Le thème officiel de la Journée internationale de la femme 2012 est : l'autonomisation des femmes rurales et leur rôle dans l'éradication de la pauvreté et de la faim, le développement et les défis actuels.
Après avoir créé et dirigé Vimukti Pothnal, Arun Lobo poursuit actuellement ses études à New-York. Il m'a adressé ce matin ce message que je partage volontiers avec vous car il porte en lui une vérité partagée par un grand nombre d'entre nous, que nous soyons français, indien ou américain.
Après avoir créé et dirigé Vimukti Pothnal, Arun Lobo poursuit actuellement ses études à New-York. Il m'a adressé ce matin ce message que je partage volontiers avec vous car il porte en lui une vérité partagée par un grand nombre d'entre nous, que nous soyons français, indien ou américain.
While we commemorate Women's day, I also wish you a great journey of empowerment as I believe there is a feminine and a masculine side in all of us and it is the balance between both that makes us completely human... So we all deserve wishes...
Wether in India or America, I am always inspired by the women around me. Inspired and at times confused. In my classes, the majority of students are women. So too at Sakhi, the agency I work for and the Queens family Justice Center, a city agency for families. In the work they do every day, I see so much of their strengths. They are bold, challenging and empowered in many ways I have not seen in rural India. Here they, drive the bus, train and plane and walk at night without fear and fright.
However Women in New-York voice their opinion but remain vulnerable just like the women of my village who are silenced by the world around them. Here too, women remain as vulnerable as ever.
Here we talk of women's rights but when they share their personal experience of violence - I am struck by how they hold and how they continue. I wonder how it is possible to carry so much weight and continue forward.
I wonder what to make of the seemingly week who exhibit their strengths and the strong exhibit their vulnerability. In all conversations, when we feel "we are almost there" we find that yet another hurdle blocks our way. But here women I have met keep going. They grow stronger with their challenges.
This Women's Day I want to take a moment to appreciate every woman for being one among those inspiring women in my life who celebrate their womanhood by standing up, sometimes alone - but always using their strengths to make the world around them truly INSPIRATIONAL.
Arun
Arun Lobo
Graduate School of Social Service
Fordham University
New-York, NY
