Name: Deepkiran Kaur
Grade: Year 11
Age: 16 Years
School: Glossop High School
Hometown and State: Glossop, South Australia
LIFTING US UP – How can women and girls empower each other and their communities in times of uncertainty and change?
To form diverse, resilient communities, girls and women must be represented in power, leadership and success. The matter of empowering women is not limited to a place and time; it is a global undertaking, which can only be achieved through unity. Initiatives can be employed to make this a reality, especially in countries where industries are primarily dominated by men.
Malala Yousafzai, female education activist and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, pronounced that “education is the best weapon through which we can fight poverty, ignorance and terrorism”. In 2020, 130 million girls lack the fundamental right to education, particularly in Sub-Sharan Africa. Growing up, their potential is inhibited by personal hardships such as poverty and violence, but we can empower them by supporting organisations like the Study Hall Educational Foundation, which provides education to underprivileged girls in India.
“Education empowers women because it teaches them the most important lesson of all – they are equal persons and have the right to live and thrive according to their own choice,” asserts Dr. Urvashi Sahni, of the Study Hall Educational Foundation. “Education not only gives them academic skills, but teaches them that they have the right to use these skills for themselves”. Such educational programmes teach female youth about child marriage, child labour, female genital mutilation, trafficking and sexual abuse, equipping them with the knowledge and skills to defend themselves. Females foster this knowledge into adulthood, where they will pass it on to future generations. As well as being vital in combating social injustices that women face around the globe, these lessons have the power to improve women’s health and that of their children, provide opportunities to start their own business to support their families and communities, and increase their earnings by 10-20% for each additional year of school completed.
The fight for women advocacy and gender equality is a driving force for female empowerment. For centuries, females have been considered inferior and fought relentlessly to be acknowledged, while men have been served the privileges of power on a silver platter. With these labels and restrictions, how can we ever rise to greatness? Together, we must break down the barriers to gender equality. We must fight against sexism, oppression, discrimination and underrepresentation in parliament. Our voices are the most powerful weapon for this, and so we must use them to empower all women to stand up against injustice. Campaigns such as the #MeToo movement are vital in allowing victims of sexual assault to be recognised and access relevant services. This is increasingly important as Covid-19 restrictions have trapped victims within their homes with their perpetrators. But this is a task for all women äóñ and who better to raise awareness and prompt action than the influential figures we admire?
Media – despite its ability to reinforce gender stereotypes – also has the potential to debate them. Like social media, radio is one such platform. Maysoun Odeh Gangat has established her Palestine radio station, NISAA, to challenge traditional gender roles, and construct women an image as assertive and proactive members of society. We must encourage women like Maysoun, to support those in the Middle East where issues against women, such as lack of voting rights in Dubai until as recent as 2015, and Turkish femicides are prevalent due to culturally conservative societies.
Regardless of our age and experiences, we as woman, must stand in unity and use our voices to break through the silence, despite the odds. We must stand up for, educate and empower ALL women, everywhere. Because when we empower others, we become empowered ourselves.
Global Partnership for Education 2020, Education data highlights, viewed 6 September 2020, .
äóÖTimeline of womenäó»s right to vote around the worldäó» 2015, World Gulf, 12 December, viewed 6 September 2020, .
This Power Trip is kindly being sponsored by AgriFutures Australia