Food for thought

This week I was told by a woman that there was no need for feminism anymore and that I should get off my high horse.  I think the following statistics published in the Open University magazine Society Matters show that the international feminist movement still needs all the support it can get:

• 70 per cent of the 1.2 billion people in the world living in poverty are women and children
• 85 million girls in the world do not attend school, compared to 45 million boys
• 700 million women in the worid live without adequate food, water, sanitation, health care, and education
• 67 per cent of illiterate adults in the world are women
• 12 of the 191 countries in the United Nations are led by women
• 62 per cent of unpaid family workers are f emale
• l in 19,000 women in the UK die in childbirth; in Ethiopia l in 7 women die in childbirth
• Women in the UK have an average life expectancy of 81; in Swaziland it is 39
• Women in full-time occupations in Britain earn 17 per cent on average less than men
• Women in part-time occupations in Britain earn 42 per cent on average less than men

As a community, we at Conker Exchange hope to not only support each other, but to extend that support to women around the world who need more than a listening ear. We hope to raise funds to contribute to charities that are specifically aimed at helping women get better healthcare; those that promote education; those that support women to support themselves financially and others that we feel fit our ideals. (See "Projects" on the main site, and watch for new banners). One day Conkers will be out there doing the work themselves, too! To raise the funds, we have already started a number of schemes. Amazon do an associates scheme, whereby if you buy from them via our books pages, we get a small percentage of the sale at no cost to you. We will be looking for other associate schemes, too. We are going to be selling some great educational wooden toys soon, and if you're interested in starting your own business and selling them, we will offer you a discount. Other products are being developed by Conker members and will be available shortly.