On Thursday, March 27th, 2015 Mike Pence signed a bill in Indiana that would allow businesses to refuse customers because of their sexual orientation. That means that if a gay or lesbian person went into a bakery, the owners would have the right to refuse that customer.

I believe this law is so unbelievably stupid. When I first heard about it, I just could not believe it.  How could something like this be happening in 2015? I just saw this photo on Twitter and I thought it summed up what is happening perfectly:

Today on Twitter, #BoycottIndiana was trending. Thousands of people are outraged by this and want the law to be boycotted.

Indiana is not the only place where a lot of gay discrimination is taking place. In fact, there are 76 countries around the world where homosexuality is illegal. Even more disturbing, in 7 countries you can be given the death penalty for being gay or lesbian.

Below is a video about the consequences of being LGBT around the world.

We should not be discriminating on the basis of who someone loves. Everyone has the right to love whomever they want, let that be someone of the same gender, or different.

Gay rights are human rights!

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

–Diviya

What Is International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is approaching fast! On Sunday March 8^th, the whole world will stop and celebrate the successes of women past, present, and future. Every year, on that day millions of events take place to inspire and celebrate women around the world.

Where Is It Celebrated?

According to http://www.internationalwomensday.com/, “IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia.

What Is This Year’s Theme?

This year’s theme for IWD is “Empower Woman, Empowering Humanity: Picture It!” This is so true because if you empower a girl she will be able to attend school and get an education. Then in turn she will have the power to help lift her community out of poverty, empowering humanity! The dedicated hashtag for this year’s IWD is #MakeItHappen.

What Can YOU Do?

#1: Post about it on social media using the hashtag #MakeItHappen.

#2: Raise awareness by speaking at school assemblies or even by simply word of mouth.

#3: Donate to charities such as Plan Canada or Free the Children.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!

-Diviya