!!Of Recent Concern!!

Hey all you lovely ladies!

Recently, I was reading an article on Huffington Post about free trade agreements between Canada and India; and it got me thinking about one important thing in particular – what this would mean for us women.
The author did a wonderful job of outlining all the ways in which free trade between Canada and India would benefit both nations economically and politically. He also spoke about what this meant for children – forced child labor, trafficking, buying/selling of children etc., and he made some very valid points along the way.

• “Making child labor illegal fails to recognize that poverty is what drives the practice and that banning it is equivalent to sweeping the problem under the rug”


• “What is more, because many families need their children to work in order to sustain themselves, forcing an end to the practice will only make them worse off”

These are just some of my questions to you all:
Say for example it was any two countries, how could we as women find solutions to these probable consequences as per the free trade agreement? What would be the best strategy to protecting the children’s rights while giving them the opportunity to provide for their families? Would providing them with legitimate jobs that do not involve child labour give them a better chance? Should we consider employing the parents so that the job of providing for the family is not solely resting on the shoulders of the young children? Will free trade agreements include the gift of educating those who are less fortunate or who are unable to attain an education in their home nation? How can the global women’s empowerment movement positively affect the outcome of these free trade agreements? Will these free trade agreements aide in the growth of women’s empowerment worldwide?

As I pondered the answers to these questions, I realised that, what better platform than World Pulse is there to discuss this issue. As women our voices should and need to be heard; our opinions need to be valued & more than anything, it is important that we as primary victims (along with the children) need to be asked these questions.

Who knows what could come out of this discussion! I’m for sure hoping to learn some great things from all of you! I figured even though this isn’t a part of our assignment, it is equally important that we continue our discussions, conversations and thought-provoking brainstorming!

I look forward to reading your responses!
Much love & respect xoxoxo

PSPS… here is the article for further reference: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/peter-fragiskatos/canada-india-free-trade_b...