I wanted to share this interesting article from the New York Times, “The Women’s Crusade,” which talks about the place of women (or lack there of) in the 21st century, primarily in third-world countries. Of course, men craft just like women do; however, in this article they give two examples of women who used their crafting skills as well as their brain-power to make their lives and those of their families better. The first story is about a woman who was regularly beaten by her husband, a drunkard who threatened to take another wife so he could have male children. (Yes, obviously he never took a Biology 101 class!). The woman eventually started an embroidery business, and it became so successful the power in the family switch over to her because she was bringing in so much money.

Now, I’ll warn you that the article is pretty long, but even if you just read the first page, I think you’ll be inspired. The rest of the article is also inspiring in places as well as disturbing, so that’s another warning for you.