I convinced myself economic empowerment of women was going to be key, especially in a country like this where most women didn't go to school.
Interpretation
Economic empowerment of women is crucial, particularly in countries with low education levels for women.
In this quote, Joyce Banda emphasizes the vital role of economic empowerment in transforming societies, particularly where women face educational barriers. By recognizing that financial independence and access to opportunities can uplift women and, consequently, their communities, Banda highlights the necessity of addressing gender disparities in education and empowerment.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech at a women's empowerment event.
When I gave birth to my fourth child, I suffered from post partum hemorrhaging. I almost lost my life. I was lucky to be under the care of trained health care personnel. I started wondering then what was happening to women in rural villages.
You ask how I feel to be the first female president in southern Africa? It's heavy for me. Heavy in the sense that I feel that I'm carrying this heavy load on behalf of all women.
I sat down in 1989 and I made up my mind at that point that I was going to spend the rest of my life assisting women and youth to gain social and political empowerment through business and education. I convinced myself economic empowerment of women was going to be key, especially in a country like this where most women didn't go to school.
My father once told me when I was a young girl that I was destined to do great things. His belief in my abilities and ambition is rooted deeply in the spirit of Malawians; resilient and determined for a better Malawi and a better Africa.
An African woman carries heavy loads anyway. That's how we are trained; we are brought up that nothing is unbearable. I use that now, positively. I use that now to have the thick skin that I have, and not fear, and move forward, and push; and push forward.
It is only when a woman is economically empowered that she can negotiate at household level with her husband about the number of children that body of hers can have.
Children have to have access to books, and a lot of children can't go to a store and buy a book. We need not only our public libraries to be funded properly and staffed properly, but our school libraries. Many children can't get to a public library, and the only library they have is a school library.
Books can not be killed by fire. People die, but books never die. No man and no force can abolish memory... In this war, we know, books are weapons. And it is a part of your dedication always to make them weapons for man's freedom.
In times of change, learners inherit the earth
It is vital that when educating our children's brains that we do not neglect to educate their hearts.
People talk of situations, read books, repeat quotations.
The importance of a high moral code, which is at the foundation of the Scout movement, cannot be stressed too highly.
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