Their Story Their Voice

Fearless and Fierce: Uncovering the Challenges Women Face in Today's Society

September 06, 2023 AO Season 2 Episode 3
Their Story Their Voice
Fearless and Fierce: Uncovering the Challenges Women Face in Today's Society
Show Notes Transcript

Welcome to another episode  of Their Story, Their Voice".
Mini episode today with just me! I am trying to  challenge, and motivate everyone to make a difference. It's time to do better, stand up, and give a voice to those who may not always be heard.


Please note transcription accuracy may vary.

Music by - Neffex - don't want to let myself down 
Neffex - A year go


https://www.unwomen.org/en/news-stories/feature-story/2022/02/five-ways-to-build-gender-equality-and-sustainability?gclid=CjwKCAjwo9unBhBTEiwAipC11yG8mrpyRIEDEe08fc1UuMVbwoUpBrr-X04o3xzWZWunEnNF-jCB4BoCxr0QAvD_BwE

https://www.adventourely.com/how-safe-do-people-feel-to-walk-alone-at-night-in-europe/

https://blog.gitnux.com/walking-alone-at-night-statistics/

AO:

Hi, hi, hi, hi. Welcome to another episode. of Their Story, Their Voice. I just wanted to do a mini episode, according to the UN UN woman I did not know there was an actual Bit of the UN, which is dedicated to women. So, I'm learning more things every day. there's an entire article which is, gender equality, which actually is about the fact that the two most urgent challenges for right now are, I'm going to go start with the most obvious one, climate crises. But anyway, the other one other than climate crisis is gender inequality. Gender inequality is an actual, it's a real thing its not a lie we are not making it up. anywho, but there is an entire article which List five ways. It's the article is called Five ways to build gender equality and sustainability. surely that's something we want to be here for. I don't know. I think it is. But anyway, There's five things that are listed. I'm not going to list them. and I don't know what the actual percentage women make up. But in 2021, it was 49. 6 of the global population. So really. We're basically, let's just, you know, just sum it up. I'm so sorry to people who are actually statistic people, mathematicians, but I'm just going to round it up to 50%, okay? 50% of the global population is actually female. It is female. And obviously that depends on various factors, birth rates. Mortality rates, migration, but yeah, we, you know, we could take over the world. anyway On Saturday, I saw my partner's niece and I don't know what we were talking about and She said at uni, University and in the United Kingdom you go to uni when you're 18 19 20 you can even go to uni at 40, point being they asked them If there was a world where men didn't exist, if there was a day where men didn't exist, what would you do? one person said, If there was a world where men didn't exist, she would go out. She would go out when it's dark and not feel scared. And she'd have her headphones and listen to her music and she would be safe because even though women make up on and 40% of the population. We're still scared. And I know when I was younger, I know I was scared sometimes, but I was young and I was also young and dumb and fearless. But I know that I was scared. and when she said that, it made me really sad. Because I thought, I haven't been 18 for a while. And I can't believe all of these years have gone by and Women are still treated like second class citizens. And I know I've mentioned this in, on some Chataholic episodes before. But this also sets the premise for future episodes. Because it is, just pre warning, it is going to be quite women female focused. Minority focused. That's what I'm passionate about. I'm passionate about giving a voice to those whose voices can't be heard. And I just thought, okay, well, All these years later, years after women fought for us to have the right to vote, when the medical profession thought, Okay, do you know what? we will let you have a birth control pill to give you some control over your body. Women still feel scared. Women feel scared to go out on the street. Women feel scared because we don't know who's behind us. And women feel scared about speaking up because even now we're not really supposed to speak up. We are still supposed to be, I don't know, just look pretty. Look pretty, look pretty, be nice, be kind. Which I guess is one of the reasons why. The Barbie movie has just been so, so well received. even though I'm speaking as a woman, to women, Who, or people who just identify as women, but people who identify, who can appreciate the struggle. So I really, this actually is a podcast for men. Do Better by Us. Speak up, like speak on our behalf. Don't let there be a world where. Countries can decide whether we can have abortions or whether we can't have abortions. Do better by your sisters. By your mums. By your daughters. By your female friends. Try and appreciate that it's, we're scared. We're scared a lot. We're scared more than you are. I asked my partner this. We were watching something on tv, and I said to him, do you ever feel scared when you walk down the road? Do you feel scared or do you feel intimidated by people who are around you? And he said, no, I don't. And I watched an episode of this show we've got in the United Kingdom, and I cried. It made me cry, and he didn't get it. And then I had to explain to him. The reason it made me sad is because all these years Why haven't we come further than this? I will tell you why I think we haven't come further. We haven't come further because the other 50%, despite what my partner might say, I'm not saying it's all men, and I'm not. male bashing or male hating because actually, do you know what? I know there's this thing going around recently where us voicing how we feel or standing up for ourselves is, it seems