Why Michelle Obama inspires women around the globe - nice CNN.com piece

[Beaverhausen]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/28/first.lady/index.html


Why Michelle Obama inspires women around the globe

(CNN) -- Heather Ferreira works in the slums of Mumbai, India, where she has watched thousands of women live under a "curse."

The women she meets in the squalid streets where "Slumdog Millionaire" was filmed are often treated with contempt, she says. They're considered ugly if their skin and hair are too dark. They are deemed "cursed" if they only have daughters. Many would-be mothers even abort their children if they learn they're female.

Yet lately she says Indian women are getting another message from the emergence of another woman thousands of miles away. This woman has dark skin and hair. She walks next to her husband in public, not behind. And she has two daughters. But no one calls her cursed. They call her Michelle Obama, the first lady.

"She could be a new face for India," says Ferreira, program officer for an HIV-prevention program run by World Vision, an international humanitarian group. "She shows women that it's OK to have dark skin and to not have a son. She's quite real to us."

Those who focus on Michelle Obama's impact on America are underestimating her reach. The first lady is inspiring women of color around the globe to look at themselves, and America, in fresh ways.

more at the link

[ClarkUSA]

1. "first time many women have seen their class and color reflected in America's first lady"

Hell yeah.

[FrenchieCat]

2. A very powerful message indeed.

America does good again! :thumbsup:

[grace0418]

3. Gosh I just love our first lady. She's an inspiration in so many ways.

I'm so weary of the stereotype that women must be blond, white, petite and willing to play dumb to be considered worthy.

[Beaverhausen]

4. Another nice story on Yahoo

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_obama100_days_first_lady

[uponit7771]

5. K&R

[Vidar]

6. A powerful, moving piece.Michelle is a class act.

[Number23]

7. I completely agree. Michelle O is in a class completely by herself

Maybe others will stop trying to compare her to other First Ladies. She is one of a kind and I just love her.

Thanks for posting this. Happy to rec

[Skittles]

8. I'll never forget a little black girl I babysat long ago

she told me she wanted white skin like mine and when I asked her why, she said, "Because then I can be pretty." Boy did I set HER straight. :o

[firedupdem]

9. Michelle is an inspiration...even to 42 yr olds like myself. I love her..

she makes me so proud.

[newview88]

10. That immediately caused me to tear up

Being an African-American woman I know exactly how they feel to see a woman with dark skin and dark eyes make her presence known across the world stage. It's a beautiful thing.

[Beacool]

11. Lovely article

:thumbsup: