Light Up Her Heart
“If a man has not discovered something he will die for, he is not fit to live.” —Martin Luther King.
I first came across Women For One on Facebook. After reading about what the organization stands for, I realized that I was in the right place to share my stories and ideas with the people who believe in what I believe: women empowering one another. The support and love that women show to each other on this platform impressed me a lot. The opportunity to be a Truthteller gives me the chance to share my story and connect with women all over the world to support one another and break all the chains of injustice together.
The evolution and history of African women goes hand in hand with the evolution of African culture based on the patriarchal system. Men run societies and take for granted the assumption that they are the heads in every domain, such as politics, economy, and culture.
I grew up in a patriarchal society, a place where women do not have the chance to do what they like, and to enjoy life and their rights. Early on, I developed a love of reading books by African feminists and was able to analyze and understand the life of the African woman in the African context. The way African women strive to free themselves from men’s domination excited me.
That observation shaped in me the strong need to see every woman (and especially young women) with a smile on their faces and the ability to achieve their goals.
I decided to stand up and fight frustration, humiliation, and deprivation not by complaining about the inequality, or discrimination and social injustice, but by finding ways to change situations by supporting women next to me—empowering young girls to bring change to their lives, families, communities, and the entire world.
As a young woman, I observe so many different women living different lives. I see so much sadness in their eyes despite their potential and goodness. Every time, I realize that mostly, their situation comes from a lack of self-love and self-confidence due to the place their society has given them.
Every day, several situations women go through inspire me and give me courage to stand with all of them and fight for our freedom. I assume there are various ways of empowering women. I believe empowering them will allow them to identify their skills, knowledge, and abilities to make their own decisions. Therefore, it is important for women to identify themselves with self-confidence and self-esteem.
The full concept of empowerment is to give a strong value or meaning to the internal strength to control one’s life. The best way to measure women’s empowerment is through their confidence and the smile they wear on their faces, the happiness they have about changing their lives and making progress in everything they do.
This is what I intend to achieve.
However, it is not easy for a young African woman to stand for women’s causes in a pure African context. I am sure I am not alone in the above-described fight. All courageous, confident, and successful women must work hard to change women’s lives.
I say NO to domestic violence, female genital mutilation, gender discrimination, and all evil practices women are victims of. Let me conclude with the following: It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our obligation to win. We must love each other and support each other to break all chains.
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