What does International Women’s Day mean for me?

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following
article discusses a deceased person.

Each year that passes by, I always, without fail, feel conflicted about a day to celebrate women worldwide.  I feel conflicted because there’s no such day for me; I celebrate women every day. I honour them every day.  I shout it out from the rooftops whenever there is a woman who has made a difference. But… I also feel conflicted because while it is an international ‘day’ each year, plenty of women didn’t (and still don’t) even know there is a day to celebrate being a woman.

Those who know me, or follow me, would know that I try to ensure fairness and equity in all that I say and do…even to the point of ensuring that my physical actions are aligned with my thoughts and words.  There is a level of integrity that I expect from myself, and it drives every part of my being every single waking moment of my life.  So when I say that I feel conflicted, you better understand why that is so.

Rabia Siddique

Rabia is a Perth-based International Human Rights lawyer who stood up for justice, sexism, and racism and became the catalyst for changing policies ensuring fairer workplaces for women and cultural minorities in the British military.  Having survived a hostage crisis in Iraq, Rabia garnered global attention for making the British military accountable for silencing her about her ordeal and role in releasing captured special forces soldiers.  Rabia presented an incredible TED talk at the inaugural TEDX Conference in Perth in 2015 called ‘Courage Under Fire’ where she shared her most incredible experience of being held hostage in Iraq.  An incredible story that can be viewed on YouTube.

A Lesson from The Lion King.

Unlike Moana where we see Maui the Demi-God as the leader, in The Lion King, we see different forms of leaders in Simba, Nala, Mufasa, Sarabi and Scar, even old Rafiki the Baboon/Mandrill shaman can be some as providing leadership throughout the film.  There are many different musical (and visual) moments in this film that give great examples to leadership in its many forms from The Circle of Life, I just can’t wait to be King, even Timon and Pumbaa providing leadership to a young, lonely and lost Simba and the moment when Nala finds Simba and she encourages him to return home and face his Uncle Scar for his right to the throne and become King of Pride Rock.

Relationships

In closing, I guess what it all boils down to is relationships and specifically, the types of relationships that we have with ourselves and others.  Are we the type of person who genuinely casts aside their self-interests for caring about others needs all of the time, part of the time or none of the time?  What sort of person do we wish to follow?  After all, following is partly how a ‘leader’ is measured, by how many and which types of people follow the leader and why.  The relationship that we have with ourselves will help identify the relationship with others.  If our relationships are respectful, established on firm boundaries and nobody feels that there is an imbalance of power, then perhaps the determination should only really be made by those people involved in that relationship - whatever that looks like.  

I know it sounds like another handball but really it’s not.  It’s just that, as you have possibly learned through this article, a true leader is always introspective and looking for ways to improve the lives of others and if in doing so, it comes at a cost to the leader, then only the leader can (and possibly should) determine how much of an investment they are prepared to make.  At the end of the day, each person will ultimately have their own perception of what leadership is and should be, including how it should be measured and that perception will come from a place of expectation, responsibilities, privileges and agápē caritas.  So for now, I say...Hakuna Matata.

Milada Horáková

In addition to focusing on social justice issues, Milada Horáková was a prominent campaigner for the equal status of women. Milada was a Czechoslovakian politician who was tried for espionage and sentenced to death; charges which were fabricated by the Communist Party. She was accused of leading a conspiracy to commit treason and espionage at the behest of the United States, Great Britain, France and Yugoslavia.  Milada represented herself during her trial.  While imprisoned, she was physically and psychologically tortured.  Horáková was hanged in Prague's Pankrác Prison on 27 June 1950 at the age of 48. Her reported last words were (in translation): "I have lost this fight but I leave with honour. I love this country, I love this nation, strive for their wellbeing. I depart without rancour towards you. I wish you, I wish you...".  

A movie that details her life was released in 2017 and can be seen here. 

Fanny Balbuk Yooree

Fanny was a Nyoongar woman who was born in 1840 on Heirisson Island (Matagarup) in the Swan River.  Fanny, a resistance fighter, protested the occupation of her traditional home ground by settlers.  Her story is best told by the Museum of Western Australia, a short summary that appears next.

From her traditional home ground, a straight track led to a swamp where once she had gathered gilgies (freshwater crayfish) and vegetable food. Known to the newcomers as Lake Kingsford, the swamp was later drained to make way for the Perth Railway Station. Daisy Bates describes how Fanny Balbuk would break through and climb over fences, continuing to walk her traditional bidi (track) to gather bush foods at Lake Kingsford. When a house was built in her way, she broke its fence palings with her wanna (digging stick) and forced her way through the rooms. She was often arrested. She would “stand at the gates of Government House, cursing everyone within, because the stone gates guarded by a sentry enclosed her grandmother’s burial ground” (Bates 1938).  Her storey continues on the museum website and can be seen in various places around Perth CBD through the Fanny Balbuk Walk Trail that acknowledges her story. 

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Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Ruth Bader Ginsburg was an exceptional lawyer who completed studies at Harvard Law School while concurrently being a caregiver to her husband, who had been diagnosed with testicular cancer and their daughter Jane.  She struggled to be accepted and find work as a lawyer due to her gender and because she was also a mother.  In the 1970s, Ruth published various law review articles on gender discrimination and gender equality and became quite prominent as a litigator in gender discrimination. A fascinating woman who paved the way for women in law and gender-based discrimination around the world.  Her story is told in a movie called ‘On the Basis of Sex’.   

