To all women

 

Don’t let anybody suppress your voice. There will come times when you won’t have a choice but be silent and tolerate the suppression. But remember, that moment is not only about toleration but also silently finding pathways to empowerment so that you can come back even stronger. Keep empowering yourself whatever and however long it takes you even if that means pushing yourself to read a piece of article or news. Make exercising your agency a purpose of your life. Put a vision board that you will come back strong and with a voice after each drawback no matter how small or big. Trust me! You will come across so many opportunities to speak up again even if it means a weaker voice from your own perspective. A well-informed voice by your experiences is never weak. 

Let me tell you a story!

I was working with the Afghanistan Mission to the UN a few years ago. I was able to start a conversation with Indian, Pakistani, and Chinese delegates. The next day, I was called at the Ambassador’s office to either stop engaging with them or shouldn’t introduce myself as an Afghan. It hurt that day and it still hurts. Today, I am able to speak about it with you even though I am still not comfortable exposing the name of the Ambassador. But soon that will happen too! I believe in the power of the right time. Our voices are needed to shape the narrative, disrupt the decades' long ineffective patterns, and introduce new trends and pathways. 

For the past couple of days, especially after the chaos unfolding in Afghanistan, I can’t stop thinking but asking:

1. 1. How would our world look like if we have more women in positions of power especially in political institutions?
2. 2. Would a feminist approach to security, military, diplomacy, intelligence and other discourses bring more peace in the world?
3. 3. Would a feminist approach get rid of the blurred boundaries that have destroyed and have been destroying humanity since the dawn of mankind?
4. 4. Are we trapped in egoistic and emotionless masculine institutions that need to be replaced with love and caring feminine institutions?

I can’t stop but thinking about a world where no more innocent lives are sacrificed for the ego of another man.