International Women’s Day 2024 Theme: Inspire Inclusion.

When women are inspired to be included, there’s a sense of belonging, relevance, and empowerment. When women aren’t present, or equally valued, we must ask: “Why not?” When women are discriminated against, or abused in any way, we must call out injustice and take action.

A student friend of mine is graduating with a Master’s Degree in Leadership. This may seem ordinary for most, but this woman, Mercy, is the first from her rural village to achieve higher education. Most of the girls from her village stop their education when they reach puberty, get married and have children. Often young women are unable to attend school because they don’t have menstrual resources. Overcoming barriers to managing their periods allows girls to pursue education, increase earnings, and work and participate in community.

I wouldn’t have known anything about Mercy’s desperate hope to overcome the barriers of her upbringing except that she shared her life story with me. It was an honor to be invited into her story and I was humbly aware of the need to hold it very gently, and yet at the same time to celebrate and cheer her on toward her life goals.

In the new season of “Unlocking Us,” a podcast with host Brené Brown, we hear stories of those who have lost much in pursuit of peace and justice in a difficult season of violence and war. After one woman shared her story of great personal loss , Brené responded saying,

“Thank you for sharing your story, I hold it very tenderly and with a lot of love, a lot of grief…and hope.”

LISTEN. In this month celebrating women, take a strong, passionate woman for coffee or seek out a woman who is lost and struggling and listen to her story. Hold the stories tenderly, express love, share grief, and offer hope.

WATCH. Period. End of Sentence. 2018. A period should end a sentence, not a girl’s education.

LEARN. HELP. SHOP. GO. DO…

READ. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant. The Red Tent is the story of Dinah, a minor character in the book of Genesis, chapter 34. The brief episode in which she appears is usually referred to as the “rape of Dinah,” a violent episiode that has posed difficulties for biblical scholars over the centuries. Dinah does not say a single word in the biblical text; what happens to her is recounted and characterized by her brothers. In The Red Tent, Dinah tells her own story, and that of the women around her.

Tell your Story. Listen to Hers.