Helping tribal women gain equality, self-respect
Faith in the Almighty can be a great motivating force. This rings especially true of Marija Sres, a Slovenian national who has been working with Adivasi women in Gujarat for over 30 years. However, it has not been an easy task for Marija. She had to face great odds while working with the single-minded determination to enable Adivasi women living in Dungri Garasiya of the Sabarkantha district in North Gujarat to achieve economic self-reliance and hold their heads up in society. The Hindu, 6th March 2006

Report warns malnutrition begins in cradle
Nutrition education programs for parents would do a better job than large and politically popular feeding programs in fighting the rampant malnutrition that is stunting the development of more than 100 million children worldwide, a new World Bank report says, finding that a lack of food is usually not the main cause of child malnutrition. The New York Times, 3rd March 2006

No economic growth without women's rights, UN says
The world is beginning to understand that integrating women and girls into the life of a nation is the surest path to economic growth and development, a top U.N. official told an annual meeting that analyzes the global status of women. "The world is starting to grasp that there is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women and girls," Louise Frechette, the deputy secretary-general said. Reuters, 28th February 2006

Nepal : peace messenger
Stella Tamang was always dismayed by the lowly status of women in Nepali society. She was equally moved by the plight of indigenous groups like her own Sherpa community (and the Tamang community she married into), who lacked access to education and jobs, and were far from the power structure.
Women's Feature Service

Rural women in the wired world
In this age of instantaneous electronic communication, the term "digital divide" has become standard shorthand to describe the gap between those who have access to advanced communication technologies and those who don't. International Women's Day (8 March) provides an opportunity to consider another form of digital divide - the one that separates men from women - and to look at some recent attempts to build bridges across it.
The International Development Research Centre

What is the status of Indigenous women and Indigenous feminism in Australia ?
"Why are Indigenous women not represented within the Australian Women's Movement?" writes Rochelle Jones. "Indigenous women have suffered in silence for generations against a backdrop of race, class and gender in Australian history, and yet ironically, the women's movement in Australia has increased momentum and achieved many milestones for Australian women. So as non-indigenous women have been organising and fighting for women's rights, the positioning of Indigenous women has remained stagnant."
Association for Women's Rights in Development

Violence against indigenous women a lesson to us all
" The violence and discrimination that indigenous women in Chiapas and in the city of Juárez face have similarities with the rest of the country and the world. And so I say the same as a Mexican campaign towards the elimination of violence against women says el que golpea a una, nos golpea a todas - 'You hit one, you hit us all.'"
Luisa Solano

Beijing +Ten: Women making a difference
A decade after the historic 1995 Beijing Women's Conference, where do women stand? In 2005 tens of thousands of women joined world leaders at the United Nations in New York to find out. These are the stories of women of all ages who are making a difference.
http://www.un.org/works/beijing+10/

Cos I'm Free (aka Cathy Freeman)
Cathy Freeman is famous around the world but few know the real story of her life and what motivated her to run like a champion. This film reveals her secret weapon, the inspiration that made our Golden Girl of the track fly into the record books and the hearts of all those who ever watched her run. We follow Cathy to her home in Far North Queensland, to the Commonwealth Games launch in London and VIP trips to Europe .

ABC TV , Message Stick Friday 10 March, 6:00 pm, repeated Sunday 12 March, 1:30 pm

As we celebrate International Women's Day, Caritas Australia recognises and celebrates women's contributions around the world.