One woman. Brussels, NY, Madrid and Bangkok

ONE WOMAN

ONE WOMAN We are one woman You cry and I hear you We are one woman You hurt and I hurt too We are one woman Your hopes are mine And we shall shine Though we are different as can be We are connected, she with me Your dreams are mine And we shall shine In Kigali, Hanoi, Natal, Ramallah, Tangier, Lahore, La Paz, Kampala, Jaipur, Manila, Salta, Embu This is the song that Ana Bacalhau, Angéique Kidjo, Anoushka Shankar , Fahan Hasan, Bebel Gilberto, Debi Nova, Marta Gómez, Jane Zhang, Emeline Michel, Ximena Sariñana, Buika, Yuna and Rokia Traoré sang and recorded from different places in the world.

A beautiful project to provide UNWOMEN with a song that would spread their message.

UN WOMEN was created in 2010 with the mandate of standing behind women’s equal participation in all aspects of life, focusing on five priority areas: expanding women’s voice, leadership and participation; ending violence against women and girls; strengthening women’s full participation in conflict resolution and peace processes; enhancing women’s economic empowerment; and making gender equality central to national development planning and budgeting.

And there are not enough UN WOMEN in the world yet…Traveling this year from East to West, and from North to South, I kept observing and I still feel we are very far away from gender equality. As I talked to colleagues, friends or family, it seemed obvious that the conversation about equality can even bother some guys who feel challenged or even think that the term “feminazi” is appropriate when we tend to get radical about it…This whole planet needs to be reconfigured and rethought…Women need to openly complain about the differences that remain unnoticed to most of the world inhabitants. We, the women, are half of those world’s inhabitants but when you take a look at the world decisions makers, you may hardly find any woman around.

Tradition, religion and culture need to be revisited as they have created a society in which women need to scream in order to be heard.

On the other hand, I always see positivity and happiness whenever women are around. So I believe that we just need a little bit of empowerment to reverse the situation if we use our ideas, our natural strength and our emotional intelligence.

The song could continue by saying …or in Brussels, Madrid, NY or Bangkok

Brussels, colorful surrounding that enlightens the way she walks

Tio Pepe became Tia Pepa and she looks much better

The power of stones and a jean jacket just in case it gets chilly

When gender stops being relevant

Colors that brighten up the whiteness of the Oculus in NY

Colors and patterns while looking up

It’s my party and I cry if I want to

An instant of backlight Art in which women become main characters

And love, always love while women keep smiling

Working hard many hours a day, no matter the country, no matter the type of work

Express what you feel. Say what you want

Yolanda, Sept-Oct 2018