KNOW YOUR RIGHTS ! Years ago I was asked by Equality Now to write a letter to His Excellency Yoweri Museveni, the President of Uganda regarding the Land Act. It seems that even though a woman’s right to property is protected under the Ugandan law, in rural areas this is abused , ignored or overlooked. The letter was written to urge His Excellency to publicly support and ensure the swift passage of the co-ownership amendment to the Land Act which would prevent women like Mariam Kabeere … [Read more...]
ADELE BUTLER – Women of Spirit: Lens of Hope
February 13, 2011 by
Lens of Hope I watched Miss Landmine Pageant, a documentary on the Documentary Channel. It was about women maimed by landmines being photographed for a pageant. One woman had her accident when she was five. She had one leg. She said that sometimes she dreams that she has two legs. She is an activist and was at the United Nations in 1995 campaigning to ban landmines. There was another woman who had no legs. The woman are in Cambodia a country known for its many landmines. Morton … [Read more...]
ADELE BUTLER – Women of Spirit: Keep Hope Alive!
February 12, 2011 by
Yes, we shall overcome—someday. I am thankful that I wasn’t living in the US while segregation and blatant racism were the norm. I cannot imagine not being able to sit wherever I wanted to on the bus or drink from any water fountain or have to go to areas that said, “For Coloreds Only”. I don’t know how I would have fared during those times. Would I have turned the other cheek or would I have stood up for my rights? I would like to think that I would have done the latter. When Jesus … [Read more...]
ADELE BUTLER – Women of Spirit: Reaching Out
February 5, 2011 by
REACHING OUT About four years ago, my boyfriend and I were passing the homeless youth shelter and we saw a young girl sitting on the steps outside. She looked hungry and tired and as if she had the whole world on her thin shoulders. She looked up and saw us. She called out to us, asking for help. The shelter was not yet open and probably not for several hours. Fortunately it was still light and the temperature was mild. My boyfriend gave her money so that she could buy something to … [Read more...]
ADELE BUTLER – Women of Spirit: No Honor in Murder
February 4, 2011 by
THERE IS NO HONOR IN MURDER I never knew that there was such a thing as "honor killing" until I learned about it from Equality Now about seven years ago. The term itself is an oxymoron. How can there be honor in killing? How could the family's honor be worth someone's life? I read of a seventeen year old Turkish woman who was murdered by her fifteen year old brother after she left the women's shelter where she had been staying. She had gone into the shelter to escape violence at home. … [Read more...]
ADELE BUTLER – Women of Spirit: Human Trafficking
February 3, 2011 by
HUMAN TRAFFICKING This is No Game I was shocked to learn that the Super Bowl is a magnet for sex trade. Apparently it is one of the biggest human trafficking events in the United States. I thought this sort of thing happened in countries where poverty is widespread. While most of America is looking forward to watching to the showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, under-age girls are lured into the dangerous world of the multimillion dollar sex trade industry. … [Read more...]
