She talks about her experience of fame when she participated in the 2006 Olympics along with three other women who were the Olympic torch bearers along with her.
One being Sophia Loren (Italian actress, supposed to be one of the most beautiful women of her time),
Wangari Maathai - she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace. Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, a grassroots environmental non-governmental organization, which has now planted over 40 million trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion
The third lady is an actress from Cambodia. She fights against child prostitution and she herself had a life full of struggle considering that her grandfather had sold her to a brothel when she was a child.
Isabel Allende talks of her encounter with these ladies and the stories of their survival (except the Italian actress Sophia Loren) and their tales of passion for making a difference in the society through struggle and survival.
Some quotes from her talk that I think are strong and worth
giving a thought..
1. "What is truer than the truth?"
The answer is the story.(Story of the real people and their struggle and their passion to live )"
2. 80% displaced people in the world are women and children.
Though female gender constitute nearly 50% of the world population they own just 1% of the total assets in the world.
For every dollar given for a women's development program, $20 are given for the men's program
3.The poorest of the poor societies in the world are the ones who put the women down.
4. "Feminism is not dated".
It might be dated for privileged women who have the freedom to live their way and get to make their own choices in life.But feminism still exists in most parts of the world where women are still suppressed. Now I'm not talking about female chauvinism, nor do I support that. I'm talking about feminism!!
5. "Even the most destitute of men have someone they can abuse.. women & children"
Everyday there's a news of rape of women and children too, low caste women being stripped and paraded in some village, being harassed for dowry....As a girl it's so scary to hear about such incidents everyday.And we are supposedly becoming a super power!! Why do we measure the prosperity of a country only by economics...what about the humanity aspects??
5. " Nurturing the feminine energy"
I liked this concept the best. Now don't think I do b'coz am myself a woman but the concept is logical and indeed makes sense!!
This is a very good model for the betterment of the society.
This is how it should work...
Majority of the women in the world are unhappy and live in some form of misery .They are deprived of education, power, freedom and their right to make their own decisions inlife.
But a happy woman who is educated and empowered would be in dependant and more optimistic. She will make a happy mom and would pass on the values and education to her kids. Such a mom would bring well being and provide education to her kids and take care of her family in a better way. This mother will raise her kids whowill also believe in equality, freedom and peace.This would benefit the society, nation and the world at large. So there would be less war and more peace, prosperity and compassion in the world.
I count myself among the fortunate women as the family I was born into decided to empower me with education and make me independent and they gave me the freedom to make my choice. So I am lucky that both the male and female elderly members of my family believe in empowering the girl & the boy equally. I have grown up with a woman who had a brave heart to fight all the obstacles of life b'coz she was passionate about empowering her children so that we all live a better life. Most of the elderly women ( also some men) I've known in my family/relatives are brave hearts and fighters and that's why our life got a much easier than theirs..Proud of them and thanks to them!!
So as another ordinary girl, I can only request the stronger gender of the society to empower the weaker ones..their women!! Empower them with education, strong values and confidence...women need to be self aware and facilitate their own development and those of their little ones. So lets nurture the feminine energy and try to make this world better.
Isabel Allende ends her talk by saying " I would love to have Sophia Loren's(The Italian actress) long legs and her legendary breasts...but, given a choice I would love to be a brave heart with passion like Wangari Maathai, the Cambodian actress & activist and Susan( An american dentist who volunteered to serve in a village in Bangladesh )....Couldn't agree more!!
- Karma
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So beautifully written, Karma. And I know exactly how u feel...
The most striking sentence in the speech to me (which I think I'll remember for a long -long time) is when Isabel says "Even the most destitute of men have someone they can abuse". That's so true. I've seen it myself. I've grown up seeing men who were loosers (I mean it because that's what they chose to be) abusing their wife and children. I've seen men spending their lives expecting their wives to feed them, and in turn abusing the woman-provider. I've seen men beating up their children to satisfy thier ego. They always had someone at home who they could beat up and prove to themselves that they're stronger.
I also feel very strongly about what Isabel Alande says about women empowerment. There is no denying that an empowered mother will bring forth an empowered next-generation. Just like you said, I too feel immensely blessed to be born to a mother who believed in empowering her children with education, despite all odds. Thank you, God.
- Sham
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