Musing Moments: Catching up....Young Women's Leadership Dialogue and International Women's Summit

The best advice I have received, "Be yourself, everyone else is already taken."

The last 3 days have been an adventure, a truly amzing journey I will never forget. The power and the stories of the women here......Wow! I have participated in many plenary sessions and break out disscussion groups, and it still amazes me that I continue to hear so many different perspectives on the issues.

YWLD
The Young Women's Leadership Dialogue took place on Monday. It started with an opening plenary with high profile speakers. The YWCA World Board President, Susan Brennen- Australia, opened the dialogue by pointing out how important the voices of young women are to this organization. She told us her own story about joining the YWCA as a young women and the journey she has made since then. It was truly inspiring to hear her story and to know that she truly is advocating for young women to have a voice in the decision making processes at all levels of the YWCA. As discussions began taking place, it was abundantly clear that not all YWCA women feel as strongly about the presence of young women at the table. A woman from a country in Africa told us that her Genreal Secretary (CEO) told her before she left for World Council, "I am sending you to World Council, but do not think that you can run the YWCA. You are not mature enough." That language coming from a woman who is suppose to be supporting her made me realize how very fortunate I am to be in Lubbock with Glenda Mathis.

Glenda has worked to create significant change to the diversity of people at the table in Lubbock. I believe that mentoring comes as second nature to her. Talking to other women from other local associations even within the United States only highlights how blessed we are to have Glenda's leadership and support in Lubbock. Looking even further proves that there are really fantastic people at the YWCA of Lubbock. There is peer-to-peer support in our organization that is rare and must not be taken for granted.

International Women's Summit
Some of the stories are simply hearbreaking. Just today, I was in a session about domestic violence put on by the YWCAs of Finland and Germany. They have an exhibit called Rossenstrasse 76 (76 Rose Street in English) that they take to churches, shopping malls, schools and many other public arenas. The exhibit is set up like a house with a bed room, living room, kitchen and a child's bedroom. As you walk through there are cards attached to various items that tell you a story about what happens in that house. The object is to point out that although the house looks like the ones most of us live in, terrible things take place there behind closed doors. It was powerful. As we went through the session, a woman from Nigeria stood up and said that she understood why they created it, but that it would never be allowed to be shown in her country. She said that men there beat their wives as a normal part of life. They cannot even get help because it is such a normal part of their culture. She told us about how their YWCA does pre-marital counseling for couples so that they can teach both men and women that domestic violence is unacceptable. In that same session, a woman from YWCA USA told the group what her YWCA does for victims of domestic violence, and the group, in general, looked at her in shock. They simply could not believe that domestic violence happens in the United States. It goes to show that perception and reality are two different things.

The types of things that happen in other parts of the world are not on our radar for the most part. For example, there are many countries where families will give their daughters for marriage while they are still children, sometimes as young as 10 years old. 10 million girls are given as "child brides" every year. As inconceivable as it is, parents choose that life for their daughters as a way to protect them. Sometimes early marriage is so deeply engrained into their culture, that the people do not really know the risks. In South Asia, 46% of girls are married and have their first child before the age of 18. The same is true for 36% of the girls in Sub-Saharan Africa. Fortunately, the YWCAs in those countries are working togther with The Elders, UNWomen, Save the Children UK and many other organizations to bring education to the places where these practices are common as well as effecting policy making to criminalize this practice.

Very quickly I will mention that every American needs to research the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, or CEDAW, (cedaw2010.org) read about it then call your state representatives, and take a stance on it one way or another. While there are many components to CEDAW, there is a part of CEDAW that specifically addresses child marriage. I will let everyone make their own decision about their feelings toward it.

Statement of fact: Every country in the world, EXCEPT The United States of America and Somalia have ratified CEDAW.

Us and a 3rd world country.

I would also like to point out that their are many countries that are significantly futher along on the gender equality spectrum than the US. Many of them, just under 50% of their elected officials, legislative bodies and leaders including presidents and prime ministers, are female.

Enough with the heavy....

Last night was "Swiss Night." Everyone went out to a "large" restaurant in Zurich. We started on the patio with a sampling of various kinds of cheese, vegetables, fruit and fondue. The we went in for dinner. There was a lot of entertainment during the evening and a vitrual train ride around the country. We learned about the culture and the different cities in Switzerland. It was really great getting to know people better and spend a relaxing evening enjoying each other's company. There are truly AMAZING women here. I am so thankful that I have the oppurtunity to experience this!!

And a few random pictures