International Women’s day (IWD), 8 March, is the global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
IWD has been celebrated for well over a century, with the first IWD gathering in 1911 supported by over a million people.
To celebrate the contributions of women to society, meet some of the inspirational women leaders in CommonAge, and older women across the Commonwealth:
Femada Shamam
CEO The Association For The Ageing (TAFTA), Durban, South Africa
“I draw inspiration from the different playgrounds I play in locally, nationally and globally. There is so much that is happening around the world by people like me who believe in the vision of a better life for our elders. Through collaborations, partnerships and ongoing conversations we can amplify our impact which ultimately benefits our elders.
Driven by my personal philosophy of “Be more”, I aspire to be more understanding, be more grateful, be more inventive, be more compassionate, be more kind.”
Femada was also shortlisted in the Standard Bank KZN Top Business Women awards.
Read more about Femada here.
Samantha Bowen
Senior Project Manager, Silver Chain Group and Managing Director Acorn Network, Australia
Samantha Bowen holds a strong interest in designing, engaging and supporting initiatives that attract young people and professionals to identify how they support older adults in their communities.
Samantha’s expertise is engagement and connection with Generation Y and Z in our healthcare workplaces – our future leaders – with a strong focus on how social care, ageing, and not-for-profit workplaces can utilise their brilliant missions to engage our age service leaders today and tomorrow.
Read more about Samantha here.
Datin Jacqueline WM Wong
Honorary Advisor, demensia Brunei, Brunei Darussalam
A passionate dementia advocate Jacqueline has acted as the Hon. Advisor to demensia Brunei (dB) since 2018. Prior to this, she served as the Hon. Secretary of the Executive Committee, Alzheimer’s Disease Foundation of Malaysia (ADFM, 2016-2019).
dB and ADFM, both non-government not-for profit organisations, are amongst the exclusive members of Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI): a federation of over 105 Alzheimer and related dementia associations in official relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). dB became an exclusive member of ADI in 2020.
Jacqueline’s father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. Her mother-in-law had vascular dementia and Parkinson’s Disease. Both passed away in 2010 but the knowledge and experience caring for them continues to inspire her efforts and contribution. Jacqueline facilitates Dementia Care Skills workshops and Train-the-Trainer programmes. She is also involved in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) & Sustainability collaborations and public-private partnerships in Brunei Darussalam and in Malaysia.
Read more about Jacqueline here.
Pioneering women
In 2019, we published a collation of older peoples’ stories, as told by younger people in A Common Wealth of Experience: Freedom fighters, child brides and other untold real life stories.
This ebook celebrates the lived experiences of long lives and the invaluable contributions of women and men to their communities.
Telling the untold, this collection of real-life stories written by young authors gives privileged access to the profoundly unique experiences and challenges of individual lives across the Commonwealth. From trials and triumphs to love and loss, these short stories paint a rich and colourful picture of how the Commonwealth came to be, by giving a voice to the people who lived it.
Read the life experiences of Barbadian Dame Maizie Barker-Welch. Her career in politics which would be the proudest jewel amongst her life’s achievements. Elected in her own right, Dame Maizie was the only female in parliament between 1986 and 1992. In 1992, she became the President of the National Organisation of Women, pursuing a life of advocacy for women who needed a voice.
Then there’s South African, Mrs Senmathie Pillay, who in the late 70s, provided refuge to anti-apartheid activists Pravin Gordhan and Billy Nair.
Majeda Begum describes to her young writer how she and her family fled Dhaka in the Bangladesh Liberation war in 1971, and after taking refuge with various friends and relatives, eventually ended up in their village home, Barisal.
In Cyprus, Mrs Milia Andreou Aggelides told how her husband, having experienced the horrors of war whilst fighting for his country’s independence in 1960, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder. Unable to work and support his family, Milia took a job as a cleaner at a local ‘all girls’ school, and soon became an unofficial mentor and counsellor to young students who needed support in other areas of their lives.
The young author noted:
Contrary to the stereotypical image of an old-fashioned household, it was the wife who mainly sustained and provided the family with its necessities, rather than the husband, allowing Mrs Milia to portray the act of female empowerment and embody it just as today’s feminists do, in a time where it had just begun to gain popularity.
Through sharing and honouring the common experience of life itself, the 50 stories in this book upholds human rights in ageing, in gender and for the future to come.
Download it free of charge, via the link here.
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