witnessing bravery

I think it took me longer than most people to realize the salience of gender in society and culture. Perhaps this is a testament to the egalitarian nature of my upbringing--being a girl was never a liability or limitation in my parent's house. The cultural meaning applied to my female-ness felt neutral, even irrelevant. I wasn't expected to clean, cook, or be a nurturer just because of the way I was born (and the identity I claimed).

The first time I remember really noticing something about boys and girls and power, I was nearly fourteen. I remember keeping a tally in my school notebook of the number of times a boy versus a girl was called on in my english class. I had a hunch that something wasn't fair, so naturally I needed to collect some data to back up my suspicion.

I was right, of course, the boys were being called on at twice the rate of girls (and disproportionate to the number of boys and girls in the class), but I don't remember doing anything about it. Perhaps it just confirmed what I was already beginning to figure out--life is not fair.

When I was in college people talked about gender, power, identity, inequality, and feminism like my friends in high school talked about celebrities and beach trips--with passionate abandon! I took classes that taught me about these things in different contexts and asked the questions I'd never thought to ask: was the education system failing boys or girls (or both)? what meanings do other cultures attach to sex? are characteristics biological or learned? what role does the feminist movement play in the world today? why are women more at risk for HIV than men? why are women rendered powerless in so many situations? and why are American women still making seventy cents on the man's dollar?

When I went abroad I was able to see these questions in a new light. I began to learn and experience the full extent of how women are marginalized in the world. But being abroad was also the first time I saw the extent of women's power. Women were holding up their communities in the face of HIV, caring for the sick, and creating economic opportunities for themselves. I became amazed by the bravery I saw in the face of global oppression.

When I came back to the US, I continued to study this dichotomy: I took more classes and began asking the difficult questions instead of just struggling to respond. I worked in a women's economic empowerment program and saw that the bravery I was so in awe of in women abroad was equally present domestically. I began to see women as a crucial factor in population health. This was confirmed by what others in public health were saying--educating girls is the key to global change, economically empowering women leads to better health outcomes in families, investing in maternal health creates healthy, more economically viable societies.

In my master's program, the central role that women play in the public's health is implicit. Women matter in their own right, but also to the success of public health, development, peace, economic advancement, education, and political will.

In Uganda I am working at an organization that strives to empower women in the face of remarkable challenges. A traditionally patriarchal society, a 23 year insurgency, poverty, a culture of violence, HIV/AIDS, and a lack of infrastructure. Girls drop out and are forced to leave school early at an appalling rate. Gender based violence and forced marriages are all too common. And yet, again, I see the bravery... this time of women and men (who, I am now seeing, have the capacity to act as incredible allies for women's empowerment).

I am lucky that this has become a part of my life story. I am lucky to be here, witnessing bravery all the time.