“Being born female is a health hazard, at times a fatal one.”

“Every two seconds, somewhere in the world, eight babies are born, about half of them girls. Some 81% will live in poor countries. The hard truths are that most women in the world who are giving birth today are poor and illiterate, with little access to health care; that most girls in our world will face discrimination, poverty, unequal access to education and health care, and unequal pay for equal work. And about a third of women giving birth today will face violence at the hands of a partner, a violation of human rights that all too often happens in ‘small places, close to home, so small and so close that they cannot be seen on the maps of the world.’ Drawing from many sources, including as careful work as possible by various multinational, governmental, and nongovernmental agencies, researchers and officials have no doubt that in no society today, including our own, do women enjoy the same opportunities as men.”

-From Outrage to Courage: Women Taking Action for Health and Justice, by Anne Firth Murray