Name: Lily Glover
Grade: Year 12
Age: 17 Years
School: Cummins Area School
Hometown and State: Karkoo, South Australia
LIFTING US UP – How can women and girls empower each other and their communities in times of uncertainty and change?
Challenge is not a foreign concept to women. Throughout history, females worldwide have fought against a suffocating volume of oppression and adversity. This time we will do no different.
Australia has felt the full force of this year’s trials, giving its inhabitants a sobering dose of realism. We have lost homes, loved ones, precious land, and the sense of innocence that our isolated country provided. Slogans such as ‘apart together’ may have reduced us to a less-than-suitable level of sanity, but there is truth in these words. Australia is an immense country, but even rural towns can feel compressed when everyone is spaced six feet apart. Leading the charge, as we have many times before, women can give back to our weary communities.
Keeping clear and level heads is perhaps the most difficult quality to attain. We must understand that people will have experiences of the last year which may not correlate to one’s own, and cope with the weight that continues to smother us. As the Talmud states, “Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.” We must remain humble, just, and perceptive to the sufferings of ourselves and Earth.
We do not have to fix every problem we face, however progress is mandatory. We are not obligated to end all suffering, nor are we exempt to abandon it. The women rights movement, climate activism, and Black Lives Matter would not have been possible without the voices of women such as Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg. We must fight together for what we believe in.
Self-education is the greatest weapon a woman can wield. Propaganda and manipulation are more prevalent than ever, demonstrated in world leadership and social media. Only by being wary of bias and informed by many perspectives can women be confident their opinions are indeed factual.
An extension of this, women can lead their communities through current trials. Our privilege to live in an advanced generation can assist us to educate adults, elders, students, and children about both the dangers and accomplishments achieved this year. We can help those around us to manage steep learning curves and extreme distances with our own knowledge. Although teaching a grandparent how to use video-call may not seem riveting, the social and mental benefits of human connection have no bounds. Communication will allow us to keep our loved ones safe while retaining the vital lifelines that are relationships.
Above all, empathy is the most important virtue for the young generations. With no empathy, we cannot hope to be a species undivided. Leading by example in our communities will encourage girls to become truly compassionate and raise an uncorrupted era of humankind.
This may be a year of devastation, but it is also a great time of change. Drawing strength from our future must simultaneously push us to keep humanity safe and break society’s rules.