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The Role of Women on Global Peace Efforts Printable Version PRINTABLE VERSION
by Amie Marie R. Flores, Philippines Dec 31, 2002
Peace & Conflict   Opinions

  

Let me begin with a story:
Three men came across a female genie who promised to grant each one a wish. The first man said, “I wish I were twenty-five percent smarter.” The genie blinked, and the man said, “Hey, I feel smarter already.”
The second man said, “I wish I were fifty percent smarter.” The genie blinked, and the man exclaimed, “This is wonderful! I think I know things now I didn’t know before.”
The third man said, “I’d like to be one hundred percent smarter.”
So the genie blinked, and the man changed… into a WOMAN.

The world is not as patriarchal as before. Finally, society has come to face the fact about the significant roles we women play. We are more than a mother, whose place was confined in the home- taking care of the family. We are more than a wife who should only serve her husband with all her life. We were thought to be nothing but fickle-minded individuals- vulnerable and full of complexities. These were injustices that degraded us for years. For generations, we have continuously fought to be recognized. And we have proven ourselves. We are women, with uniqueness and strength the community can’t live without.

The humanitarian movements intended for gender equality have placed us women into the social sphere where we can excel in our chosen fields and vie for our independence. We now have representations not only in the government, but also in other endeavors, as well, which before were considered as man’s world. But again, the world calls for changes. The news is all about violence— most of which are crimes committed against women. We have become victims, but not pleading victims asking only for protection. We are victims, who sincerely understand the cost of war and are genuinely interested in peace. For what can be more important than the serenity of our children and the security of our family? No more terrorism. No more conflict. No more violence.
To all the women who are proactive leaders, you are the prime movers of citizen-empowering movements, and community services. Bridge the gap between ethnic diversities and international borders. The government should include you at the negotiating table and provide you with training activities for we are peacemakers. It doesn’t take sooner for the world to know.
And to the rest of us, women in all walks of life— let us continuously give the society citizens raised upon values and morality by being peace educators among our children, among one another. Within us are passions for truth, justice and harmony. Share those passions! Live up those passions!

Let me end with a story:
I once asked my mother, “When will I see you happy and live a comfortable life?” I witnessed how she worked, hard enough. I saw her cry, and she cried alone. “If I will graduate two years from now and take up medicine for another six years, will I see you totally happy and living a comfortable life?”
The tears came streaming from my eyes when she replied, “Everyday, every moment of my life, from the day I conceived you, I am happiest just by merely loving you.”
On this I reflected. If there are a thousand ways that we can play in the global peace efforts, there is but one role women portray… the role of teachers. We teach that asking forgiveness doesn’t mean you are a loser; that crying doesn’t mean you are weak; obedience doesn’t mean you are inferior, and that listening doesn’t mean you have nothing to say. We forgive, we cry, we obey and we listen; yet, we are whole. And there are a thousand more but the greatest that we have ever taught is… love.
When the man asked the female genie that he would like to be one hundred percent smarter, she turned him into a woman.
The man asked, “What happened? Why?”
And the genie replied, “All right, you are already smart, but to be one hundred percent smarter doesn’t only require you to possess a logical mind. You must have … the heart.”






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Amie Marie R. Flores


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