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Impact of Disasters on Women
GUEST: Kavita Ramdas, President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women

It was almost one year ago that a terrifying Tsunami killed over 200,000 people in 12 countries in Asia and Africa. Since then, Hurricane Katrina in the US displaced over a million and killed over a thousand, Hurricane Stan hit Central America, killing hundreds and wiping out crops, and an earthquake in Pakistan killed more than 70,000. Despite the geographic and ethnic diversity of the disaster victims, one common factor has been found to tie them all together. According to the Global Fund for Women, it’s always the women who are disproportionately affected by natural disaster – for example, in the wake of natural disasters, more than 75% of displaced people are women and children. Kavita Ramdas is the President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women and co-author of a new report entitled “Caught in the Storm: The Impact of Natural Disasters on Women.”

For more information visit www.globalfundforwomen.org . Download the entire report [PDF].

Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability and Peace
GUEST: Vandana Shiva, writer, physicist, founder of “Navdanya”, author of “Earth Democracy”

The six-day World Trade Organization Ministerial in Hong Kong, China ended last Sunday with an eleventh-hour agreement entitled the “Hong Kong Declaration.” Among other things, the declaration outlines agreements on ending export subsidies in agriculture by 2013. Protestors converged en masse during the ministerial in Hong Kong to voice their opposition to the WTO’s agenda. Among those present was scientist and global justice activist Vandana Shiva. Last week, she denounced a recent World Bank report that urged the privatization of the water systems of poor countries. Water is just one of the commons Shiva argues on behalf of. Vandana Shiva has written many books, including Water Wars, Stolen Harvest, Biopiracy, and Staying Alive. She is the founder of Navdanya, a movement for biodiversity conservation and farmers’ rights and the winner of the 1993 Right Livlihood Award. In her new book, Earth Democracy, Shiva outlines principles for a future of justice, sustainability and peace.

Click here for information about Earth Democracy.

Sonali’s Subversive Thought for the Day:

“Earth democracy empowers us to create and defend our indivisible and diverse freedoms, while we engage in our particular struggles with our particular passions. Imperialism has always had global reach. Today’s movements have a planetary reach and planetary embrace. We have just begun to tap our potential for transformation and liberation. This is not the end of history, but another beginning.” — Vandana Shiva, Earth Democracy.