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| | • | As of 2005, 68 women have served as heads of state worldwide. More than three-quarters of them took office since 1990. | | | • | Globally, women parliamentary representatives increased from 13 to 15.6% between 1999-2004, and are increasingly involved in foreign affairs, finance, and defense. | |
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To all the friends of and participants in Imagining Ourselves:
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning to sail my ship.” So wrote the 19th century author of Little Women, Louisa May Alcott.
Today, as a modern generation of women embarks on our own voyages of discovery, we can draw strength not only from within, and not only from the women around us, but also from the experiences of women around the world.
I have seen for myself, through my own work in Jordan and beyond, the way women of all ages, backgrounds, and beliefs are pulling together for progress.
Women like the microentrepreneurs I’ve met in Mexico, Bosnia, and Jordan, who are using tiny loans to build their businesses, support their families, and transform their communities.
Women like the teachers I met at the Ritanjali Learning Center in New Delhi, who are helping Indian children – especially girls and underserved youth – get the education and support they need to reach their fullest potential.
Women like the mothers I spoke with in the earthquake-ravaged town of Muzaffarabad, Pakistan, who had lost everything but their hope and determination to care for the children they loved.
Women like the thousands of sponsors of Women for Women International, who are making a world of difference for women survivors of war.
And so many others, from those whose heroic efforts drive the headlines, to those whose daily acts of caring go unacknowledged in a fast-paced world. In countless ways, in every land and community worldwide, women are navigating life’s storms and bringing forth the sun.
Now, through this innovative online celebration, “Imagining Ourselves,” a project of the International Museum of Women, we see how the tools of the information age can weave our experiences together. By making women’s voices, women’s stories, women’s artwork accessible to all, our lives become a map and compass to guide one another forward. Even more important, by enabling dialogue and feedback throughout the site, “Imagining Ourselves” encourages each of us to communicate and connect – not only with women who seem like us, but with those who are unfamiliar. And, in the process of opening our eyes, minds, and hearts to new horizons, we can help shape a future of understanding, acceptance, and peace.
I hope that you will join us this month for our discussion of building a better future. Let us learn from one another’s triumphs, joys, and frustrations. And let us aspire not just to imagine, but also to invent ourselves – as women who combine, in scholar Elaine Showalter’s words, “independence, adventure, and love.”
Together, we can meet life’s inevitable storms with confidence in the rainbows beyond.
Wassalam aleikoum warahmatullahi wa barakatuh.
Warm wishes,
Rania Al-Abdullah | |  | FLAG THIS STORY FOR REVIEW | |
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