International Women

This evening I was at an International Women's Day event (another Zoom meeting of course) hosted by the women's club I'm in. We were encouraged to wear purple for the occasion, and half way through the meeting each of us raised a hand in solidarity, pledging to challenge some injustice; we could decide for ourselves what this might be. Someone in my "breakout room" mentioned the poor water quality in Indigenous reservations as an example of what is worth challenging. Someone else said that what we need to challenge is old, white men. Non-violent communications are key, said another participant (I must follow this up because Marco Bertaglia offered us a training course in that subject.) The glass ceilings thwarting women's progress and fair pay in business or government institutions were on people's minds, as were the glaring injustices and inequalities between men and women in places like Uganda, Rwanda and Afghanistan. 

Challenges and networks have to be global. Our umbrella organisation, Graduate Women International, is well placed to make change happen, since it has the ear of the United Nations, and a long history of noble deeds.

To draw attention to what Afghan women are up against, volunteer activists from CFUW-Ottawa are virtually "walking to Kabul" this month, adding up our kilometres covered on local walks or stationary bikes or skis, and so on, and talking about this. I'm in a team with others and can add my husband's treadmill miles to the total, apparently. It all counts. Our University Women Helping Afghan Women group is among the instigators of the walk, raising awareness rather than funds this time.

This morning I posted on my Facebook page a picture I shared from the page of an Afghan contact, Hasina Rasuli, which showed a class of teenage Afghan girls spaced out in rows, sitting in a field in hilly countryside, taking their end-of-school exams. I presume they do not have a school to go to; the Taliban has destroyed many girls' schools in their country. These girls were wearing their long robes as always and I assume (I hope) something very warm underneath because the field was covered in snow. Such a picture is more powerful than any amount of talk.

I have mentioned Hasina in my blog before. This morning she added the comment, "I am sorry for the photo being a bit harsh. Education is the only hope that Afghan women can win their rights."

I wrote in reply, "We need to know the truth. Don't be sorry."