Hamida Barmaki and International Women’s Day 2011

Yesterday I received an e-bulletin from UN Women Australia. I like to read about the amazing group of women here in Australia and UN Women worldwide who make a difference by working constantly to raise awareness for the plight of women, particularly where they are disenfranchised and contend with difficult living conditions.

Heading the bulletin was an article about Hamida Barmaki, her husband and four children, all killed by a suicide bomber in a supermarket in Kabul, Afghanistan. She has become the face of IWD for me.

I hadn’t heard of Hamida before. Maybe some of you had. Apart from the overwhelming personal tragedy, her death it is also a tragedy for Afghanistan. Hamida was an Associate Professor of Law at Kabul University and in this role she inspired and supported 9 Afghani women to participate in UN Women Australia’s Peace Scholarship Programme. All these women were pursuing careers to uphold democratic values in their country.

‘Afghanistan has lost one of its greatest assets and her loss is one of those that is hardly recoverable for our country’ (Peace Scholar, Marina Nawabe)

This tragic story makes International Women’s Day so important in raising our awareness of other realities than our own. There is always a bigger picture …

You can look here for events on around Australia to celebrate IWD 2011

17 February 2011/The Lounge Room/Make a Difference

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