Madame CJ Walker

Madame Walker was an American businesswoman and Philanthropist who was one of the first African American female millionaires in the United States.  She was born and grew up on a cotton plantation where her parents had been enslaved prior to the American Civil War.  She was orphaned at age 7, married at 14 years of age and widowed at 20 years of age with a child (young daughter). She began experimenting with formulas to cure scalp infections that cause baldness.  After working as a cook for a pharmacist, she learned the basic chemistry required to perfect her ointment that healed dandruff and other hair-related disorders.  Her story is also told in the movie ‘Self-Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam CJ. Walker’, currently available to watch on Netflix.

Dolly Parton

It was only recently, as I watched a tribute to Dolly Parton, that I realised that behind all those songs, were messages of gender-based discrimination and equality.  Dolly became a worldwide sensation when it was difficult for women to stand up for themselves and each other, so Dolly chose to raise them through her music.  Throughout her career, and even today, Dolly is the butt of jokes based on her physical appearance.  People joke about the size of her bust (usually men), and women usually mock her image and the apparent plastic surgery that she’s had.  She made her music debut by becoming the protegee of country music singer Porter Wagoner before launching her solo career in 1974.  Dolly’s most popular song is arguably ‘I will always love you’ having been reinvented and revived, selling millions of copies through another legendary female singer Whitney Houston.  One of her songs that best showcase her commitment to gender equality, however, is ‘Just Because I’m a Woman’ which can be heard on Youtube here.

As a long-standing philanthropist, Dolly’s history of giving back to make the world a better place can be seen below.

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Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan and Mary Jackson

These three African-American women made NASA’s early space missions possible.  These ladies were some of the ‘human computers’ that calculated orbital trajectories.  The website Space.com states, “Beginning in 1935, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), a precursor of NASA, hired hundreds of women as computers. The job title described someone who performed mathematical equations and calculations by hand…”.  The movie ‘Hidden Figures’ focuses on three of these female human computers.  All three women contribute greatly to space exploration but are effectively unknown.  The trailer for the movie Hidden Figures can be seen here

Christine Schuler Deschryver 

Christine is the Vice President of the Panzi Foundation and the Co-Founder and Director of City of Joy.  City of Joy is a community for female survivors of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  City of Joy provides a safe haven and leadership programs helping to empower female survivors.  A human rights activist her whole life, she now dedicates her life to creating a global awareness of femicide, genital mutilation and mass rape of women and children in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  City of Joy and Christine’s work can be seen in a documentary currently on Netflix. 

My daughter

Having me as a mother must be hard!  Seeing my daughter grow into the beautiful, caring woman that she has become, and watching her as she became a mother herself for the first time, brings me the greatest joy and pride.  For those who don’t know, my daughter is a highly skilled and experienced Paediatric Oncology Nurse who has been celebrated and valued in her various workplaces.  She started her career at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Victoria and excelled in a profession that is one of the hardest jobs in the world.  My daughter is the definition of love, empathy, grace, courage and professionalism.  She is patient, kind, considerate of others, she is authentic, inspiring and passionate, respected and valued by many.  As a woman and a mother outside of her profession, she reminds me of what’s important in life and always tries to gently pull me back when I forget that I need to look after myself and share life with my loved ones too.  She is an incredible Mum, and a beautiful, loving and caring wife.  She reminds me constantly of the person I hope to be.  She is a beautiful example of the woman I wish to be.  

Finally, what about you?  If you’re a female and reading this article, what about you?  What do you contribute to the world?  What will your legacy be? 

I, like many women, am often affected by the concept of the glass ceiling and imposter syndrome but, there are days when I know, and truly believe that what I do and what I stand for is important and valued.  

I always try to remember that I never know who’s watching and who I’m inspiring, but, I know that there are women who see me and what I stand for as an inspiration. That thought motivates me on days when the glass ceiling and imposter syndrome come looking for me.  They motivate me when I feel like I’m not enough.  They motivate me on those days when it’s hard to get out of bed and do the same old thing every day and face your haters, face another day of abuse because you stand up and fight for those who no longer can.  It’s those women who give me the courage I need to keep going.  It’s times like that I watch movies like The Woman King, Wonder Woman (the Gal Gadot versions), and Hidden Figures. 

In times like that, I look around and see the legacy I’m leaving behind, and I know deep down, what I also do matters.

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RTO Doctor assists VET & international education providers around the country to ensure their compliance with their regulatory requirements; a critical issue for RTOs around the nation currently experiencing a very hostile and punitive regulatory environment. Raelene Bartlett, Founding Director of RTO Doctor published the book CRICOS CPR: Top 5 Tips to Rescue Your RTO as a way of supporting providers in navigating this minefield. She has also published the number 1 international bestseller in 3 categories "National Vocational Education and Training Regulator Act 2011 (Cth): An Investigation Into Merits Review" and 'The Human Toll: Is The Nature of Regulation Under The Australia Skills Quality Authority Destructive?'