March 8, International Women's Day, a day dedicated to reflect on the progress made, to call for a change, and to celebrate the acts of courage and determination of women. I would like to take the chance to send a message to all women out there.
Dear women,never underestimate your strength; don't do anything by "default" because of your gender. Remember that no one will offer you power; you will have to take it yourself.
In honor of women's day, I will write briefly about the achievements of women in Rio Olympics 2016. The Olympics event witnessed many women who won medals. To me, it is not surprising since I believe that gender doesn't play a role in championships. Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize on some women who deserve to be talked about. Ibtihaj Muhammad won a bronze medal in fencing. Simone Manuel won a pair of gold medals and a pair of silver medals in swimming. MarwaAmri, HedayaWahba and many more all left their footmarks in Rio last year. These champions prove one important point: once you decide to follow your passion, you will be able to accomplish outstanding things. Passion doesn't depend on ethnicity, religion or gender, it depends on what you want to do. Women have been competitive athletes for a long time now however, unfortunately, to this day there are some who find it "unacceptable" for a woman to practice what she likes freely.I think that the problem is not with the woman herself; rather it's in the ignorant people around her that believe that she belongs home, the kitchen specifically.
If you haven't seen Nike's Women in Sports ad, you better do now. This ad reflects the struggles faced by women across the region since seeing a woman exercising in public is not acceptable in most Arab regions. This point is not spoken about enough. The video starts by the sentence "What will they say about you, that you are not supposed to be here?" My answer to this question is that you belong wherever you feel happy and self-achieved, regardless of what people say or think.
Serena Willaims, American professional tennis player, once mentioned "Women make up so much of this world, and, yeah, if I were a man, I would have 100 % been considered the greatest ever a long time ago." Why does being a woman create a whole set of problems from the society?
Don't be a woman that's an athlete, be an athlete. You can make the difference. Whatever your dream is, go for it.
By:Saja El Masri
