Beyonce, Gaga, Streep and Theron join call on female poverty

Actresses Meryl Streep, Charlize Theron, and pop icons Beyonce and Lady Gaga are among 36 prominent women who signed a petition calling on the G7 and the African Union to tackle female poverty. The petition was organized by the London-based non-governmental organisation ONE, founded by U2 singer Bono. It is addressed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who hosts this year’s G7 summit in June, and South Africa’s Minister of Health Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the AU Commission chair. They are both convening a women’s summit this year. The petition says “poverty is sexist” and if done right, every woman will be “out of poverty by 2030” ONE published a report saying women had not benefited as much as men from the fight against extreme poverty, and still represented two thirds of the world’s illiterate population.

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