International Women's Day

I find it hard.

👩🏽 I am a white, able-bodied, heterosexual, university-educated, mother of three healthy children with an employed supportive partner, also supported by the state in the country I migrated to.

🍀 I have so many layers of privilege, and even I find it hard.

👨🏽 I find it hard to be a woman in a world where patriarchal societies are the norm.

🦋 I find it hard to maintain motivation for the values-driven work I am involved in with Madame Papillon, supporting women after burnout (caused in part by the hustle culture of those patriarchal societies) when it is still voluntary work (although that third subsidy request hasn't been rejected yet...) and the household bills seem to multiply.

🚸 I find it hard to bring up my children to know their own minds, think critically when presented with information and recognise their needs while acting with kindness and integrity when they are exposed to an unregulated and unsafe online world, and a real world where inspiring stories bump up against those of war and hatred.

👧🏽 I find it hard to be the mother of three girls who have every right to believe they can be anyone and do anything in this world when extreme misogynistic views are still out there, and being shouted out loud.

So just imagine. Imagine if my skin was another tone. Imagine if I had left school early to support my family. Imagine if I was living with disabilities - mine or my children's. Imagine if I had moved countries from necessity rather than choice and not been welcomed with open arms. This is the reality for so many.

💐 This is why International Women's Day is not about token gifts, but is about the rights of women around this damaged globe.

It is a reminder to those who don't see their own privilege to take a step back. To come out on the side of the women denied their education or their right to decide how to earn a living, or who to love, their unpaid work going unseen, their struggles ignored.

#internationalwomensday2024 #womensupportingwomen