THE SAFE SPACE THEORY

Nothing is frustrating like living in depression and lack of self confidence whereas you are a powerhouse full of wealth that can make a difference in the life of many and the community as a whole.

I remember vividly when in December 2015 I met a world pulse sister, who happened to be a childhood friend, on facebook at about 11:30pm. Yes I was online because I needed a distraction from the marital tension I was going through at that moment. I needed whoever was online to chat with so I don’t have to think about my stress. Leina introduced me to world pulse after we chatted and I told her my desire to make a difference in my life and that of other women.

I registered on this online community of great women who are worth belongs of dollars. Listening to their stories, comments as well as sharing mine with them proved so enriching and empowering. The big difference in everything is that I realized I had the power to tell my own story the way it is and not allowing whoever to misrepresent me in the way they tell my story

Each time I visited “home” (our online community World Pulse) I felt a strong sense of security that built my self-confidence. I learned and shared with great women of vision and value which inspired me to start taking advantage of the assets I have. I started working as a changemaker interested in changing the situation of injustice against women and girls.

Working with women and girls to uphold their sexual and reproductive health rights made me realize how much wealth for the development of women and girls would have been buried in me forever. I have been able to draw on the wealth shared by other sisters on this platform to become a source of wealth for women and girls in my community.

I can go on and on with this power of #wealthofwomen but there is a particular angle of benefitting from this that has brought out the deep well of wealth for the fight against injustice against women. I am talking about the safe space theory which entails a space for women by women free from patriarchal dos and don’ts, fear of intimidation or being judged.

Primarily World Pulse serves as a safe space for many women where they find shades of power that helps them redefine themselves and become assertive. They log on read and share stories which empower and cause them to take action. I have borrowed this concept of safe space for intimate and frank discussions that has made a great stride in my life. I have not only use this concept to help women who can’t log on to have where to express themselves but also I have used it to get a master’s degree. Yes I got an excellent grade from my jury after I presented and defended my dissertation titled “Gendered Discourses: Challenging Patriarchal Ideologies in a Safe space.

We can never create another world for women but we can give them their rightful position as the wealthiest beings who nurture humanity though suppressed by patriarchal ideologies. I therefore envisage a society where several safe spaces for women by women is available and accessible for all so as to harness the unexploited wealth of the feminine folk to help change the narrative. Community development is the desire of all so social actors irrespective of their sex should be given the chance to drive the development.