Return to the War on Poverty

I think that one of the reasons why we have not heard a coherent and reasonable "War on Poverty" from the administration is because it would mean dealing with gender issues that they would rather not talk about. The Right seems to get really queasy when it comes to dealing with gender based discrimination, even though they are more than willing to play that card if it suits them (the Dole Senatorial race here in North Carolina was a prime example of that). Likewise, I think that is one of the main reasons, sublimimally, why they continue to refuse to address issues like affordable health care, day care, and increased minimum wages because the majority of people it would help are women. Now, maybe I'm way out on a limb here, but I don't think I am.

All of that being said, it's interesting to see what the UN is saying about improving conditions across the globe.

Only greater rights for women can end poverty, warns UN

There are some staggering statistics in this article. For example

* 500,000 women die in childbirth

* 600 million women are illiterate

* One in three women around the world is likely to suffer physical, sexual or
other abuse in her lifetime, usually at the hands of a family member or
someone she knows. Half of the sexual assaults in the world are on girls of
15 or younger.

One would hope that with some international leadership and targeted investment in social infrastructure that the world could start to deal with some of the myraid of problems across the globe. If we are really serious about improving economic conditions in many developing nations, then wouldn't this make a reasonable investment?

(cross posted at Just a Bump on the Beltway )