Through the Eyes of a Woman

An article published by UN Women in the last days of the year looking at sixteen defining moments for gender equality in 2021 caught my attention yesterday. We tend to hear more about all the bad news, but some things have been good for women in the past year. I would like to reflect on some of the developments and events. The Political World We already have several women in the leadership of nations, but in 2021 eight more countries elected or swore in their first woman Head of State or Government, with Barbados, Estonia, and Moldova even having women as both President and Prime Minister for at least part of the year. Kaja Kallas took office in January as Estonia’s first woman Prime Minister. Samia Suluhu Hassan became Tanzania’s first woman President in March. In May, Fiamē Naomi Mata’afa was elected Prime Minister of Samoa. June saw Robinah Nabbanja nominated to the role of Prime Minister of Uganda. Najla Bouden Ramadhane was named Tunisia’s Prime Minister in September, making...

   This piece was written by my sister, Sinikka Dixon PhD This year is different from any other year before, but I would like us to remember the greatest and most important news ever told to mankind. We have become tired of the constant news of the pandemic and various catastrophes. We used to think, no news is good news, meaning if we hear no news everything is all right. Now we are bombarded by news day and night and none of it is good. With all of this negative messaging, we tend to forget that there is good news in God’s word, the Bible. I would like to remind us of the real meaning of the Christmas message, the good news that can give us hope not just for a few days during this season but for every day of our lives. Isaiah 9:6 “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” In Isaiah 7:14 “The Lord himse...

Yesterday I found a book in the book exchange booth outside our church that fascinates me. It was written by Lea Rabin in 1997 titled "Rabin  -  Our life, His Legacy." When Rabin was assassinated by a Jewish settler at a peace rally in Tel Aviv on November 4, 1995, the world was horrified. The Oslo Accords had just been signed and we hoped that a lasting peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians could be achieved. Yitzchak Rabin saw only one path for which there was no alternative - the path of peace. He believed that the Palestinians also wanted peace and needed it as much as the Israelis. And yet, this peace is long overdue. Every year, a Peace Light is lit by a child in Bethlehem and it is distributed from the 3rd Advent Sunday.  Austrian radio initiated this beautiful tradition in 1986. The light is then brought to Vienna by plane, and from there, delegations of scouts pick up the light to distribute it in their home countries. When we spent Christmas in an ...

In my blog of July 8, 2021, titled "We Should do Something," [1] I wrote that things had seemed to be very quiet in recent years regarding women's ordination in the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Nevertheless, I was able to point out interesting developments that had taken place more or less quietly. These little waves of change continue, and interesting decisions have since been made. Women have been called to higher leadership positions here and there, and decisions have been made to allow for women's ordination. In various parts of the worldwide church, governing bodies have finally decided to do something to implement Fundamental Belief No. 14: “Distinctions of race, culture, learning, and nationality, and differences between high and low, rich and poor, male and female, must not be divisive among us. We are all equal in Christ, who by one Spirit has bonded us into one fellowship with Him and with one another; we are to serve and be served without partiality o...

As I have done during the last several years, I have posted and planned news and photos on Facebook for #OrangeTheWorld hoping to make an impact to change the world. I have surfed the internet looking for information on violence against women for the sixteen days of activism. I have found more than enough. There is too much violence and abuse of all kinds against women in this world of ours. This year’s emphasis is on femicide, but there are many more forms. Rape, FGM (female genital mutilation, forced child marriage, psychological abuse, partnership abuse, sex trafficking,  are only a few. Many organizations raise their voices to stop violence and abuse and the foremost is UN WOMEN. This is an umbrella joining together all the actions of the United Nations that deal with topics about women, strongly supported by General Secretary Antonio Gutérres. The Adventist enditnow® campaign started in 2009 as a joint program of the Women’s Ministries Department and ADRA, and it has now b...

Although women now have the same rights as men before the law, their everyday lives are still marked by inequality. For centuries, men have ruled over women as if they were property. With your possessions, you can do as you please. This has had a devastating impact on women. UN Secretary-General António Guterres puts it this way, "Sexual violence against women and girls has its roots in centuries of male domination. Let's not forget that the gender inequalities that fuel rape culture are essentially a matter of power imbalance." As long as women are seen as inferior, they suffer under the power of men. This power imbalance exists in all aspects of life, but it becomes especially noticeable when we are dealing with violence against women. Those of us who have not experienced violence ourselves may not consider it important. Perhaps some statistics from Germany will help to show how widespread violence against women is [1] : ·         In 2019, 115,000 wo...

Twenty years ago, when I was visiting my sister in Alberta, Canada, we experienced a rare family reunion. I had come from Germany and my mother came from Sweden. Then our cousin and her daughter came from Bazil as well. As our family has spread around the world, such opportunities come seldom if ever. It was summer, but summer in Canada can involve some surprises. We visited the Columbia Icefield in Jasper National Park, but the icy wind soon led us to take refuge in the Visitors‘ Centre so that our Brazilian ladies could warm up their bare toes. And that is where we saw a lovely patchwork quilt, made up of individual squares sewn by different women, showing aspects of their lives. Mum instantly had an inspiration. Why couldn’t we sew a family quilt? If we each stitched a square and got our daughters to join in the project we could create a family heirloom that could rotate around the globe. In the end, to only one to take up the project was Mum, who made four squares. The others...