21 Days of Gratitude: Day 6--Freedom

I am humbled to admit that freedom is a gift that I take for granted almost more than any other I have been given. To demonstrate just how much freedom I have been blessed with, I would like to compare the freedoms of my life with that of women around the world who have not been as blessed.

I was baptized as an infant. My parents took me to church regularly as a child, but allowed for me to choose the church in which I was confirmed. I have chosen to attend churches predominately in protestant religions.

Christian South Sudanese living in Sudan are subject to harassment and intimidation by government agents and society at large, but untangling the religious and ethnic motivations for this persecution can be difficult. Muslims generally enjoy social, legal and economic privileges denied to the Christian minority population. Government authorities have reportedly destroyed churches in recent years, and Christian groups have reportedly been subject to disproportionate taxes and delays in building new houses of worship. (source indexoncensorship.org)

I learned to read somewhere around the age of 5-6. I read, on average, about a book a week that I choose from literary millions of choices (and often get for free on my Nook).

Morocco has a high overall adult illiteracy rate, at 40% in 2007. 3/4 of women were considered to be illiterate in 2004, and in rural areas, education is even worse. Illiteracy for women in rural areas can be as high as 90%. (source onlineuniversites.com)

I voted in my first election at the age of 18 after first registering with the party for which I felt my beliefs best aligned. I am free to change that affiliation at anytime. I have voted against that particular party more often than not.

Women who live in Vatican City are not permitted to vote for the Pope. Women of Saudi Araba do not have the right to vote in any election.

I went to college in 1997, graduate school in 2006 and have applied to begin my doctorate in 2016. All in ares of study of my own selection.

In Guatemala, about 15.6 percent of the female population is educated to at least secondary school, compared to 21 percent of males. Women are traditionally viewed as having a domestic role and, thus, are not encouraged to attend school. On top of crippling poverty, the need to earn a living outweighs the expense and time that obtaining an education requires. Even if a family can afford to send at least one child to school, it will usually send the boy. ( source elitedaily.com)

I began working part time (by choice) at the age of 13 as a way of earning spending money. I continued to work part time always selecting where to work throughout the rest of my school career. Since graduating from college I have always held a job that I selected and earned enough money to support myself.

Women are underrepresented in most aspects of professional life, and there are no laws for women’s rights in the workplace. Only 9.5% of women in Palestine are economically active. (source onlineuniversitues.com)

I fell in love with my prince charming at the age of 25. We got married five years later after living together for the previous three.

In fact, today up to 90 percent of marriages in India and 60 percent of all marriages in the world are arranged. Gulati and Paruthi, with the help of their parents, had separately worked out a list of what they were looking for in a partner with categories including education, family background and career. (source abcnews.com)