So just like previous generations, we, too, must keep fighting the good fight, hopefully finding strength in Amina’s words, ‘we can’t be victims we have to be survivors’ – until all of us are liberated.Įlizabeth Nyamayaro is an award-winning humanitarian and Special Advisor for the United Nations World Food Programme. Whether challenging harmful stereotypes and gender norms or sharing the domestic load, none of our actions are ever too small, and together they can culminate into big change. As we celebrate IWD, Womankind Worldwide’s #EverydayFeminism campaign invites us to own our power and take small everyday acts of feminism. However, its achievement is only possible when we all do our part. Gender equality has the potential to liberate all of us. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, we need everyone to be involved. This solidarity approach to gender equality, which has long been seen as a women’s issue led by women, should give us hope as other genders share the burden of creating true societies of equality where we can all be free to be our true selves. We have also seen unprecedented male accountability in recent years through movements such as #MeToo and UN Women’s HeForShe, which calls upon men and boys to do their part in ending the oppression of women and girls. While the past years have been difficult, the pushback on women's and girls’ rights has also given rise to a younger generation of feminists of all genders who are determined to make a difference. In moments of despair, it is often helpful to focus on the positive. So, where do we go from here? How can we find hope in the wake of so much suffering? How can we find a path forward in a world that is so divided?įirst, we must remind ourselves of our wins. All these challenges, coupled with the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, have regressed progress toward gender equality, leaving many of us feeling defeated and hopeless. A world where young women and girls are struggling with the negative consequences of social media, which has given rise to self-esteem and mental health issues. A world where gender-based violence continues to impact one in three women and girls worldwide, despite our public outcry for justice. A world where women and girls globally continue to be devalued, despite their proven abilities as leaders and agents of change. This year we mark International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023 in a still unequal world. It's this same spirit that I believe is needed right now as women and girls once again face pushback against hard-fought gains for gender equality. It's this same spirit of perseverance, determination, and self-sacrifice that has fuelled the women’s rights movement over the centuries. There she was, facing life’s most difficult challenges, yet she clung to hope and was determined to make a difference. With one statement, she had articulated the indomitable spirit of the many young women and girls I meet daily in my humanitarian work as the Special Advisor for the United Nations World Food Programme. 'I know that one day, we will make enough money so that I can go back to school,' she spoke with firm conviction, 'I want to become a doctor so that I can help my community.'Īs we hugged and said 'goodbye', Amina’s words filled me with hope. Like many girls in her community, Amina had dropped out of school when climate shocks destroyed her family’s crops and now helped her mother raise and sell chickens and ducks provided to them by WFP. I was visiting the country to witness the impact of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) women’s empowerment initiative, which provides women with in-kind loans to support them establish businesses as they grapple with the devastating impact of climate change. It was mid-2022, and Egypt was facing a severe sweltering 45°c heatwave. Her big brown eyes glistened with tears, and I felt a lump rise at the back of my throat. 'We can’t be victims we have to be survivors,' Amina, 14, told me defiantly as we stood in her family’s back garden in rural Aswan, Upper Egypt.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |