*Had this to say today at a brunch we hosted at Google for IWD, and wanted to share it here.
International Women’s Day is such an important day but 2018 is particularly important for women. Conversations that began in 2017 have begun to bear fruit. Movements such as Time’s Up, MeToo and many others have gone from hashtags to solutions and justice. Currently agenda domination feels like oppression to people who have been privileged to write the agenda all along. But ladies and gentlemen we are in a world of sorry not sorry. For some, accusation is often a perception, and it happens when one feels defensive.
MeToo, Time’s Up and the like haven’t touched Africa with the same vigor as they have impacted the West. In Africa, our truth is still spoken in shadows. Cultures do not teach us to speak. We live in a blame culture, a culture that considers ‘silence out of fear’ to be ‘silence because of lies’. Children trust the adults in their lives to protect them, more often those adults are the ones they need protecting from. In Africa most women have a story of being sexually assaulted by a family member or close family friend as children. Young girls are bullied into silence because the truths of women are never really true. Victim shaming and blaming cause many young girls to retract. Too many people have similar stories, few unlike many others, are fortunate enough to have parents who will fight for their truth and take them out of an environment that sort to break me. Courage like that, to speak the truth, for an 8 year old is terrifying. Courage like that for grown women is almost paralysing. Because we have more to lose and understand the consequences of truth.
As we enter this age of truth, in a post truth era, we must empower women and girls on this continent to have the audacity to break their silence and speak their truth no matter the consequences. We must rebel. African women have been rebelling for centuries, warriors and heroes who have defended their right to live. Once more we too must do so. We can no longer allow our stories to be told by the victors, because they are only victors because we relinquish our voice. We must build our bonds of fellowship, sisterhood, women fighting for the same cause, the right to be. We must bring our men into the fight, because this cannot and should not be won alone. A fundamental mindshift is needed happen if an equal and fair society is to truly be achieved. We must rebel against the norms and what is easy, we must step out of the shadows.
As women we must step into the age of truth with courage, integrity and dignity. We must show audacity in the way we tell our stories, we must face our fears of rejection, of judgement or imposter syndrome. The fight has only just begun and it is our duty and obligation to fight it, no matter hard it gets, for every little girl out there, those in our sphere of influence and those still to come. We must fight. We are not fighting for anything ridiculous or impossible, just to equality and a fair chance. I do not want to be treated special, just human.
There is a good showing of rebellion in the stories of Google’s doodle today, which examines 12 important themes and message from 12 incredible women: Adventure, Audacity, Chance, Connection, Growth, Heal, Home, Love, Possible, Strength, Together and Trust – each of the stories told by these doodle reminds of us the power of women and what we must fight for in the age of truth. The strength to take chances, love, grow and go on adventures. The possibility of connections, trust and healing. Building homes together.