Today is International Women's Day

And, like Refugees International, I want to honor women impacted by conflict and war. The women and children are usually the ones to pick up the pieces after the violence (usually generated by the men) is finished. Women are usually the ones to rebuild the society that was almost destroyed by the war.

So, let's see which countries are in the worst shape today, due to war and occupations.

Ten worst countries for women

Here are the top three worst countries in the world to be a woman today:

• Afghanistan: The average Afghan girl will live to only 45 – one year less than an Afghan male. After three decades of war and religion-based repression, an overwhelming number of women are illiterate. More than half of all brides are under 16, and one woman dies in childbirth every half hour. Domestic violence is so common that 87 per cent of women admit to experiencing it. But more than one million widows are on the streets, often forced into prostitution. Afghanistan is the only country in which the female suicide rate is higher than that of males.

• Democratic Republic of Congo: In the eastern DRC, a war that claimed more than 3 million lives has ignited again, with women on the front line. Rapes are so brutal and systematic that UN investigators have called them unprecedented. Many victims die; others are infected with HIV and left to look after children alone. Foraging for food and water exposes women to yet more violence. Without money, transport or connections, they have no way of escape.

• Iraq: The U.S.-led invasion to "liberate" Iraq from Saddam Hussein has imprisoned women in an inferno of sectarian violence that targets women and girls. The literacy rate, once the highest in the Arab world, is now among the lowest as families fear risking kidnapping and rape by sending girls to school. Women who once went out to work stay home. Meanwhile, more than 1 million women have been displaced from their homes, and millions more are unable to earn enough to eat.

Well, what a co-inky-dink. The US is occupying two of the top three worst countries for women today. And, I think the data presented above is actually better than the reality. In DR Congo, I believe the death toll is 4 to 5 million. In Iraq, the country was destroyed by the USuk occupation. One in six Iraqis are now displaced, usually leaving their homes with almost nothing, and for the most part, never to return. And things are worse in Afghanistan too - the NATO occupation there (on behalf of the US) is not improving their lives at all.

Imagine what we could have done if we had spent all this money on helping people instead of destroying them.

THE RECKONING The Iraq War Will Cost Us $3 Trillion, and Much More

In a world plagued with millions of illiterate children, we could have achieved literacy for all -- for less than the price of a month's combat in Iraq. We worry about China's growing influence in Africa, but the upfront cost of a month of fighting in Iraq would pay for more than doubling our annual current aid spending on Africa. Closer to home, we could have funded countless schools to give children locked in the underclass a shot at decent lives. Or we could have tackled the massive problem of Social Security, which Bush began his second term hoping to address; for far, far less than the cost of the war, we could have ensured the solvency of Social Security for the next half a century or more.

And what of the condition of women in the USA? We have extraordinary levels of violence in this country, and high levels of rape. Women have a chance at education and jobs, however, they generally make less money than men. Personally, I cannot complain about that, since I deliberately took a lower paying job to do what I want to do, and then talked them into cutting back on my hours. I feel there are more important things than chasing after money, and I have enough money anyway......... at least, until the economy crashes. Then I may get laid off and end up as broke as broke can be - well, actually, probably not. At least, I hope not.