AWE 2013- Empowering Asian women

Asian women have come a long way from how they used to live, study and work in times past. Over the decades, we’ve become more independent- we drive our own cars, live in our own houses and if we’re lucky, we get to do what we want to, like setting up our own business or taking an epic train ride.

But that’s not good enough, because many of us still can’t break away from the standards which our respective societies and cultures have set. As Asian women, we’re expected to follow a certain path: do well in our studies, get married at an early age, have children as early as possible. We’re not encouraged to step aside and get off this path to do our own thing.

We can’t and don’t break away from that path, because we’re not always encouraged to, or told, “Hey, you know what, you CAN do this. You CAN be independent and follow your dreams before and or even after you decide to settle down, if you want to at all”.

Asian women are told that following the normal route- education, marriage, kids- is the safe, acceptable and best path in life to take.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating that we revolt against nature and demand that men start growing uteruses and bearing children (I don’t think the lads would be able to handle the pain and stress, anyway), I’m saying that we should have options, choices, opportunities, and most importantly, a network of people, including men, who are open to encouraging us to follow our dreams.

So in keeping with today’s theme of breaking away, I’m taking a quick break from my usual travel posts to talk about an event that’s coming up in November, the Asian Women’s Empowerment Conference.

The aim of the conference is as clear as its title: to empower Asian women. To make them feel good about themselves, to give them skills and ideas on how to pursue their ambitions.

This is happening from November 8-10, 2013 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I’m going to be involved in this, together with an amazing bunch of women, particularly the person who thought about the conference in the first place- travel writer and photographer Juno Kim, who runs the website Runaway Juno.

It’s going to be an amazing event, so if you happen to be an Asian woman who has dreams and wants to follow them, do join us at AWE 2013. And here’s another reason to come to AWE: Sedunia Travel are our giveaway sponsors and they’re going to give out some very generous gifts, so I really hope to see you there.

But don’t take my word for it. Here’s the link to the conference website, where you’ll find more information and the link to register. We’re also in need of some help with financing, so if you’d like to contribute, go here.

See you in November!

© 2013 – 2015, Anis. All rights reserved.

Like this? Share it!

Facebook

0

Twitter

Pinterest

0

Google

Email