Just last month we saw Saudi Arabia finally allowing women to
vote. Most of us reading this article were born at a time when voting rights
for women was not an issue but there are still four places in the world today that do not allow women to take part in democratic processes .
This piece is about a special group of women, women who have refused to sit back and wait to be fed and provided for. Women who are sitting in the sun all day, crushing stones and gathering sand to be sold to the locals who need them. There are
many women crushing stones in many parts of the world today but what was peculiar to me is that these women crushed the stones and loaded them into the
trucks all by themselves-it was an All-woman-show! These women have no structure but they have come together and formed a small community of traders who deal in building materials such as sand and stones. I did not get a chance to speak to these women but i could not help but mull over what i had seen, i must say I have had bittersweet thoughts concerning this; Bitter in the sense that these women do not have a
choice and inhaling the sand particles without protection is a health hazard. Sweet; loading the heavy stones and sand into a truck is a hassle but they do
it anyway. They believe in their own abilities. They have not let circumstances
push them into being beggars on the street or housewives with very little to
eat but they have taken matters into their own hands, they have grabbed the
bull by the horns and decided to be at the forefront in providing for their
families in whatever way they can. Who knows, maybe they are even supporting
their husbands and children with the same money they are getting from the
sales?
The world has been talking about women empowerment and gender roles and those kind of things. In every newspaper, there will be at least one article talking about women and their rights. More than ever before, women are being heard. Respecting a woman and her rights is being "civilized", almost as if they are synonymous words. But lets ask ourselves, what does women empowerment really mean? What does civilization really mean to all of us? Is civilization really is empowerment? Empowering women to do what exactly? Is empowerment about being able to afford good
clothes, MAC make up and Peruvian hair? Is empowerment about competing in places of work? Is empowerment about walking away from marriages for minor
reasons?
According to UN Women, a number of principles have been formulated concerning empowerment of women and it would take all day to review the document. In my own words, I would say empowerment is bringing out the positive inner being of a woman, allowing her to live to her full potential without limits. Empowerment today means breaking the barriers and stereotypes. Carrying heavy materials has been a mans’ job but now women are doing it too. We are seeing more women being CEO's, Pilots, Doctors, Engineers, Soldiers, Crane and Heavy machine operators, Architects, Brick masons, even PRESIDENTS!. It has been said that society plays a huge role in holding women back but women hold
themselves back as well. Thinking, “how will I manage?”, “I am too young” or “I
am a woman, I cannot do this! “ Women may have different physiology from men
but that doesn’t mean there is stuff that they cannot do; this message needs to
be preached until something drastic happens!!!.
The women crushing stones shows how women can refuse to
conform to the norm. Even if they still need to form or belong to business association so that they may be part
of the civil society and have a louder voice and advocate for policies
benefiting them. They
are closer to the finish line than many women out there who are vulnerable or
complaining about the state of affairs without any action.
Take a moment and think, what does empowerment mean to me as
a woman? What have i done to empower myself? If you are a man, what does empowering the women around me look like? If
you are empowered, what have you done to empower another woman? Have you offered
advice or mentorship? Have you supported another womans' cause or business buy making a purchase or
donation? Have you spoken a word of encouragement to that woman next to you? Have you prohibited your wife or girlfriend from working or following their passion for your own benefit?
It is after relating this topic to ourselves we will begin to see that it is personal and circumstances are not an excuse.
I am definitely going back to speak to those women to hear from them about their experience being entrepreneurs so watch this space for the follow up blog, but till then, let us think about what being empowered means to you and the women around you.
“Whatever you choose, however many roads you travel, I hope that you choose not to be a lady. I hope you will find some way to break the rules and make a little trouble out there. And I also hope that you will choose to make some of that trouble on behalf of women." Norah Ephron
