Indeed I listened to an interview with her a few days back, and it was very inspiring. On Dec 7, 2013 5:15 AM, "Charles Male" <cdm...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Series: Inspiring leaders > > South Sudan's telecoms minister is the kind of woman young women > should aspire to be - rather than Rihanna > > Jess Matthias > > Guardian Professional, Friday 6 December 2013 07.00 GMT > > Last week, I met a woman with a challenge greater than most. Her name > is Hon. Rebecca Joshua Okwaci, minister for telecoms and postal > services in South Sudan - and she has a pivotal role in building the > future of the world's newest country. > > Having won independence just two years ago, South Sudan has a major > challenge on its hands. Thanks to a decade of bitter conflict, women > suffered violence and hardship on a level unimaginable to most people > living in the UK. Yet, now the new state is - in Okwaci's words - > "alive and kicking", the future for women in South Sudan is looking > up. > > One of the main drivers for the African economy is connectivity. In > South Sudan, this important area is being driven by a woman. Luckily, > Okwaci is no stranger to challenge. A journalist by profession, she is > also a prolific peace campaigner and advocate of women's roles in > peace; she has founded several peace organisations, is secretary > general of Women Action for Development in South Sudan and produces > radio programmes targeting women at Sudan Radio Service. The only > female member of the Association for Media Development in Southern > Sudan. Okwaci also instigated the first ever peace-building programmes > in the Shilluk Kingdom - now South Sudan. > > Okwaci is now working towards a 35% representation of women within > South Sudan's government. In any developed country, this ambition > would be worthy of national acclaim. For a country in which 90% of > women are illiterate, domestic violence has been called an epidemic, > and women's health remains among the world's worst, these are goals > beyond the realms of the average imagination. > > South Sudan's business environment is a far cry from that of the UK. > While we undoubtedly have mountains to climb before we can boast > gender equality, compared with the women of South Sudan, we are > blessed. > > Okwaci's challenge is wildly different to that of businesswomen in the > UK yet we can take inspiration from what she is achieving. My point is > that women like Okwaci should be shouted about to our aspiring young > businesswomen. Instead, there is a small selection of women thrust in > front of us by mainstream media. These women are packaged up into > ready-made "role models" for young, impressionable women to idolise. > This selection is depressingly bland, and tends to centre around > reality TV or pop music. > > A recent survey found Beyoncé, Cheryl Cole, Kim Kardashian and Rihanna > to be in the top five female role models for 16 to 17-year-old girls. > The only one that was not a popstar or reality TV participant was > Michelle Obama - famous because of her husband. While I don't doubt > that the aforementioned have done well for themselves, they represent > a dull picture of inspiration for our future generation; they are easy > and unimaginative choices - people we are told to admire. > > What does it take to be a role model? To me, it's having someone that > you can learn from and take inspiration from for your own life and > career. In Okwaci's case there are many lessons to learn. If you feel > people should get together to support an area of society, invent a > pressure group that does just that. If you want to get something > heard, talk about it on the radio. If you think women should have a > bigger share of running the country, step up and help run it. > > Vince Cable said at the recent Women of the Future Summit, "to drive > economic recovery, we must turn to women". It's nice of him to say > that. However, if women are to take a leading role in shaping the > future of the UK, perhaps we don't need to wait for permission from > the secretary of state or turn to the media-approved female role > models. A celebrity whose latest achievement is a tattoo on a famous > body part isn't going to cut it. Perhaps if more people made the > effort to seek out their own role models, the business world in the UK > would present a more dynamic, fair and rewarding environment for > women. > > Jess Matthias is deputy director at international communications > consultancy Wordville > _______________________________________________ > WestNileNet mailing list > WestNileNet@kym.net > http://orion.kym.net/mailman/listinfo/westnilenet > > WestNileNet is generously hosted by INFOCOM http://www.infocom.co.ug/ > > The above comments and data are owned by whoever posted them (including > attachments if any). The List's Host is not responsible for them in any way. > _______________________________________________ >
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