Now imagine if you are a woman, brought up having to obey the family dictum and with a limited circle of interaction. You may be seen as a burden to an impoverished family, yet have to bear the weight of caring for its members.

Imagine now you have summoned the courage to step up before a panel of local officials, all older than you, all male, and perhaps of another class and caste. What will you say?

Majeda Begum Shiru says that in her community of Patiya in the south eastern Chittagong district of Bangladesh, her fellow citizens are not afraid to speak up.

"The women say, 'I am unable to send my child to school. How do you plan to solve that problem?' Because of these kinds of questions being asked, [the officials] must answer to the public directly."

It was not always this way. Shiru herself rarely used to go into government offices. "Even if I did, I felt uncomfortable," she says. A local NGO, Bangladesh Nari Progati Sangha (BNPS), with support from USAID, provided public speaking and leadership training to Shiru and many other women, strengthening their confidence and ability to engage in public.

Today Shiru has become one of the locally-elected officials she used to fear.

Shiru is a leader in the District Public Policy Forum (see her pictured right with her with her fellow forum leaders), where citizens and civil society groups engage with local members of Parliament, departments of education and health, and local government officials to discuss issues of importance to the community. These forums in Bangladesh are supported by a USAID and Asia Foundation project called "Promoting Democratic Institutions and Practices", and in the Patiya District by USAID's local partner BNPS. The process of having regular forums such as these raises awareness of government's responsibilities among citizens, and can lead to reduced corruption or abuse of government funds when Parliamentarians are more connected to the issues the community faces on a day-to-day basis.

"Women can now speak out and voice out their problems directly. The MP [promises] his community that their concerns will be discussed in the house of Parliament," Shiru explains.

Strong women like Majeda Begum Shiru are using the forums to address the high rates of maternal mortality and primary school drop-outs in their area. Recently, during a District Public Policy Forum (DPPF) meeting in Patiya, the group Shiru leads to support the local hospital successfully advocated for adding an additional doctor to the gynecology ward and improvements to the ambulance. In response to calls from Shiru and the community to improve the education system, the local school will soon be providing breakfast and lunch for the students on a trial basis, in an effort to encourage better attendance.

"Whenever there is a school gathering, or any sort of general gathering in the area, there are a large number of women present. We speak out to make these pressing issues known," says Shiru. "It is only after I joined the DPPF that I found out new ways to empower women. I saw that to acquire [government] funds, we had to exert a lot of pressure to get it."

USAID invested in long-term skills development in women in the "Promoting Democratic Institutions and Practices" Project to ensure they can share their concerns and opinions regarding health and education needs for themselves and their families in public meetings well into the future.

At the Patiya District Public Policy Forum in July 2012, the convener Pankaj Chakroborti said, "Citizens, they are aware of their rights and thus can demand for better treatment, so the scenario is slowly changing. The authorities at all levels, in all sectors, are becoming more proactive."

Shiru believes this will continue. "BNPS has opened our eyes about our rights and place in the community, we have learned how to speak up for ourselves," she says. "We will continue to do so long after this project has expired."

In recent years, the US government launched policy reforms that make US foreign aid more accountable to you and local leaders like Majeda Begum Shiru.

Aid works best when it supports local actors to take action and change the circumstances which place or keep them or their fellow citizens in poverty—supporting them to build a dream, build a business, support their family, or help their community.

That's why Oxfam America is working to deepen the US government's commitment to making aid more effective. They can do so by putting more US aid dollars directly in the hands of people like Majeda Begum Shiru.

Read more stories at: www.oxfamamerica.org/aidworks/

Note: Oxfam America doesn't take federal funds, but we do support effective development programs. In 2012, the Aid Effectiveness Team conducted research to highlight effective uses of the 1% of foreign aid the U.S. government spends on poverty reduction and other life-saving assistance. The people featured in this series are not necessarily receiving direct assistance from Oxfam.

"El Salvador is a country with one of the highest rates of femicide (the killing of women) in the world, according to the United Nation’s Population Fund,” said Carolina Castrillo, director of Oxfam America’s Central America, Mexico, and Caribbean regional office. In fact, over the past three years, the number of femicides in El Salvador has increased from 28 to 46 a month.

That is one reason why, on Nov. 25, legislators voted to approve (by a 75-9 margin) the Special Integral Law for a Life Free of Violence for Women. "The penalty for femicide will be between 30 and 50 years of imprisonment," said Mariela Pinto, chair of the Committee for Family, Women and Children’s Affairs in the legislative assembly. The new law also provides penalties—such as fines and jail sentences—for other crimes, such as pornography, psychological abuse, and negative or hateful messages.

