The
Justina Mutale Foundation and Soroptimism

Attending: Barbara Dixon, Programme Director SI/GBI, Ann Hawken, SI Oxford and District SI/GB, Jane Slatter, Communications Director SI/GBI, Deborah Thomas, Global Executive Director SI and Eva Tyson, SI Dunfermline SI/GBI 

Chairperson: BARONESS SANDIP VERMA, Member of the House of Lords and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for International Development.

 

Speakers:  ELIO D’ANNA, Founder & President of the European School of Economics, SABINE BALVE, Founder & President, World Leaders Forum Dubai, IRENE SINCLAIR, Former History Teacher and Vintage Model, 

ROBIN MARSH, Secretary-General, Universal Peace Federation, DR CASSANDRA MARTINEZ-KING
Chief Executive, London Petroleum Law & Management School, PHOEBE RUGURU, Student/Film Maker and Young Leader.

"The invitation for Thursday 29 October, was to attend the launch of theJustina Mutale Foundation of Leadership, and at the same time to celebrate the2015 UN International Day of the Girl. Receiving this type of invitation is right
up our Soroptimist street, I was delighted to accept.

Justina Mutale is considered the most
influential woman in Africa today and among
her many aims are education for girls, gender equality and reducing hunger in
the world.

The Foundation has been established to
contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular gender equality
and the empowerment of women, again very much Soroptimist territory. In fact I
was thrilled to see soroptimism so well represented at the event.

 

Photo:  Soroptimists visit the House of Lords for the
launch of the Justina Mutale Foundation for Leadership

The House of Lords, part of the Palace of Westminster, was the rather imposing
setting for the launch of the Foundation. Needless to say the Palace is part of
a UNESCO World Heritage Site with its grand neo-Gothic architecture. The inside
can only be described as sumptious, 
featuring  panelling carvings and
gilt work.

The event took place in a committee room,
not quite as grand, but boasting comfortable red leather chairs all displayed in
gold, the badge of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, the famous
portcullis.

The speakers all had a common thread,
although tackled from different angles. We must rid ourselves of
stereotypes, where girls do girly things and boys are brought up to lead. Girls
need credible role models not celebrities, who are here today and gone
tomorrow. Girls must be encouraged to emulate women, who have made a mark in
academic disciplines, the arts or in business. As an example, in the past,
women scientists although instrumental in important discoveries
such as DNA, were left on the sidelines; only the men received the
accolades. This must stop. However, and this is important, although the cause
of gender discrimination is laid at the door of men, they are not the whole
problem, but part of the solution. This can be done by educating boys in
schools. This echoes our past International President Ann Garvie’s philosophy,
so again we Sorptimists were on familiar ground.

 

Although the majority of speakers
emphasised the need for a radical cultural change in the developing world, one
speaker, a business psychologist, stressed that we in the developed world had
still not closed the gender gap. She pointed to academic research that showed
that even if a woman is promoted to the Executive of a firm, she is still not
given the same responsibilities as the men and her opinions frequently ignored.
The developed world cannot rest on its laurels.  

The final speaker was a charming ten year
old African girl. She said she wanted to become a doctor and nothing, but
nothing, was going to stop her. Being so young and so determined made her
receive the loudest and longest applause of the evening.

In conclusion it was agreed that nothing
can be done in isolation. The developed and developing worlds must collaborate
and learn from each other. It must not be a one way affair as was the case in
the past, where the West knew best. I cannot think of a better example than my
own club’s work in Rwenzori,
Uganda. A club
member regularly visits Uganda
and through her work at grass root level, we are able to work towards and finance
what the children need in the way of school material, clothes and solar lights
to mention some aspects of our work there.

 

Photo: Justina Mutale

The Justina Mutale Foundation is an undertaking
by Africans for Africans, with input from us in the developed world. We
Sorptimists should be rightly proud of our record with ongoing African projects".