Seventy percent of the world's poor is female.

Facts such as this were brought up last night at the UW Women's Center's fourth annual International Women Leaders Dinner, where students, faculty and community leaders gathered to support the work of the Women's Center and to hear inspiring stories of courage from high school students, alumni and acclaimed Pakistani social scientist Dr. Zeba A. Sathar.

"Impoverished women suffer the worst outcomes," Sathar said, speaking on the importance of offering education to girls everywhere.

"In four years our guest list has increased exponentially," said Dr. Sutapa Basu, executive director of the Women's Center. "We believe women's rights are human rights."

The focus of the evening was to fundraise and increase awareness about the programs the Women's Center offers.

"As a women studies major, I feel I need to keep aware of issues and scholarships," said Whitney Frank, about why she attended the formal dinner and presentation. "I feel like it's important to celebrate and come together around our accomplishments."

Without the aid of the UW Women's Center's Making Connections program, high school senior Anab Hersi would not have been able to attend college.

Making Connections helps under-represented high school students apply for college, encouraging them to pursue higher education and increase their awareness in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

"Fourteen years ago, my mother moved from a war-torn African country," Hersi said. "Without Making Connections, I would not have [pursued higher education] so early in my career."

Hersi's mother, who divorced her husband with 11 children in tow, wakes up every day at 3 a.m. to work in a freezer warehouse, though she suffers from various medical ailments.

"My mother is my inspiration. If [only] my mother had had my education," she said.

UW alumna Amy Cook also spoke of her travails as a single mother.

"I dreamed of going to college for as long as I could remember," she said. "My initial obstacle was a lack of information, knowledge, and support."

Two children and an abusive husband later, Cook walked into the Women's Center and received the support she had always needed.

"I was overwhelmed with all kinds of information. They really helped me with my goal," she said. Cook eventually enrolled in the Women's Center's ReEntry program and gained the financial support she needed to raise her children and go to dentistry school.

Basu emphasized the need to build a world where "women's lives matter."

"As you can see, we have a long journey ahead of us," she said. "We have a very steep mountain to climb that gives me hope that another world is possible."

[Reach reporter Arla Shephard at news@thedaily.washington.edu.]