How to Reverse That “Perverse Cosmic Myopia”

Guest blog today by Jane Roberts, cofounder 34 Million Friends of the United Nations Population Fund and author of the book “34 Million Friends of the Women of the World”. Though written in present and future tense terms, the post reminds us that we can rewrite the history of women’s global economic and reproductive subjugation.

The term PERVERSE COSMIC MYOPIA (PCM) was used by David Brooks in a New York Times column on March 20, 2009 which intimated that the world economic and financial crisis was so bad that President Obama needed to concentrate his attention on this single tiger sinking its teeth into the world’s neck and forego at least for now health care, energy, immigration, and education.

To me PCM is a fitting term for only one all encompassing area of concern. Gender inequality, the neglect of women’s and girls’education, health, economic empowerment, and human rights, and the coming 9.1 billion people on the planet by 2050, fighting over resources and for survival, and living on a planet with a down-spiraling environment, now that, and only that is COSMIC!

Hillary Clinton at her Senate confirmation hearings: Of particular concern to me is the plight of women and girls who comprise the majority of the world’s unhealthy, unschooled, unfed, and unpaid.

Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary General of the United Nations: In women the world has the most significant but untapped potential for development and peace.

INTENTIONING

Sex, Power, Pandemics, and How Women
Will Take The Lead for (Everyone’s) Good

The new book from Gloria Feldt about the future, taking the leadership lessons learned from this disruption and creating a better world for all through the power of intention.

Buy Now

Stephen Lewis, former U.N. ambassador to Africa for AIDS: I challenge you to enter the fray against gender inequality. There is no more honorable or productive calling. There is nothing of greater import in the world. All roads lead from women to social change.

How perverse to deprive girls, who will be the givers and keepers of life, of an equal welcome into the world, of food, education, and health care!

How perverse to marry girls off at 13 or 14 thereby cutting off all their choices for later in life and terrifying many of them with sexual intercourse and childbearing!

How perverse to let over 500,000 women a year die as a complication of pregnancy or childbirth!

How perverse to tolerate the deaths of 9.2 million children under the age of 5 every year, forty percent of them dying in their first month due to the ill health of the mother during pregnancy and/or post-partum!

How utterly perverse to tolerate at least 40 million abortions in the world very year representing twenty percent of the 200 million pregnancies! The family planning which has been promised in U. N. human rights documents has simply not been forthcoming. Fully half of these abortions are illegal and dangerous resulting every year in 68,000 deaths and over 5 million serious injuries, hemorrhages, and infections. And behind every abortion is an erectile functioning you know what which hasn’t made sure that any resulting baby would be enthusiastically welcome!

How myopic that the world’s governments spend more money on arms than on education and health!

How myopic that in the 21st century gender equality is not the order of the day for all activities which pertain to civil society, especially in all government decision making and in all peace negotiations and peace making!

How cosmic will be the implications of 9.1 billion people on the planet in the next 40 years all wanting a decent life? VERY COSMIC! If you think things are getting ugly now, just wait.

We can smile though at a few developments in this country. The Obama Administration has released $50 million to the United Nations Population Fund. This puts us once again on the side of the world’s women. (During the Bush Administration a total of $244 million was withheld. That is one of the reasons 34 Million Friends will keep going and going.)

Melanne Verveer, after being confirmed by the Senate, will be at the State Department as Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues. This is change we can believe in.

The Obama Administration has recommended an eighteen percent increase in the US-AID allocation for reproductive health. He does know and he does understand.

President Obama’s rescinding of the Global Gag Rule will mean more family planning, better reproductive health, and fewer abortions worldwide.

But worldwide there is still perverse cosmic myopia about the centrality of women to any chance for a decent future.

But you can reverse the PERVERSE COSMIC MYOPIA by becoming one of 34 Million Friends of the United Nations Population Fund. GOT ONE DOLLAR? GO FOR IT!