Self-advocacy is the core of empowerment. It is a skill learned over time that enables us to speak for our rights and make our own decisions. It can build confidence which is an important skill for success. However, sometime it gets contorted as being aggressive and self-promoting.
Men are encouraged to speak up and take a stand while the same cannot always be said for women. This is stemming from society’s way of looking at a woman’s role and what she has been moulded to embody through years of patriarchal beliefs and subtleties of oppression. We are expected to be modest and less assertive.
Women are great at advocating for others such as, their partners and their children however, they feel uncomfortable and avoid doing the same for themselves. More and more people are now recognizing this gender gap between women and men and the awareness is now being acknowledged. In the last few decades women have now began to speak up for their rights, taking a step in the right direction towards breaking down the barriers to create equality.
“We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced” Malala Yousafazi