A panel of librarians and others dedicated to informational studies spoke Tuesday at Memorial Library about the need to educate women and girls around the globe, a theme in this year’s Go Big Read novel.
The book, “I Am Malala,” tells the story of Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan who was the victim of Taliban violence against women and education. The panel, comprised of guest speakers from programs promoting empowerment of women through education, expressed disdain toward such oppression.
Office of the UW System Gender and Women’s Studies Librarian Karla Strand began by speaking about how librarians in particular can act as ambassadors for progressive thinking in educating women, girls and children worldwide.
Strand said research she conducts at UW-Madison and in South Africa focuses on educating women on obtaining information. Her studies aim to lessen information inequality she believes disempowers women.
“When we empower and educate women and girls, we empower a society,” Strand said.
She said lack of information leads to problems related to health, something Araceli Alonso, who works with the Gender and Women’s Studies Department and the School of Public Medicine and Global Health, combated in African villages.
Alonso began a nonprofit organization that brought health literacy and training to women who did not have easy access to health care.
Her students also worked with village community members to transcribe oral histories into handmade books that contributed to new libraries.
“If there is nothing, we create it,” Alonso said. “To my surprise, the women went to the library and … started reading more books.”
Lisa Ebert, a volunteer working with a private organization that provides technical training to people in Nicaragua, said she saw growth in educational thinking during her time with the Wisconsin/Nicaragua Partners program.
She said that through opportunities opened by the program’s learning centers, “lending” libraries sprang up throughout communities that children lined up to use.
But even with the many efforts to make information available to women and children being done, many of the speakers said roadblocks, like trouble getting to libraries safely, still undermine their work.
Strand said many women and girls in South Africa are harassed on their way to libraries, preventing free travel to and from the buildings. Louise Robbins, director emerita of the School of Library and Information Studies at UW-Madison, said librarians in Kyrgyzstan have to close libraries early for fear of walking home after dark.
This, along with many problems posed to spreading education and information worldwide, are problems that have yet to be eradicated.
