the leadership race and on June 25th 1993 she became Canada's first female Prime Minister. 

I believe that she was a great leader, not because she believed and had faith but because she brought change to the Canadian history. 
There are good leaders and great leaders. Great leaders are the ones that bring change for the good of all people, both men and women. 
This historical fact of Kim being the first female Prime Minister has put courage into other women that have interests in politics. Now they have faith and courage that they're able to become great leaders even though they're women. 

Anyone can be a leader as long as she/he believes and have faith that she/he will succeed. Kim was not intimidated by the men in the parliament that were running for the elections. Her story inspired me to always fight for equality.

Links:
http://www.canadahistory.com/sections/politics/pm/kimcampbell.htm
http://www.kimcampbell.com/

Indira Gandhi. 

Indira Gandhi Born on November 19th in 1917 was the first Prime minister of the Republic of India for three consecutive terms from 1966 to 1977 and for a fourth term form 1980 until her assassination in 1984, which is a total of fifteen years. She was India's first female Prime Minister.

 In 1999, she was voted the greatest women of the past thousand years in a poll carried by BBC news.

 Indira is one of the most inspiring   women in world’s history. She inspires me and reminds me that in life, anyone can be a leader. Most of the time when you hear the word <leader> you think about an intelligent man in a suit and in good shape, but women can be leaders as well.

Females can be as good of a leader as males. I think that Indira was a very brave woman and had confident that she would be able to lead her country. Not everyone can be as brave as she was especially in a country such as India that gave so little opportunities to females during those days.

I also think that all women should look up to her and take her example. She took her place in her country and fought for women’s rights. Leadership has nothing to do with gender. In places like China, Asia, women are not as important as men. Men are preferred than women when it comes to everything.  Women are rarely permitted to be leaders  in most places in Asia. Although this is true and terrible, Indira Gandhi, being a women living in India, Asia, stood up for her rights. Therefore I think that women can be leaders as well. They should be allowed and given the opportunity to lead, guide and protect their country.

I believe that if people work together, they can make this world a better place and prove to people that women are as important as men and can do incredible things. Gender shouldn’t stop you from being what you want to be. If you’re a girl and want to be a Prime Minister like Indira, go ahead and keep believing in yourself because one day you will succeed as long as you keep tackling life. 

Links:

http://www.biography.com/people/indira-gandhi-9305913

http://www.biographyonline.net/politicians/indian/indira-gandhi.html

Women's World Cup FIFA.

Now we all know about world cup FIFA that recently happened on June 12 to July 13 2014 and took place in Brazil. For those that are not soccer fans might not know exactly what I’m talking about, I’ll give you a brief summery. Every four years, countries all around the world come together in one place and compete against each other to win the world cup FIFA. This year in the finals, Germany won (1-0) against Argentina.

Some of you might not know this, but there’s also women’s world cup. It is the same event that I just recently explained except that it’s for women. Meaning that, not only males get to represent their country but women as well. The president of women's World Cup FIFA in 1989 is Joao Havelange. He came up with the idea and it ivolved in less that a dacade. It gave everyone the same opportunities to play sports because not only men are good in sports. The first World Cup for women took place in 1991 in China. When it comes to sports countries, such as Canada and Congo, both allow men and women get to represent their country.

 A lot of countries don’t give the same opportunities that males get to females when it comes to education or Jobs, but when it comes to sports, things are different. I love sports myself and I think that everyone should be allowed to play sports that they’re interested in. Women deserve the same opportunities as males because winning is not only for males.

FIFA’s not the only sport event that allows women to participate. There’s also the Olympics. Olympics started a long time ago in Greece. Countries all around the world participate every 2 years. There’s summer and winter Olympic Games in which both male and female get to participate. MY opinion is that everyone should be allowed to have fun and participate in sport events and represents their country. During the Olympics that recently passed the Canadian male and female both won the gold medal in the finals. This proves that everyone’s a winner and it’s not gender that defines who’s a winner and who’s not.

I think that this world has made a big step towards women’s rights and equality. One of the ways that we can change the world is through sports. People come together as one in sports. I don’t know if most of you have heard rumors that World Cup FIFA wants to end racism. I think that if sports can try to end racism, it can also bring us to gender equality. 

Link:
http://www.active.com/soccer/articles/history-of-the-fifa-women-s-world-cup

                                             What Should You Wear?

In one school located in Montreal, Muslim girls were forced to wear wigs on their hijabs. They were not allowed to show their hijabs during school time. 

When I read this I asked myself why do they have to make these girls go through this? In Canada, we're all have the right to follow which ever religion we want, yet this school forces girls to be like everyone else. This is hypocrisy. I think that we should all be free to wear what we want, especially if it has some religious background or explanation. Muslims wear hijabs to cover their hair simply because it cannot be seen by men or boys. The Muslim girls, for some families, have the choice to either wear a hijab at the age of nine. They can choose weather they want to or not. 

Simple Facts About the Hijab.   
The hijab is a headcovoring worn by Muslim women. It covers the hair, the ears, neck and chest. It is typically worn with modest but modern attire. Hijabs are available in variety of colours and styles allowing women to match their clothing and the occasion. Women choose the wear the hijab for a variety of reasons. Some may wear it because it is required by law in their country;others choose to wear it as a matter of religion and personal comfort.  

I honestly think that what the school did to these Muslim girls is unfair and wrong. It reflects a very bad image on our country. These girls should be free to cover their hair if they want, for in their religion it is considered as a sin if they just decide to take it off. Everyone should be free to follow their religious customs and shouldn't be forced to look like others. These girls should have to worry about someone telling them not to wear as their religion tells them to, especially if they live in Canada.  We all have our opinions on this but mine is that we should all respect each other and embrace  others differences. Everyone has the right to live according to their Koran, Bible or whatever religion they follow. We might all have different values and opinions, but we're all the same and we should treat each other like brothers and sisters. 

