by Jennifer Prestholdt (USA) | Mar 27, 2012 | Human Rights, Motherhood, Women's Rights, World Motherhood, World Voice
Demonstrations in Morocco after the suicide of Amina Filali
Amina Filali was only 16 years old when she took her own life by swallowing rat poison. Her story has caused an outpouring of outrage and support from far beyond her small town in northern Morocco. According to reports, Amina was raped last year at the age of 15 by an older man. Instead of seeing her rapist punished for his crime, Amina was forced to marry him. A few months into an unconscionable marriage, her rapist/ husband was beating her, she told her mother. Her mother counseled her to try and bear it, according to the Moroccan daily al-Massa. Amina must have seen no way out, no future worth living. (more…)
Jennifer Prestholdt is a lawyer and the Deputy Director of The Advocates for Human Rights, a volunteer-based human rights organization that works locally, nationally and internationally. Her work in human rights takes her around the world, but she spends most of her time in Minneapolis, MN, where she lives with her children (two sons and one daughter), her husband, an elderly cat and a dwarf hamster.
As Jennifer’s kids are now all in school (1st, 4th and 6th grades), she is finally finding more time to do the things that she used to love to do, especially running, writing and knitting. Jennifer loves to travel and has had the dubious distinction of having been accidentally locked in a bathroom on five continents so far. Australia and Antarctica await!
In January 2011, Jennifer made a New Year’s Resolution to start writing about her experiences in order to share with her children the lessons learned from 15 years of work in human rights. The result is her personal blog, The Human Rights Warrior. The name comes from her son Simon, who was extremely disappointed to learn that his mother is a lawyer, not a warrior.
You can find her on her blog The Human Rights Warrior or on Twitter @Jprestholdt.
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by World Moms Blog | Mar 25, 2012 | 2012, International, Motherhood, World Moms Blog Itinerary, World Motherhood
We start off in Indonesia this week! Imagine being a single mom in need of a job, in a discriminatory job environment where uncomfortable personal questions are the norm. Tatter Scoops tells us what that’s like in this eye-opening post.
On Tuesday, we go to Minnesota for a human rights post from Jennifer Prestholdt. She talks about Amina Filali and violence against women in Morocco.
On Wednesday, we will be in Malaysia with Alison Lee, who will soon be welcoming her second child into the world! Every mom in the world has, at some point or another, dealt with sleep issues. In this post, Alison shares her experiences with us.
(more…)
World Moms Blog is an award winning website which writes from over 30 countries on the topics of motherhood, culture, human rights and social good. Over 70 international contributors share their stories from around the globe, bonded by the common thread of motherhood and wanting a better world for their children.
World Moms Blog was listed by Forbes Woman as one of the "Best 100 Websites for Women 2012 & 2013" and also called a "must read" by the NY Times Motherlode in 2013. Our Senior Editor in India, Purnima Ramakrishnan, was awarded the BlogHer International Activist Award in 2013.
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by Tara Bergman (USA) | Mar 23, 2012 | Motherhood, Tara B., USA, World Motherhood
I have two young sons. When I think about what I want for them in life, love is on top of the list.
I want them to feel the love of their family – the unconditional love of both their parents and the love that comes from the special bond of being brothers.
I want them to know what it’s like to have the love of true, life long friends who will celebrate their strengths and look past their weaknesses.
I want them to understand what it means to love themselves and everything special and unique that only their spirits bring to the world. Through this, they can reciprocate all the love that they receive.
I want them to feel love for the natural world around them.
And I want them to experience romantic love, hopefully with more positive than negative outcomes (because let’s be honest….heartbreak is part of the deal).
It’s this last part that prompts me to write today. The awakening of romantic love and sexual attraction is (more…)
Tara is a native Pennsylvanian who moved to the Seattle area in 1998 (sight unseen) with her husband to start their grand life adventure together. Despite the difficult fact that their family is a plane ride away, the couple fell in love with the Pacific Northwest and have put down roots. They have 2 super charged little boys and recently moved out of the Seattle suburbs further east into the country, trading in a Starbucks on every corner for coyotes in the backyard. Tara loves the outdoors (hiking, biking, camping). And, when her family isn't out in nature, they are hunkered down at home with friends, sharing a meal, playing games, and generally having fun. She loves being a stay-at-home mom and sharing her experiences on World Moms Network!
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by Mamawearpapashirt (Singapore) | Mar 22, 2012 | International, Motherhood, Singapore, Working Mother, World Interviews, World Moms Blog Writer Interview, World Motherhood, Writing
Where in the world do you live? And, are you from there?
I live in the tiny red dot on the map called Singapore. (It’s the dot right next to Malaysia.)
