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Lifestyle



           WHAT DOES IT




           MEAN TO BE A




           WOMAN IN A




           CHANGING WORLD







           What is womanhood?                her imperfect feet and still tell the   In this year for international
           I suppose Laura Marling in her    world, she’s a woman. She’s bold   women’s day, let’s raise our glasses
           Semper Femina Album puts it       and beautiful, in all her sizes. She’s   to all the #ChooseToChallenge,
           rightly, “Womanhood is something   smart, talented and skilful whatever   #SeeHer, #internationalWomensDay
           you don’t consider until it hits you.”  her level of education might be and   trends and tweets. We are part of
           This statement makes me wonder    whatever her failures have been   the generation making the changes.
           what I thought of myself growing   over the years. To be a woman in a   We are the voices speaking truth
           up as a girl and what other women   changing world means to know that   and life, inclusion and diversity, love
           have considered themselves to be   her mistakes and bad decisions can   and strength and healing. To be a
           over the years. To be a woman, a   never stop her from rising, from   woman in a changing world means
           divine force of nature that is often   going beyond, from giving it all,   to gear up and suit up to be part
           obstructed, challenged, broken and   from lifting her soul and mind and   of the conversation, to be part of
           weakened. To be a woman despite   stepping again into the world like   the change, and to be part of the
           all the odds that society has thrown   it’s her centre stage because she   innovation. We are teaching the girls
           at us. To be a woman in a light   is here to dance in whatever beat   who will be women what it means
           that reflects a godly and graceful   she chooses.  She’s learning, she’s   to be a woman. What it means to
           fragrance. To be wild, free and feisty.   growing, she’s rewriting her story   dream and aspire for change. What
           To be elegant, graceful and virtuous.   and she’s making all the former days   it means to create, to collaborate
           To be all the things that women   of sadness, broken dreams and    and to empower. We are teaching
           weren’t supposed to be. To be bold   shattered hopes insignificant.   the girls what it means to be elegant,
           and loud. To fill a room that wouldn’t                             sassy and fly and what it means to
           house our kind. To stand up to the   To be a woman in a changing world   be a woman in the entertainment
           times, shred the gender roles and   means to hold everyone accountable   industry, in the arts, in the sciences,
           just do the things our minds and   for injustice done to women. To   in tech and engineering. Mostly
           bodies have said they can handle.   be the lead voice in a gathering,   what it means to be a woman in a
                                             to begin movements and trends    changing world.
           To be a woman in a changing world   that fight for equality and equity,
           means to be a woman in every      justice and peace, inclusion and   To all the girls and the women with
           proportion that fits you. To be   diversity,  women empowerment,   the skinny jeans and skirts, the
           bold and proud, to be everything   to be a feminist, to fight for women   dresses and gowns, the sagging
           a woman isn’t supposed to be. To   and girls right, to fight for gender   pants and T-shirts, the skinny cuts,
           be sassy, boogie and fly. To be an   equity, to keep the conversations   the afros and natural hairs, the wigs
           intellect, a mother, a wife, a friend   on women’s rights going on. To   and attachments, the hijabs and
           but mostly to be a woman. To be   celebrate the big wins and the small   veils. To all the women working and
           all those things that women were   wins, to uplift the struggling women,   dreaming, to all the women making
           once and even more. Womanhood     to create digital inclusion for women   change, to all the women healing
           is divine, a growth of imperfection   in every aspect of society, to fight   and loving, to all the women holding
           mirrored into a purely perfect and   against female genital mutilation, to   the fort, and to every woman who
           magical being. Maybe that is why   fight for safe spaces. And above all   doesn’t feel like a woman most
           the girl at 8, 15, and 21 refuses   to radiate love, beauty, confidence   of the time, we’re saying to you-
           to be called a woman. I suppose   and kindness in a way that women   CHOOSE TO CHALLENGE. And just
           she knew she must grow into it.   know-how.                        know our million voices are with you
           She must fit into the perfect shoes                                all the way. So go all the way and be
           with all her light and flaws, with                                 part of the change.











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