Beyond penalization: prevention

An important and innovative aspect of this new law is that it addresses gender-based violence from a prevention perspective and broadens the definition beyond domestic violence. (Gender-based violence also can occur in public spaces, workplaces, etc.) Effective January 1, 2012, the law will be binding in the public sphere, such as ministries and the media. This means government institutions, such as the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Health, as well the Public Attorney’s office and the National Prosecutor’s office will be bound by law to do their part in the prevention of violence against women and children.

"Some institutions already are taking steps in this direction," says Mélida Guevara, program coordinator for Oxfam America’s gender program in the region. "For our Campaign for the Prevention of Gender Violence [an initiative of Oxfam America in collaboration with nine Salvadoran organizations], the Ministry of Education is a very important ally, in incorporating gender-based violence and its prevention within school curricula.”

“We also signed an agreement with the Sub-Ministry of Local Development,” she continues. “This coming year, we will bring theater and performance art, as well as training in basic gender concepts and the prevention of gender-based violence, to communities within which the ministry already works. But it takes much more coordination effort and work to change habits, roles, and beliefs. If we talk about a culture of prevention, we talk about changing the way we have been doing things for decades, even centuries. And that entails a long process, in which we all have to do our share.”

Two points of view included in one law

The new law is a product of two different proposals, one of which the female assembly members authored. These members participated in an intensive certificate course on gender-based violence, another initiative of the Campaign for the Prevention of Gender Violence. The Feminist Alliance, an alliance of several Salvadoran feminist organizations in El Salvador, authored the other proposal. The assemblywomen’s proposal stressed prevention; the proposal from the Feminist Alliance stressed penalization. The proposals complemented each other and came to make one multi-faceted law—a major victory for Salvadorans.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” said Guevara. “The Campaign’s certificate course for the assemblywomen, which resulted in the proposal, dates from 2008. It required constant work with the assemblywomen and their advisors from all the different parties. First, the women themselves had to be sensitized and find each other in a cause that goes beyond ideology. Then, as the course went on, we could see them become more and more committed, and start to advocate for gender equity as part of all the government bodies in which they take part.”

Over, the coming year, Oxfam America and its local partners will be among many civil society organizations working on a widespread education effort to teach Salvadorans, civil society, and government players about the law’s contents and the sort of conditions that need to be created to make effective implementation possible.

"This study will be an especially useful tool to Louisiana legislators, activists and philanthropists because it provides an evidence-based portrait of living conditions in the state. It looks at our health, our education and our economic status, leading to important conclusions about how we must proceed to create a better Louisiana that is characterized by communities of opportunity," said Flozell Daniels Jr., President and CEO of the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation. "The report makes it clear that we cannot forge ahead while leaving so many people behind. It is not only unjust; it is also ineffective."

"A Portrait of Louisiana" is the second state-specific report produced by the authors of The Measure of America: American Human Development Report 2008-2009 since its release last summer. It applies the American Human Development Index—a single measure of well-being for all Americans based on indicators in three key areas: health, education and income—to life in Louisiana. Using U.S. government statistics on longevity, educational attainment and enrollment, and earnings, the American Human Development Report revealed where America is today and set a benchmark against which we will be able to assess where we are tomorrow. In countries around the world where similar studies have been done, Human Development Index findings have proven that strategic investments in health, education and employment boost people's well-being as well as national prosperity.

Some surprising findings of "A Portrait of Louisiana" include the following:

• Women in Louisiana live longer than men and have higher educational levels, yet earn an average of $16,000 less per year.
• The average life span for African Americans in Louisiana today (72.2 years) is shorter than that of Colombia, Vietnam and Venezuela. The average life span of an African American in New Orleans is 69.3 years, nearly as low as North Korea.
• Whites in Louisiana have wages and salaries on par with those African Americans earning the most. The median earnings for whites ranges from $25,000 to $37,000. For African Americans the same range is from $13,000 to $25,000.
• The 6.6% unemployment rate in Louisiana is well below the national average of 9.4%.

"This report explores actions needed to build an infrastructure of opportunity so that all in Louisiana can be productive citizens and reach their full potential," said Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-author of both this report and the American Human Development Report. "Doing so is critical to the economic growth and future competitiveness of Louisiana in the knowledge-based global marketplace of tomorrow," added co-author Kristen Lewis.

"In Louisiana, where we work with 16 state and local organizations such as the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, this report clearly illustrates the conditions residents were struggling with even prior to the hurricanes of 2005—limited access to education, lower incomes, and shorter lives—and argues for a comprehensive solution for recovery," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, president of Oxfam America, which helped to fund the report with the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation and the Foundation for the Mid-South. "And it comes at a crucial time, given the financial challenges facing the state and nation, to help policymakers prioritize how to use scarce funds."