like we're male bashing. That's not what we're doing. We just are asking to be heard because our stories and our voices, they matter. We're not saying they matter more than yours. But it should be equal, and I wonder if the roles were reversed, would there be a country who could, I'm so sorry America, I am coming for you again, would there be a country who would say, do you know what, in some states, no, we're going to say, no. We're taking away your right over your body and whether you can decide whether you want to keep a baby or not. Would there be countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, where women don't get to go to school, where women aren't educated? Because what is there? And actually, do you know what, if anyone actually wants to respond and tell me, because I don't know the answer to this. Why are we deemed in society and some cultures and actually at work as second class citizens? I remember a situation when I worked in a very male dominated industry. And I went to a meeting to discuss a building, which I knew, I knew this building inside and out. I knew this building better than anyone else. And I was surrounded by men. And I remember the construction manager said, okay, well, what do you want to do? And one of my colleagues just jumped in, just jumped in and didn't give me the opportunity to speak. And. stupidly enough, and it is stupid, but it was in that moment that I realized, Oh, my voice doesn't count. His voice counts, even though he doesn't know the building as much as I do, but his voice counted, his opinion counted, and it made me look back on different experiences that I obviously have just thought, I'm just going to let go of, because I don't know. I guess I've lived in a time where it is what it is. You're a woman. You're kind of stupid. You don't really know anything. Your opinion doesn't count. Shut up. Just shut up and look pretty. Or, actually, just don't even look pretty, but just be quiet. Don't be too loud. Don't have too many opinions. My partner, oh my god, I'm coming for him too, he said to me before that... You don't need to have an opinion on everything. Why? Why? Who gives you the authority to say to me, I can't have an opinion on something? You're not allowed to tell me that. No one's allowed to tell anyone that. I want to be part of the change. I want to be part of the change for the younger generation to know that be fearless and Do you know what? People will judge you for being fearless and for speaking out and you will be called brash, Opinionated, you're too loud, but actually, do you know what? It doesn't matter. Don't listen to them. Don't listen to the negativity because the negativity is basically what has, it's kind of just what's kept us down my friend said to me when she didn't know really whether she wanted to work, And she said, oh, if she wanted to stay at home and look after her children, she said, why is it that I can't, why can't I just have that choice? Why can't I have a choice to be a mum and be a boss? And I'm so sorry, but I am going to swear. Why can't she be a mum and a boss bitch? Why can't she be the best of all of those things? She can. And that she, The reason she thinks she can't is because that's the message that's constantly repeated out there in society. So, because I feel like this is actually my tagline that I've decided, because I feel like I use this one a lot. You need to do better by us. Anyone out there who identifies as a man, who's listening to this, you need to do better by us. I get it. I'm not saying life is easy for you. I'm not saying you haven't had your struggles. But do I think that, honestly, it's harder for us? It is, and we're only speaking out because we just want to be safe. We want to be valued. We want to be seen. We want to be heard. It's all we're asking for, and I personally feel like this is something that You've had since forever. You don't know what it's like to not have that. So just try putting yourselves in our shoes, being judged on what you look like. You're too fat. You're too skinny. Your hair's too long. Your hair's too short. Oh, you slept with him on the first night. That makes you a word I'm not going to say. But when a man does it, It's like, oh, yay, high five you. High five. fight for us, not against us, fight for us. There's all of these things now on social media and I watched a documentary about the man who is called Andrew Tate and the fact that there's all these young men now who Aspire to be like him or listening to the viewpoints that he had and believing what he says We're not coming for you. We're really not It's not a bad thing Feminists have been around since the beginning of time. You should be for us being the best version of who we can be. And no, it's not every single woman who wants to go to work and wants to be the breadwinner. But some of us do, and I know of men out there who are. So good, who are now looking after the children, whilst their partner goes to work. But why is it that you're so good for doing that? Because women have been doing that since forever. Like why, I don't understand why we are praising you for that. Thank you, not thank you. Because you kind of should have been doing this for a while. Okay, and my last one, this is my last one. We still earn less money than you. Why? Why would we earn, why would we earn less money than you? That doesn't, I don't understand. So if someone can explain to me why we earn less money than our male counterparts. I'm really here for knowing the answer to this. And again, this is a generalization. I'm not saying it's everywhere in every organization, but it's definitely a actual thing. I will leave it at that. So thank you for listening to our story, our voice.

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