A Tribute to Womanhood: International Women’s Day

I have had the busiest week ever, and in the wake of International Women’s Day I got thinking, womanhood; what does it really mean?

One of my favourite classics of all time is Little Women by Louisa M. Alcott; the March sisters are all so different yet they are all women aged between 12 and 16. This reiterates that women come in different shapes and colours, we wear many caps, and like an octopus with many limbs we’re expected to juggle all these different aspects of our lives and hold them all in balanced tension.

Little giggling girls with wide eyed innocence, without a care in the world.

Playful pre-teens and adventurous serious-eyed teenagers.

The young woman on the threshold of the future.

 The career woman, juggling work and the home front.

The woman in her twilight years.

The grandmother, who has lived life to the full.

I see you

The quiet woman, afraid to voice her opinion because she’s been shouted down ever so often that she believes she doesn’t have a voice.

To every girl who’s been bullied and landed on her feet on the other side; to every girl who is still being bullied, stay strong; these light and momentary troubles are achieving for you a greater eternal glory

The teenage girl who just wishes for a listening ear.

The abused girl or woman who buries the hurt and the pain deep down.                     The woman who is the “life and soul” of the party, who talks a lot to cover her insecurities.

I see you

The women holding the home front together so their husbands can achieve their dreams

The career woman juggling work, home, husband, children, extended family, and being overwhelmed by the sheer pressure of it all

I see you

I attended a medical school which in the 70s had just one hostel block for women, compared to seven hostel blocks for men, fast forward  to the 80s, when I attended, that one female hostel block was bursting at the seams;

To all the pioneer female medical and dental students, thank you for pushing the boundaries and breaking the mould!

To the women challenging the status quo;

Malala Yousafzai

Zuriel Oduwole, teenage education activist and film maker

Chimamanda Adichie

Yelena Isinbaeva, the greatest female pole vaulter, the first time I saw this woman participating in the pole vault event I was super excited

 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, first female and African WTO Director General

Serena and Venus Williams

Lupita Nyong’o

And to the Angela Merkels” and the Michelle Obamas” of this world, thank you for raising the bar

As I write this in the wake of the Harry & Megan Oprah Winfrey interview;

I think of women at every stage of life; women with different life struggles

To every girl who’s been bullied and landed on her feet on the other side; to every girl who is still being bullied, stay strong; these light and momentary troubles are achieving for you a greater eternal glory 2 Corinthians 4:17

Women;

I salute you

I celebrate you

You are amazing

You are beautiful

You are priceless

You are enough

Hold your head up high;

 And until this equality battle is won, let’s keep pushing the boundaries, let’s keep raising the bar; there’s still more grounds to be won, and more gender barriers to pull down.

I’d love to hear from you, so send in your comments or send in an email. Let’s talk!

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See you soon

Abimbola