Women have power - 2025 03 06

 

Last night I attended the Vancouver Folk Song Society bi-weekly gathering at the Quaker Meetinghouse here in Vancouver. 

The organizers had put together a program in honour of International Women's Day coming up on Saturday, March 8.

We shared songs, stories and poetry by, about, and for women. There were women of all ages sharing their musical offerings. One the signature moments for me was the third half of the evening's program. A group of women, aged across decades, had put together a program of songs. It was transforming to see these elder women helping the younger women to get up in front of a room full of people to sing the songs they had prepared. To lead us in learning new songs and singing along on the chorus.

It struck me how important our elderly women are to helping our society transform and grow. How they can model poise, dignity, self-respect, courage, confidence, collegiality to foster these qualities in our next generations of women.

Women will lead us out of the current catastrophic rolling system collapse of patriarchy, late capitalism, and theocracy. Women understand what is at stake. Women have the strength of purpose to be inspired by values not driven by fear. Women face death every day - pregnancy, giving birth, raising children, caring for family, giving palliative comfort, attending the sick, wounded and dying.

Women have power and we are no longer intimidated to keep it hidden from fragile male egos. 

We can collect and consolidate our power when we understand the role unconscious bias plays in the formation of our beliefs and our relationships. Any belief that is based on ideas of superiority is destructive to our collective outcome.

We have the power to dismantle the latent destruction embedded in male-dominated agricultural norms. When we sing together, we are part of the solution. When we support our young folks we lead by example. 

Women have power.