The Woman of the World festival is one of my yearly highlights. Just as we emerge from the worst months, Jan and Feb, it surfaces, once again, on the week of International Woman’s Day, like a beacon of hope. [Yes, I wrote this a while ago and have only had the time now to post it]. 

Sure, some of the issues on the agenda are tough-going: sexism, misogyny, bad health, violence [though not all are doom and gloom]. But they are matched by an invigorating display of hope, togetherness, determination and enthusiasm to overcome them. Even better are the ideas, movements and trailblazers to carry forward with you. You’ll never come away disheartened but full of courage, fighting fuel, and optimism. 

Here is just a teeny, tiny snapshot of the conversations I encountered on the opening day. 

 The opening hour:

This is usually, my favourite part of the day, and this year didn’t disappoint. The festival opened, or shall I say exploded, with the formidable Verna Eggleston, the leader of the Women’s Economic Development initiatives at Bloomberg Philanthropies since its inception in 2007. 

For us staid British, Eggleston was an American tour-de-force, pacing and taking up the whole stage with her presence. She spoke about the overturning of Roe v Wade (abortion laws in the US); she was 8 when it originally passed and unfortunately saw it overturned in her 6th decade. At the beginning of her talk she gave a metaphor of how us women always have resources in our handbag or something put aside in case one of us might need it later. “I still have all those resources in my bag and I am ready to use them,” she said in relation to winning back reproductive rights. 

Next up was Julia Gillard, the former and only female prime minister of Australia. She spoke about the famous ‘misogyny speech’ she delivered in parliament in retort to the opposition leader Tony Abbott. If you haven’t seen it, you must, it’s iconic. Interestingly, considering how good it is, she said she hadn’t prepared for the speech at all, it came mostly from the gut. 

It’s evident the repeated sexism she faced as prime minister those 10 years ago has left a lasting impression on her. She spoke about how throughout a successful career in law and politics it was only when she took the top job that she ever felt targeted for her gender.

“People get scared by women with power,” she said. Her advice is to never take it personally. 

She highlighted some statistics gleaned by the Global Institute for Woman Leadership, for which she is Chair, that misogynistic attitudes towards women are reducing in older generations but, scarily, growing in younger men, something she attributes in part to the likes of Andrew Tate and others on social media. 

Gillard was joined by Laura Bates from the Everyday Sexism Project, author Elif Shafak and Josephine Kamara, an activist from Sierra Leone. 

Bates highlighted her work in schools, stating there is a ‘public health emergency and crisis’ in our schools that no one is addressing. According to research, one-third of girls say they have been sexually assaulted in school and one rape a day per school term is reported.  ONE RAPE A DAY REPORTED. Horrific. 

Is it any wonder nothing is done, she noted, when 56 men in parliament are under investigation for sexual misconduct?

“It’s normal and that is the problem,” she said.  Apparently, Malala Yousef said previously that “Here [the UK] it is hidden,” meaning we acknowledge it other countries but pretend that it isn’t happening at home when clearly it is. 

It was interesting to note the expression of horror at these statistics from Josephine Kamara who has experienced and fought against sexual violence in her home country of Sierra Leonne. During a period of lockdown amid the Ebola breakout, 14,000 women ‘were believed to be impregnated against their will’ and forced out of school as is the law [she campaigns for pregnant women to be allowed to stay in education]. Her campaign now has support from the first lady in Sierra Leonne and incidentally abortion was made legal in the country just as the US made it de facto illegal. 

Lastly, Elif Shafak ended with a great quote: “Silence keeps us apart and stories bring us together.”