create a world where women can walk ANYWHERE, EVERYWHERE

Being strong and authentic opens the door for others to do the same.

I read Postcard’s entry about women-only traincars adopted as a solution to harassment in several cities and I woke up thinking about it this morning. It’s awful that this is the only solution that cilvilized cities can come up with. Segregating train lines only avoids the problem. I think it’ll actually make it worse because it doesn’t address why women are being harassed and what makes men to do it.

It’s like bullying – if we stand up to them, they’ll back down but avoiding them will just make them more brazen because we’re permitting their behaviour. As a solution, we should empower women so that they feel confident in standing up for their rights.

Anyone else with thoughts on possible solutions for this problem?

Canada recently was named the 9th best country for women to live in. Bravo!

This goal is about speaking up on behalf of all women, especially for ourselves. In self-defense classes they teach the exact opposite of what proper women are taught to do: fight back, be aggressive, hurt your attacker, yell, and say NO. Even thinking of doing these things makes me uneasy. Yet, they are what each women need to do to own their piece of the world.

For me, there is a lot of anxiety in this because I was taught to be nice and always think of others first. Telling me to fight back and hurt another person is like asking me to change my skin colour. But, I also know that being conscious of it is the first step to change.

Each of us, in our own path, will change the world.

I’d like to invite all the women on this site to share their experiences from different cultures; so that we can all have a fuller picture of what is going on in the world right now. Tell us what it is like and how you feel[felt] to be a woman in Asia, Africa, Europe…etc.

Understanding each other is one of the greatest ways to acheive this goal.

I’ve noticed that a lot of teenage females walk with very low self esteem; their shoulders are slumped to the ground with their heads nodded forward. Whenever they’re challenged they look away defeatedly and mumble an agreement. This may simply be how teenagers are, but they are transitioning into women and where will their self-esteem come from?

I’d like to see these teenagers stand taller.

I’d like to see adults help them see their worth and the greatness they can contribute to the world by: walking next to them so that one day they can uplift someone else.

Radiating confidence and self-respect helps other women to do the same. Nelson Mandela once said in a speech – that by shining our own light we unconsciously give others to shine their’s.

Defying the traditional sterotypes of the helpless female in need of rescuing will help to create a safer world for women. We are not victims, we are not helpless; let’s own the streets, our bodies, and our beings.

Heads held up high, women walk down the streets as if they own it. They make everything happen through the steel of their will because they know no one will give it to them – they have to step forth and take it. Courage is the ultimate accessory.

I said in an earlier entry that I don’t know just yet how I can make this goal happen – I’ve decided that just by walking tall and speaking my mind is a great way to empower myself and women.