I was born here, but my ancestors (that means great-grandfather and beyond) were from China. Based on my basic understanding of the Hakka people, my dialect group (which means “guests” in Chinese), we were a bunch of nomads, so I guess you can say I’ve got the travelling genes. I constantly bug the hubby to ship us off to somewhere. Still working on it (him) though.
What language(s) do you speak?
I speak English, Mandarin Chinese, Babblese, and Wifese.
When did you first become a mother?
On that fateful day in February 2009, when suddenly (okay, not so suddenly, it took nearly 24 hours) out (more…)
June, born and bred on the sunny and sometimes rainy shores of Singapore, is a mother of two - a chatty 4 y.o. girl and a toddler boy who babbles. She works part-time as a communication consultant, and she is deeply passionate about family, writing, faith, and good old-fashioned love. She can be found on her blog, Mamawearpapashirt.
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by Mamasgotwanderlust (China) | Mar 20, 2012 | Babies, China, Cooking, Food, Health, Motherhood, Nutrition, Parenting, World Motherhood
Ever since Charlotte started eating solids, we’ve paid a great deal of attention to what goes into that tiny, growing body. Yes, we are those parents–those hippie-granola troublemakers who refuse to feed our child refined sugars, processed foods, non-organic when possible, and anything with ingredients we can’t pronounce. There is just so much crap out there masquerading as food; while we can, we’d like to keep that stuff out of Charlotte.
Since arriving in China, our food philosophy has taken on a new spin. Of course, we’ve had to adapt to local circumstances: there is no Whole Foods-type superstore nearby selling certified organic everything. Indeed, organic is a serious issue here. Official certification is very difficult to obtain. Those who do manage to are often looked at with suspicion (what did they have to do to get it?); those who don’t are unregulated and often unreliable. And it’s not just local Chinese brands and stores; Walmart was recently in hot water in China when it was discovered that their organic pork was not in fact organic. (more…)
You could say that Taryn has travel in her blood: a South African-born Canadian, Taryn has lived in Toronto, Vancouver, and Indiana, and has travelled extensively to Iceland, Israel, Italy, India, and a few places that don't begin with the letter I. After a brief stint as a
travel guide writer, where she realized that her dream job was actually a lot of work for not much pay, she gave in to the lure of a steady job (and pay cheque) and settled in Canada's beautiful capital, Ottawa.
In 2010, she embarked on her biggest adventure when her daughter Charlotte was born. A few months later, her hubby J. accepted a work assignment in Russia, and the family moved to Moscow. In 2011, Taryn accepted a work assignment of her own in Beijing, China where she currently lives. While excited about the opportunity to live in the world's biggest up-and-coming country (and to practice herMandarin skills), moving to China has meant leaving J. behind in Russia while he finishes up his work assignment before moving to Beijing this summer.
In the meantime, Taryn juggles career-dom, living in a foreign culture, and being a temporary single-mom to a spunky toddler. Taryn is also the blogger behind Mama's Got Wanderlust, where she writes about her adventures in travelling, parenting, and living abroad.
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by Mamma Simona (South Africa) | Mar 19, 2012 | Motherhood, South Africa, World Motherhood
I guess I have a slightly different perspective on South Africa because my parents emigrated from Italy to here in search of a better life for us.
In 1977 I was 8 years old. I knew nothing of Apartheid. All I knew was that Cape Town was beautiful, and we could afford a large house with a garden (as opposed to the tiny flat at the top of many, many stairs, where we’d come from).
We had a full-time nanny, one rand was worth as much as one U.S. dollar, and we lacked for nothing … except TV because back then the South African Broadcasting Television only broadcast for about 2 hours in English and 2 hours in Afrikaans every day. (Since I couldn’t understand either language at that stage, TV didn’t impact my life much!)
It’s hard for people to understand that South Africa is a very large country with 9 distinct provinces. Cape Town was spared most of the riots, police clashes and other human rights abuses which happened elsewhere in the country. We did not know what was happening at the time due to the total censorship of the media. (more…)
Mamma Simona was born in Rome (Italy) but has lived in Cape Town (South Africa) since she was 8 years old. She studied French at school but says she’s forgotten most of it! She speaks Italian, English and Afrikaans. Even though Italian is the first language she learned, she considers English her "home" language as it's the language she's most comfortable in. She is happily married and the proud mother of 2 terrific teenagers! She also shares her home with 2 cats and 2 dogs ... all rescues.
Mamma Simona has worked in such diverse fields as Childcare, Tourism, Library Services, Optometry, Sales and Admin! (With stints of SAHM in-between). She’s really looking forward to the day she can give up her current Admin job and devote herself entirely to blogging and (eventually) being a full-time grandmother!
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