what if women reclaimed their power in the world?

‘Something I have been very active about is respecting women, period. So often you get these moments where it can get into a competitive situation. And every time it’s come up I have stood out of it and gone ‘I am not going to compete with another woman’ and it sends out a shock wave.

photo by Diane Barker, Ladies’ picnic

I was in a relationship, and quite often when people end relationships they need to make the other person wrong, saying they’re horrible, they’re bad. And my boyfriend would say these things about his ex-partner, and I wouldn’t participate in that narrative around her. I was very active about it. And he was baffled by this! But as long as women are competing with each other there’s no way we can progress together. And from a young age we’re taught to compete. Pit them against each other, and then they’ve all lost their power.

I work in a team of three women and when one of them isn’t there she gets slagged off. And I said I am not going to participate in this, we’ve got to sort this out together. I’m not a fan of making waves, I used to make waves very destructively, and I had to come out of it, and now I don’t like to do it, but sometimes you have to. It’s the only way to stand up against ‘Divide and conquer.’ If I’ve done nothing else in my job I’ve got us caring about each other and supporting each other. My boss says you have been a challenge for me, but what you’ve done is brought us together and made us a team.

At Buddhafield festival I held a workshop about reclaiming our womanhood, and at the end this young woman asked ‘What if women really reclaimed their power in the world?’ I could feel this question was alive in her, she really needed to know, and it completely changed the feeling in the room. And I said that is a good question to leave with!’

 – Katherine, a participant from last year’s women’s circle. Co-founder of Womanfest 2018. Story as told to Clare.