YES-WOMEN CAN EMPOWER THEMSELVES
Written by Jeffrey S. Ram, Toronto, Canada October 6, 2021
Thousands of years of male domination and female subordination require a change in the male and female mindset to keep up with the needs and demands of modern society. But many males oppose gender equality because their gender is their only asset. Therefore, women will have to make extra efforts to empower themselves, raise their status, and gain equal opportunities in all spheres of life. Hillary Clinton rightly claimed, “I believe the rights of women and girls is the unfinished business of the 21st century.”
TEN WAYS GIRLS AND WOMEN CAN EMPOWER THEMSELVES
1. Women should develop the ambition of economic self-reliance and independent decision-making. Financial empowerment is the key to women’s power. The ability to earn one’s living and pay one’s way enhances a woman’s self-reliance, independence, and security. Economic self-reliance and independent decision-making enable women to make their own decisions and live their desires.
2. Women should acquire knowledge and skills through formal or informal education, training, and apprenticeship. Education prepares learners for better-paying jobs or self-employment, broadens the mind, and develops critical thinking and communication skills. Those who want to keep women in subjugation do not want girls to get an education. Zufishan Rahman advised parents, “Teach your daughter to use her own sword, so when she is in a battle, she wouldn’t have to rely on someone else’s.”
3. Girls and women should be physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually strong. Women should not neglect to take care of their health in all these areas. Overall good health is crucial for women’s balanced life and general wellbeing.
4. Girls and women should develop self-confidence and high self-esteem. Women work hard; they should be valued and respected for their contribution at home and the workplace. Financially independent women do not owe their success to anyone. They are the architects of their fate. With self-confidence and high self-esteem, they should live without fear and insecurity.
5. Girls and women should develop the qualities of courage and risk-taking. They should take calculated risks and begin with small steps. Oprah Winfrey asserted, ”You get in life what you have courage to ask for.” Kate Lawrence suggested, “We move forward, one brave step at a time.” Women should become unstoppable; they should not let setbacks stop them. Their courage, like a muscle, is strengthened by use. Bethany Hamilton proclaimed, “Courage, sacrifice, determination, commitment, toughness, heart, talent, guts. That’s what little girls are made of; the heck with sugar and spice.”
6. Girls and women should develop the qualities of assertiveness, determination, and firm resolve. Where there is a will, there is a way. Women should be strong, know exactly what they want, and persistently strive to get it. With a strong belief in their talents and skills, women should pursue their dreams with determination and strong willpower. Melissa McCarthy cited her example, “When I believe in something, I’m like a dog with a bone.” Amelia Earhart reinforced, “The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.” Women should assert and live their lives freely on their terms.
7. Girls and women should know about women’s empowerment in their society and culture and outside. They should become knowledgeable about the world, think and ask questions --Why are gender inequality and female oppression there? How can they be stopped? How can girls and women change their situation and condition? How can they overcome the status quo of male domination? How can they face other challenges of modern society? How can a woman herself create the world she wants?
8. Girls and women should not submit to the inferior and servile female roles. Mothers and grandmothers should not raise their daughters and granddaughters as the inferior and lower human beings. Girls and women should reject the patriarchal scheme to keep them weak, helpless, and dependent. Women must challenge females’ social and cultural conditioning and bring about a change. In the opinion of Eleanor Roosevelt, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” According to Roseanne Barr, “The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.”
9. Girls and women should lift each other. Most nations and cities have women’s groups run by strong, powerful, influential, and well-connected female leaders. By joining them, women can share those groups’ power. No woman is free until all women are free. Maya Angelou affirmed, “Each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.” Malala Yousafzai declared, “I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard. … We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”
10. Girls and women should move out of a female-unfriendly society if conditions become very dangerous. If possible, they should join a female-friendly society and culture. The western countries, with Christian majorities, offer more freedom and opportunities than any other society, even though the struggle for equality continues. In other parts of the world also, Christian societies are more equalitarian.
STRONG AND CONFIDENT MOTHERS AND FATHERS RAISE STRONG AND CONFIDENT DAUGHTERS.
They make their daughters feel and know their worth - personally, socially, professionally, and economically. They strengthen and reinforce equal rights and opportunities for women in social, cultural, political, and legal matters by telling their daughters, “Yes, women can.“
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[Toronto, Canada-based, ReformAdvocate.com encourages the Christian minorities, immigrants, women, elderly, and other weaker groups to empower themselves. Only one blog per month. The subscription is free. Please visit ReformAdvocate.com and subscribe. THANKS]
(if you have any suggestions to make the blog more effective and practical, please write to editor Jeffrey S. Ram at ram@reformadvocate.com)
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