World Gifts that transform women’s lives

Becky Such reflects on the charity gifts from CAFOD that particularly highlight the struggles of women living in poverty.

I should emphasise that I was raised on the idea of girl power. The Spice Girls might not have been the first to come up with the phrase, but they did instill it in my heart.

In all seriousness, women around the world live in poverty. As a girl, you are less likely to go to school and therefore learn a trade and ultimately an income.

In some cultures, if there is a choice between educating a son or daughter, a son will be chosen every time. Women are expected to stay at home and look after the family rather than contribute to the household income. They often have less rights and are more at risk in times of change in their communities.

International Women’s Day

8 March marks International Women’s Day, a day where we celebrate the achievements of women everywhere and call for further action towards women’s equality.

At CAFOD, we work all over the world helping women and girls to learn new skills and empower themselves to earn money and improve their lives. By buying one of our ethical charity gifts for women you are helping us to carry on that work and to be part of the fight for equality.

The gift of learning

Change a woman’s world highlights how much an education and the chance to earn an income can mean to a woman. Using self-help groups women are coming together to establish small businesses. Not only does this help to give a woman her own income, but it improves her sense of self-worth and can improve how other members of their community respond to women being employed.

Finding independence

The sewing kit is also an entrepreneurial gift, with an inspirational woman bringing it so much to my attention. “I couldn’t do anything. I never knew how to help myself,” were her heartbreaking words about life before her training as a seamstress.

This gift provides a basic sewing kit for a newly trained seamstress – everything they’d need to get started in their business. As someone who dabbles in arts and crafts myself it seemed like an appealing gift. I’m lucky enough to practise these skills as a hobby, but for Lucelia in Liberia this training and kit were a lifeline.

Maintaining dignity

I think pretty much all women can say they’ve been caught off guard when their period starts but they haven’t got any sanitary products. It’s embarrassing and inconvenient but we’re rarely more than minutes from getting them. For women living in refugee camps this simply isn’t the case.
With no access to sanitary products they’re unable to keep clean or easily leave the house.

This is a problem that only women will experience and something which can so easily be solved. The Period pack World Gift fulfils such a basic need but it really is essential and, I believe, resonates with women everywhere.

Stand up for women’s rights

Last, but by no means least, is a Home for life. In some places, women have no rights to their marital home. So if their husband dies, they and their children can be thrown out on the street, sometimes even by the deceased’s family.

This gift pays for legal fees to prove the widow’s right to remain in the family home with her children. A home means a roof over their heads in times of need, and the land that often comes with it is a source of food and income.

Girl power might have struck a chord with me in the 90s, but for women all over the world opportunities at equality are few and far between.

By buying one of these charity gifts, you can help women and girls in poverty around the world to realise their potential and change lives.

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