In order to have a better tomorrow, we must educate ourselves. The more knowledge and understanding we have about a topic, the better we can act. Understanding our human rights and how they affect the world is important when it comes to being a bigger voice for those that speak in whispers.
Guest speaker Nazanin Boniadi recently attended to the University of Utah’s Barbara L. & Norman C. Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy to speak on the subject of amnesty and human rights in a talk titled “Breaking Barriers for Women and Girls”. Nazanin Boniadi, wh is a human rights activist, the Amnesty International spokesperson, and an actress, was born in Tehran, Iran, and raised in London. She moved to the U.S, attended University of California at Irvine, obtained her bachelors degree in biological science with honors, and began her acting career in 2006. Nazanin has been with amnesty international for 7 years, and from a very young age she knew she wanted to create change and make the world a better place.
Amnesty International is a grassroots global human rights organization, with over 7 million members worldwide who work to ensure that everyone has access to their rights. Nazanin talks about how Amnesty International works, and what we can to do help the cause. She is right when she says “we can’t defend what we don’t know”. That’s why it is important to educate ourselves on what Amnesty International is, and what they do.
For many women and girls, abuse and discrimination goes unnoticed. In Iran, for example, a women’s voice in the law is counted as half as valuable as a man’s. A women can receive lashes is she goes out without her hijab. In El Salvador, the total abortion ban is so severe that even women who have had miscarriage have been branded criminals. In places like Burkina Faso, women don’t have any access to information about their own bodies, they don’t know how pregnancy happens or about their menstrual cycle because they lack fundamental access to education and information. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, thousands of women and girls are survivors of rape as a weapon of war from the decade’s long conflict.
These are examples of how human rights are being violated, and in cases like these, our collective voice is the one that counts for these women. Amnesty International does two things as Nazanin puts it, “1) Changes laws that need to be changed. 2) Enforces laws that exists but aren’t being executed.” An amnesty campaign helps release prisoners of consciousness; this is one way to raise awareness. Influence others to help, keep discussions open. Talk about human rights, what it means to girls and women. What are issues that they face, and how does amnesty work? One voice can be the beginning of change, as Nazanin says “A thirst for a better tomorrow”, this I believe to be true. Amnesty’s mission is to build a world in which all people enjoy their rights, and they achieve that when we raise our collective voice. You can be the change with a very simple start: sign a petition, the more names, the more voices. Go to http://www.amnestyusa.org and let your voice be heard. The Change starts with us.