Giving lost female voices a voice
International Women’s Day
Whilst International Women’s Day is always a chance to celebrate the achievements of women and recognise how far we have come in the road to equality in society, it is always bittersweet. Today we grieve for our sisters in Afghanistan and what is happening to them. How enraging and deeply wounding it must be to be silenced and shut away from the world.
It is long ago since the Suffragette movement, and the feminist movement of the 1970’s but some things changed not too long ago. It was only in 1991 in the UK, that rape within marriage was made illegal. That’s only 34 years ago. We must keep pushing forward to achieve that equality of opportunity and position within our society.
On the other hand, for young girls today, the world has opened in terms of opportunities for careers in a way that wasn’t open for previous generations of women. Young girls can now dream of being anything they want to be, and they aren’t restricted as their mothers or grandmothers were, thinking about only becoming a secretary, a nurse or a teacher.
Historically many women have been silenced and their voices written out of the narrative of how our world and society has been shaped and how they have influenced our learning. We need to try and hear some of those voices to enable us to own ours.
For example, Elena Cornaro Piscopia – the first woman to be awarded a PhD. This happened in 1678 at the university of Padua!
Alice Ball an African woman born in 1892 in Seattle. She developed the first effective treatment for leprosy at 23 and despite dying at 24, her legacy lives through the ‘Ball method’.
Or Clara Schumann who was a German composer in her own right despite her work often being credited as being composed by her husband Robert. Her doubt from societal pressure meant she is quoted as saying ‘I once believed that I possessed creative talent, but I have given up this idea; a woman must not desire to compose — there has never yet been one able to do it. Should I expect to be the one?’ How sad to be so creative and yet not be able to believe in yourself.
I encourage everyone to find out more about lost female voices from around the globe to inspire us to dream bigger for ourselves.
If, as a woman you struggle to find your voice or don’t know who you are or have an anger that sits within you that you don’t know what to do with or know that you are watching in the wings as the story of your life unfolds on the stage, perhaps counselling would be of benefit to you. As a pre-dominantly female led organisation, The Counselling Foundation is proud of and supports all women whether women assigned so at birth or women who have transitioned – we are here to support you to enable you to find your voice and take centre stage in the story of your life.
Author: Louisa Grundy, Advanced Diploma Programme Tutor
We provide a BACP accredited counselling service, however if you are in crisis, please call the Samaritans who are available 24/7 on 116 123 or call 111.