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From Outrage to Courage, which is based on courses that Global Fund's founding President Anne Firth Murray teaches at Stanford University, describes the unhealthy and unjust situation of women in poorer countries and what they are doing about it. The book highlights more than one hundred examples of women's groups working on these issues, almost all of which are groups that have been supported by The Global Fund for Women.
“Women's health is so much more than a medical issue; it is cultural, political, economic, and—above all—an issue of social justice,” writes Anne. She emphasizes that women are the ultimate agents of change on the enormous range of issues affecting their health. They do this through organizing, fighting for policy change and implementation, and ensuring that women have access to crucial information and resources.
The huge lack of opportunities and discrimination that women face because of their gender are chronologically explored in the book. From discrimination exercised prior to birth in the form of sex selective abortion, female infancticide; unequal access to health care, opportunities and resources as young and adolescent girls; the continued risk of violence (compounded by conflicts and wars), abuse and diseases; the consequences of working in the global labor market that devalues women's work to the difficulty of ageing in a sexist world, Anne's book is a one-stop resource that indexes the patriarchal reality of the gendered world.
Anne calls upon the expertise and unique vantage point that she has as the founding president of the Global Fund for Women to document the subtle but sure shifts the global women's movement has made this century. She shows how the women’s movement has moved from a "development approach" that prioritized women's access to economic and social systems to a more holistic acknowledgement that ensuring women's human rights is pivotal to any socio-political transformation.
Anne chronicles how it is ultimately grassroots women’s groups that have stood up to address issues impacting their health and that of their communities. Her book is an inspiring read, because while she faithfully documents the severe and often depressing socio-economic and political reality on the ground in several countries, she balances it skillfully with inspiring examples of women’s groups in every chapter. Many of these incredible groups are Global Fund grantees.
Web Resources:
Buy a copy of the book
Outrage to Courage web site
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