March is Women’s History Month. To celebrate, we asked women in the Help One Now family to answer two questions: What does empowerment mean to you, and how can we live lives as individuals that empower women? 

We were blown away by all of the incredible wisdom of each woman who shared their words with us. Please visit our Instagram page to read these incredible responses. 

Orpah Chinyowa, Zimbabwe Local Leader, wrote a beautifully crafted response to these questions. Please read below to hear her powerful words. 

 

What does empowerment mean to you?

Empowerment to me means giving someone the ability to improve her lifestyle and outlook – economically, socially, educationally, culturally and politically. This results in that person being able to improve her family life, the immediate society and the world at large.

Why should women be empowered locally?

Women should be empowered locally so that they carry themselves confidently, and pass on that positive self-image to their daughters and their communities.

When women are empowered educationally and economically and they send their children to school, especially their daughters, they become aware of the importance of nutrition and health for themselves and for their children, resulting in healthy families. 

Empowering women locally allows them to become aware of their rights as women; that they are significant and that they deserve to be treated with dignity.

When women are empowered locally, they become agents of change in their communities by helping to change negative cultural traditions or religious gender attitudes towards women by taking up leadership positions on women’s committees, feeding programs, fundraising, or project-monitoring teams.

Why should women be empowered globally?

Women should be empowered globally in recognition of the Universal Human Rights Declaration of the United Nations Convention of 2016. As stated by Azubire in 2016, women’s human rights were a priority in the Millennium Development goals.

It is said that about half of the world population are women, and so empowering them has a great impact on the living conditions of families and their societies. For instance, when mothers have an income, their children can go to school – causing increased literacy around the world. 

When women are empowered globally, they can hold influential positions as members of parliament or committee members of big organizations like the UN or the Young Women’s Christian Association, who speak against and challenge social injustices. 

How can we as individuals live lives that empower women?

To live lives that empower others, we must be empowered ourselves and be exemplary – by having projects, pursuing education or being computer literate, for example.

In our day-to-day activities, we as women can look outward in our communities and encourage individuals and groups of women in the church women’s clubs, youth groups and the like to be empowered economically by starting projects. 

Recognizing talent in young women and suggesting a project to undertake is also encouraging and helpful.

Telling women about successful stories of empowerment in other areas of the world, or visiting other people’s projects can stimulate other women to do likewise.

The Importance of Empowerment

Empowering women educationally, economically, socially, and culturally makes a big impact on the world’s societies. The results of women empowerment affect family life, local communities and the world as a whole, and thus, women empowerment is an important concept for life in this twenty-first century.

– Orpah Chinyowa, Zimbabwe Local Leader