Name: Vanisre Rajasegaran
Community/State: Warrnambool , Victoria
School: Brauer Secondary College
Age/Grade: 17 Years, Year 11
Bio: Click here
“Life is a roadtrip with twists and turns. How can we support one another to navigate the road to gender equality?”
Our journey to Australian gender equality is one wrought with potholes and corrugations. It is with careful and strategic driving strategies that we will negotiate these bumps.
Women in Australia, past and present have shaped this nation. Suffragette’s have helped give women the right to vote. Their movement has given us rights to political freedom.However, today Australia ranks 48th in the world in terms of female political empowerment.
Today,Women are paid lesser than man,Women face poverty at retirement, Women are sexualised, Women are abused, Women experience workplace discrimination. The list is never ending and disheartening.
Gender Equality is not just a women’s journey. Like the word men exists in women, every men should know to stand up for the rights of his mother, sister, Aunty and friends. Not because they are women, but because they are humans. Regardless men or women we should both learn to assimilate to live for our rights, support and protect each another.Such as the HeForShe campaign.
Never is there a journey with no obstacles. Like the women in the past who fought for the future of women,We need to accept these twist and turns imposed and not be defeated.In fact, my generation should be inspired to have no fear in pursuing our dreams.Young Australians should be given a voice to parliament to acknowledge our concerns in our nation.
For a girl, a brown-skinned girl, there is opportunity and adversity in equal measure.But,the balance between these is in large part self-determined as long as I can grab hold of any chance to learn, to challenge myself and have support to do so. Like my journey to Australia, every journey of a thousand miles starts with one step.
Jacinda Arden, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, gave birth while in office and received discriminatory remarks. But, through it all she stood up for herself , and each time a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women.
In the same way we need to challenge ourselves , break stereotypes and work together from our differences. There are no shortcuts or easy roads. We can start by offering mentorship and help setting career goals for rural women. Gender gaps can be narrowed through the turbo-boost of our journey, sharing with those we meet, the wonderful opportunity for everyone to benefit from gender equality.
A strong woman knows she has strength enough for the journey, but a woman of strength knows that it is in the journey where she will become strong.