You Are The Girl Effect

Throughout last week, I was immersed in two very different worlds. One was the reality of many parts of the developing world, described in the book Half the Sky.
 
In that world, girls’ sexual slavery is rampant and domestic violence normative; reporting rape leads to being gang-raped by the police, and young girls commonly sell their bodies for school tuition money. While heroic men and women make a difference every day in these communities, because of political and cultural barriers, they are largely devoid of women’s voices, leadership and power.
 
And then, in stark contrast, there was the world of the 130+ bloggers in the Girl Effect Blogging Campaign. That world was full of educated, free women’s voices, and voices of men who want to see women empowered.
 
Our posts about The Girl Effect were filled with heartbreak about what’s happening to children around the world. They expressed love for daughters and granddaughters, and appreciation for the freedoms they have. They were filled with action — campaigns to raise funds and spread the message.
 
As I read Julie Daley’s beautiful second Girl Effect post, the contrast between these two worlds struck me. Here I was, reading the words of an intelligent, articulate woman whose work is transforming our culture to more fully include and honor women and women’s wisdom. And this woman is also bringing that work to one of the world’s prestigious universities where she teaches. Seen against the backdrop of women’s total oppression in other parts of the world, I felt just how remarkable it is that Julie can do this work.
 
And then I got it. We, in the developed world, are in the midst of our own Girl Effect.
Beginning generations before our own, women were granted access to education, political rights and employment. The world I live in, one with two women senators representing my state, bookshelves full of women writers, music with women’s voices — all of that is the fruits of our own Girl Effect, of investing in women’s education and employment. As a result, women have been empowered to share their gifts, provide a better life for their chidlren, and create a more balanced, healthy society. That’s our Girl Effect. We’re on the other side of the timeline with it.
 
Our own Girl Effect can be seen in the transformation of religious life through leaders like Ronna Detrick and Kristin Tennant.
 
Our own Girl Effect is the evolution of culture through female writers and artists like Rose Deniz and Susannah Conway.
 
Our own Girl Effect is hearts being healed by women counselors, coaches, and teachers like Marianne Elliott and Lianne Raymond, who make it their work to help others find wellness.
 
Our own Girl Effect is female entrepreneurs like Tara Gentile and her mother bettering their families’ lives, helped by allies like Charlie Gilkey and Molly Gordon.
 
And our own Girl Effect is women change-makers like Heather Plett and Desiree Adaway, working directly to bring women’s wisdom to the fore.
 
We in the developed world are living in the middle of our own Girl Effect journey.
 
Because you, as a woman, had access to education and human rights, you have become a change-maker in your family, workplace and community. You are The Girl Effect, in action.
 
Think you aren’t a change-maker because you aren’t demonstrating in the streets or leading an organization? Read about the total suppression of women’s voices in other parts of the world, and you will gain an appreciation for the enormous impact you are having on our society simply by being you: by saying what you say, buying what you buy, voting how you vote, and showing up for the people in your life as you do.
 
And if you are a man who benefited from the education of a mother, grandmother, or other woman in your life, you too are the Girl Effect.
 
Jen Louden reminds us to savor the world, even as we work to save it. This is what I want to savor today. That I live in a society already transformed by its own Girl Effect. A society that yes, still falls far, far short of women’s full equality and participation, but that is undoubtedly being transformed by a flourishing of women’s voices.
 
Acknowledging that abundance matters. From here, we can appreciate. And smile. And rest in all that already is. That gives us what we need to sustain energy for bringing about The Girl Effect in the developing world.
 
So I ask you: to sit in silence with this, this chorus of 130+ Girl Effect voices, with the strength that gathers all around you, and with the awareness of all that remains to do. And then to ask yourself, “What am I called to do?”
 
Love,
 
Tara
 
PS – The Girl Effect Blogging Campaign is extended! Please continue to write posts and encourage other bloggers to join in this week! All the info is HERE.