Mama Power – What Kind of Power Do Mothers Yield?
Author: Womens UN Report Network
Date: August 27, 2012
WUNRN
International Museum of Women
Mama
Power
WHAT KIND OF POWER DO MOTHERS YIELD?
Will
our century be the one when women, and mothers, finally come into their power?
“We cannot achieve democracy and lasting peace in the world unless
women acquire the same opportunities as men to influence developments at all
levels of society.”[1]
That’s the Nobel Committee citing its reasons for awarding the 2011 Nobel
Peace Prize to three women’s rights leaders: Liberian President Ellen Johnson
Sirleaf, Liberian peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakkul Karman, a Yemeni
journalist, activist and mother of three.
The elite world of the Nobel awards is far removed from Cameroon in central
Africa, where members of mothers’ associations are going door to door in
villages, trying to convince families and tribal leaders to send their girls to
school.[3]
But connect the dots, and you’ll see that these far-flung worlds are in fact
connected via an intricate global web of advocates, communities, and networks.[4]
Their shared message: gender equality must become a lived reality, and a
mother’s contribution must be recognized for its true worth.[5][6]
Online, mothers are blogging by the thousands, chronicling their struggle
with the double burden of work and childcare.[7]
“By now you probably know I’ve become a WAHM [work-at-home –mom]. Whoa my gawd,
this is hard,” writes one such ‘desk-top’ activist. Grassroots advocacy
organizations such as MomsRising in the US are aggregating these mothers’
voices to demand family-friendly policies from the government and workplace.[8]
Powerful older leaders (and mothers) such as Mary Robinson of Ireland and
Graca Machel of Mozambique are calling for an end to child marriage and early
childbearing.[9]
As the co-chair of the world’s largest foundation, Melinda Gates has taken
the lead in promoting the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s maternal and child
health program. Gates cites her own experience as a mother as fueling her drive
to help other mothers deliver and raise healthy children.[10]
Robin Lim, CNN’s “Hero of the Year 2011,” is a midwife and member of the
maternal advocacy organization, White Ribbon Alliance. Robin received the
award in recognition of her work for safe motherhood in Indonesia, where she
runs clinics offering free prenatal and birth services to low-income women.[11]
Mothers are flexing their muscle as advocates, but the true test of Mama
Power still lies ahead. Will political and social constructs slowly
evolve into a more equitable world that recognizes the full value of
motherhood?
[1]
Award
Ceremony Speech, NobelPrize.org, December 10, 2011, Accessed 11
December 2011
[2] I
Am ‘Occupying’ D.C. for My Children and Future Generations by Linda Evans,
Moms Rising.org, December 8th, 2011, Accessed 11 December 2011
[3] UNICEF:
Mothers Work to Enroll Girls in School in Cameroon, Accessed 11 December
2011
[4] How the World
Uses Social Networks (Infographic),
by Sarah Kessler, Mashable, June 23, 2011
[6] Invest
in Women – It Pays! Facts & Figures, Women Deliver, Accessed
11 December 2011
[7] SAHM
vs. WAHM vs. WOHM: We All Want the Same Thing, Blogpost by
mommyfriend, on Babble.com, November 10th, 2011, Accessed 12 December 2011
[8] About MomsRising, Accessed
11 December 2011
[9] Child
marriage, The Elders, Accessed 10 December 2011
[10] People
Person
by April Dembosky, Financial Times, 9 December, 2011, Accessed 10
December 2011
[11] Lim
wins CNN Hero of the Year Award, December 11, 2011, Accessed 12
December 2011
Categories: Releases