Links:
http://internationalhumanrightslaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Listening-to-the-voices-of-the-hijab.pdf

http://motherhood.modernmom.com/wearing-hijab-13040.html

                                              Same job, same salary.
It is no lie that women are paid less money than men even though they're both doing the same job. Here in Canada, women can only paid the same amount of money as men if they're working for the government. If a women does not work for the government, she simply does not get the same salary as men even though she has the same qualifications required as men. 


This is a big problem around the world and it bothers me very much. I don't like the fact that women are not paid the same amount of money simply because they are women. My opinion on this is that women deserve to be paid equally. 
They need the money as much as anybody. I think that bosses give men a much higher salary than women, because they are the heads of their family and they need to support the family. Although this might be the case, there's a lot of single mothers out there that struggle to make a living. They sometimes work two jobs because one job simply cannot pay them enough money so they struggle with paying bills and can hardly stay under the roof. It is not fair that women have to go through this. They deserve to be paid equally because they work as hard as men. Gender shouldn't be defining how much money you get paid because it's wrong to be sexist. 

Women are as strong and qualified as men to do the work so they should also be worthy to receive the same amount of money as men. Work is not only for men, it's for women as well. Therefore, money should also be for both genders. A women is as capable as a men to supporting her family but she can only do so if she's paid equally. She also needs that money to pay the bills, buy food, and everything else. People should be paid by their works, not by their gender. Gender does not define how hard you can work or how qualified you are. Some women can work twice as hard as men but yet, they still get a lower salary than them. This is not fair and things need to change. We're all made equal.

Links:
http://www.payequity.gov.on.ca/en/about/pubs/genderwage/wageg
ap.php
http://www.canadianlabour.ca/action-center/together-fairness-works/equal-pay-fair

                                               Abortion: Morality vs Law
In developed countries such as the United States and Canada, abortion is legal. This law is gives women the freedom to chose whether they want to keep the unexpected pregnancy or not. Abortion is performed all over the world whether the country had made it legal or not. Back in the 1880s in the United States abortion was already legal. The ability to obtain a safe abortion depended upon a women's economic situation, her race and where she lived. Rich women were able to receive the proper performance of abortion, but it was a different story for those that were pour. Most of the times it was the coloured women that performed dangerous abortions that might lead to death because of their finances and colour. They would insert knitting needles, or coat hangers into the uterus and would sometimes swallow strong drugs and chemicals. . There are clinics and hospitals that benefit women by performing legal and safe abortion. 

Now, I was very chocked when I read this and wondered how people live after killing their own fetus, that was supposed to become a human being. I honestly think that abortion is not a good decision to make. If you think that you're not qualified to be a mother, adoption is always an option.

My personal opinion on this subject is that it is wrong to have an abortion.  It is morally wrong to kill a human being whether it's still an fetus or not. We all have different points of views when it comes to this subject but, my opinion is that abortion should be illegal because it is simply wrong.  I understand that some women are not willing to put up with the work that it requires to care of a baby and they're not willing to go through the pain but if you were to put yourself into the baby's situation, maybe it might help you keep the baby. The only reason why we're here is because our parents specifically our moms decided to keep us till we're given birth. I think that abortion is simply not a wise decision, it's a selfish decision

Link:
https://www.google.ca/search?
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-03-14/news/8701200557_1_abortion-unwanted-children-teenage-pregnancy-rate
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1987-03-14/news/8701200557_1_abortion-unwanted-children-teenage-pregnancy-rate

Jailed for ''moral crimes''

The number of women and girls jailed by Afghan authorities has increased by 50%. These girls and women are jailed for ''moral crimes''. The number increased from 400 in October 2011 to 600 in May 2013. Women in Afghanistan suffer from domestic violence and are forced to marry people they are not willing to marry. Most women decide to flee their homes because of their abusive husbands. 

Running away is not a crime under Afghan law, but the Afghan Supreme Court has told judges to regard as criminals women who flee their homes. 

 '' Four years after the adoption of a law on violence against women and 12 years Taliban rule, women are still imprisoned for being victims of forced marriage, domestic violence and rape,''. said Brad Adams.

 Women can hardly hold jobs, attend school and are not even allowed to leave their household unless accompanied by a male relative. The Afghan government needs to be tough on the women abusers instead  blaming women who are crime victims.

This was very shocking to me because I cannot imagine myself living with someone I've never wanted to marry . I don't know about you but I think that this is one of the reasons why the rate of rape is so high in Afghanistan. Men will certainly take advantage of that law because as long as there's no four male witnesses to protest against the rapist. I personally think that the law in Afghanistan needs to change and they should stop treating women like animals. I think that the law needs to make it legal for women  to divorce their abusive husbands. Jailing them is not the solution to the problem, as a matter of fact the problem is in the law. My opinion is that women in all countries should have the rights as everyone. I believe that women in Afghanistan should be treated in the same way as males.  Women shouldn't have to live like this. No one should be forced to marry anyone, no one should be forced to live with an abusive husband ,and no one should be jailed for fleeing from their home. 

 We should all have a choice to choose what we want and who we want. It is our human right to feel safe and secured to in our country and not have to be accompanied by a male relative. 

They should be allowed to be educated and maybe the country will change. As we all know that education is one of the most powerful thing that can change the world. Afghanistan needs more education and that will help them understand the value of women.

Links:

http://articles.latimes.com/2013/may/21/world/la-fg-afghan-women-20130522

https://www.google.ca/search?q=Afghan+women%27s+rights+in+peril,+group+says&biw=1440&bih=775&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=ezdEVPGrNpefyATp9oLwAw&ved=0CAgQ_AUoAw