Name: Saira Nakova
Grade: Year 10
Age: 15 Years
School: Bowraville Central School
Hometown and State: Bowraville, New South Wales
LIFTING US UP – How can women and girls empower each other and their communities in times of uncertainty and change?
Empowering Women in Bowraville My name is Saira Nakova and I am 15 years old. I am in Year 10 and I love to draw, write, and play sports of all kinds. I live with my mum and little sister in Macksville, a small town that is a 50 minute drive from Coffs Harbour. I go to school in Bowraville (15 minutes from my home) because it is much easier to attend than my local high school. Iäó»ll explain why in a moment. Being a woman is not always easy; in Bowraville this is especially true. So far in 2020 we have survived horrific bushfires that resulted in many of my classmates losing their homes and possessions and now weäó»re going through Covid-19. Women and girls have been completely isolated for months at a time, unable to visit family and friends. It has been extremely stressful for everyone. Trying to stay motivated has been very hard because we’re all so mentally and physically exhausted. Worst of all, we are not even allowed to hug or kiss our loved ones.
I have a rare neurological disease called Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia. I’ve had it my whole life but it started progressing when I was 5 (mainly just having a funny walk). Five years ago I made the decision to go from using a walking frame to a wheelchair because I hated how tediously slow it was to walk with the frame. I can still walk; I just happen to walk a bit like an intoxicated penguin (haha). I used to fall around 50 times a day but now, using a wheelchair, I only fall a couple of times a day at home. This is why I’m not at my local high school, as it’s just not wheelchair accessible. During the months of quarantine I was isolated from everyone I know. I went through hard times. I really looked forward to playing wheelchair basketball in Coffs every Friday, but that was stopped during lockdown. In those 3 months I lost 80% of my exercise regime. I thought; ‘This is ruining MY life, I hate this’, as I kept thinking about how unfair this situation was for me, how I was affected and how my year was being ruined. Not once did I consider that maybe we’re all in this together.
Maybe Covid is ruining my plans but it’s also ruining so many other women’s plans too. Many people I know wanted to go on holiday this year but couldn’t because of Covid. Many people I know lost their entire life’s possessions in the bushfires and are still trying to rebuild their homes. Only now do I realise that we are all struggling in one way or another, but we would do better to be struggling together and helping each other out. No one is alone during this time of despair. To be empowered, we must connect to each other.
So, how would I empower the women of Bowraville? I would organise inclusive activities to help us connect and build community. I have lots of ideas: a debutante ball could showcase the independent women of Bowraville. A girls-only camp including team building activities would be wonderful and a ‘yarn-circle’ (an indigenous sharing circle) would help us to bond. We need to unite the women in Bowraville by bringing us all together: getting to know each other, spending time with one another and sharing our thoughts and experiences. Communication and kindness is the key to empowering not just women of Bowraville, but women the world over. It CAN be done and the time is now.