"A Portrait of Louisiana," like the American Human Development Report, was published by the Social Science Research Council. Go to measureofamerica.org for the full text of the report and interactive maps of Louisiana.

However, we must also soberly assess the challenges yet before Louisiana. This report paints an often troubling picture of long-standing human disparities, some of which have been exacerbated by natural/man-allowed disaster and the global economic crisis. The report's Human Development (HD) Index is a user-friendly method of comparing the condition of communities. This analysis has great potential to guide policy-making processes and to support data-driven thinking that moves beyond the assumptions of historical parochialism.

This report was developed by the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation (LDRF) in partnership with Oxfam America and other organizations committed to fully recovering the lives of Gulf Coast citizens.

The domestic violence bill, championed by a coalition of women's organizations, seeks to make domestic violence a crime, calls for increased penalties for offenders, and places an obligation on the state to assist victims.

"This is a very important step to protect women from violence and ensure that this is seen as a public crime and not just a private affair," said Professor Isabel Casimiro, president of the board of the Women's Forum and a member of the commission that drafted the bill. "Hospitals, courts, and the police will also have a duty to act and help victims of domestic violence," she said.

"Our research shows that many cases of domestic violence are not reported and there is often no action when they are reported. As a result, women have no protection or support at present. An important aspect of the proposed law is that anyone, not only the victim, can report a case of domestic violence," said Casimiro.

At present there is no law that specifically covers domestic violence in Mozambique and it is currently dealt with as assault under the 19th century penal code inherited from when Mozambique was a Portuguese colony.

Since 2001, Oxfam has supported the Women's Coalition that has pushed for legal reform to advance the rights of women in Mozambique. The coalition played a key role in lobbying for the 2004 Family Law which provides for a wide range of women's rights. The six organizations that make up the coalition continue to support the implementation of the new laws and bring awareness of the legal rights they provide to women and girls throughout the country.

"This is a great achievement for the women of Mozambique," said Michael Chimedza, Oxfam America's program officer in Mozambique. "It shows that our partners have become strong actors in pushing legal reform that promotes the rights of women, as this process took them a shorter time than the Family Law."

The bill was passed unanimously and will now be considered by a committee before a final vote in parliament in mid-July.

The ambassadors' message: Worldwide, it's women who often bear the brunt of the effects of climate change, including more frequent and severe floods, droughts, and hurricanes. The US must invest now in adaptation projects, like elevated flood-proof houses and drought-resistant seeds, to help women and families build their resilience to these new and heightened risks.

"It's important to talk about the cost-effective nature of investing in the world's most vulnerable populations, both for their stability and for global security," said Sisters on the Planet Ambassador the Hon. Barbara Lawton, lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. "Whether it's women and families in the US, in Sudan, or in the Arctic Circle... our destinies are linked."

A diverse group

Joining Lawton on the Congressional visits were Linda Adams, secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency; Elizabeth Becker, journalist and author; Rev. Dr. Miriam Burnett, president of the Resource and Promotion of Health Alliance, Inc.; Dr. Kristie Ebi, human health author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Rachel Larson, executive director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility; Sharon Hanshaw, executive director of Coastal Women for Change; and Mary Wilson, president of the League of Women Voters.

Oxfam's Judith Brackley, a member of the event planning team, said the participants reflect a diverse group of more than 25 Sisters on the Planet Ambassadors, including business leaders, artists, university presidents, and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate. (Read a full list of Sisters on the Planet ambassadors.)

"Though they come from different backgrounds, these are all women of influence, who can speak on behalf of women around the world—many of whom have no voice or access to seats of power," said Brackley.

Finding common ground

As a result of the ambassadors' visits, 10 members of Congress agreed to sponsor an upcoming bipartisan Congressional resolution on women and climate change. Others pledged to support international adaptation funding in future US climate legislation.

The ambassadors particularly targeted their efforts to women leaders. Representative Anna Eshoo, Democrat of California, joined them for a question and answer session over dinner, while Representative Doris O. Matsui, Democrat of California, signed on as the newest Sisters on the Planet Ambassador.

Brackley said the ambassadors will play an ongoing role as spokeswomen for Oxfam's climate change campaign. Many came away from the event with new connections to one another and new ideas for spreading the word among constituents.

Burnett, a physician and minister, talked about Sisters on the Planet the following Sunday morning—International Women's Day—on her satellite radio talk show targeting the African-American community.

"When I look at climate change and poverty—all the things Sisters on the Planet talks about—I've seen that in the work I've been doing here in the US. When I see the droughts that are occurring where they use trickle irrigation, and I turn around and look at drought in farmland in middle Georgia, I see common ground," Burnett said.

Join the effort: Take the Sisters on the Planet pledge.