Women’s voices still muted; let’s share stories to spur progress
Despite the progress in gender equity, the pace of women sharing their own stories remains painfully slow.
What you need to know:
- Silence about women’s stories contributes to data bias the world over, no matter the subject.
- We should, however, acknowledge that women themselves have contributed to this silence.
I am a storyteller. It's how I define myself in both professional and social circles.
At first, I wasn't entirely confident with this label, but I soon realised that storytelling, when done right, possesses the power to unlock empathy, understanding, and insights that dry facts and figures could never achieve. As a writer and a woman, storytelling has become my superpower.
My stories delve into my fractured beginnings, my losses, my triumphs, and all the messy and joyful in-between moments that life is composed of.
Some of my stories have moved people, while others have been misunderstood, ignored, or even caused annoyance. But the storyteller in me keeps at it, secure in the knowledge that the world needs storytellers, especially women storytellers.
Last week, I wrote about how silence about women’s stories contributes to data bias the world over, no matter the subject. However, we should also acknowledge that women themselves have contributed to this silence.
To be fair, they have been hard-wired by socio-cultural factors to stay silent when they should speak up, their silence praised as a sign of being a “good woman”.
Despite the progress in gender equity, the pace of women sharing their own stories remains painfully slow. Their voices continue to be muted, hindering the progress of addressing their unique issues.
A couple of years ago, I met an exceptionally accomplished woman in the clean energy sector, highly acclaimed internationally but barely known in her own country, Kenya. As we spoke, I couldn't help but see her as the GOAT (Greatest of All Time) in her industry, much like Eliud Kipchoge in athletics.
When I asked her if she had shared her story with the Kenyan media, she hesitated and confessed that she didn't want to appear as if she were bragging. This hesitation is something I've heard from countless women.
Inspiring a new generation
Bragging may be off-putting, but storytelling isn't. Through authentic storytelling, we can inspire a new generation of women unafraid to embrace their own narratives and thereby claim their power.
When I worked as a journalist, one of the most difficult things to do was to achieve gender balance in news articles, as women experts and sources needed much more convincing than men did.
I’m reminded of a meme of a male voter last year who, when a camera crew approached him with a question, faced the camera and said: “Maoni yangu ni kwamba sina maoni (My opinion is that I don’t have an opinion).”
On the flip side, women, even when they have an expert opinion over a matter, will shy off and prefer to stay in the shadows, fighting for their stories to remain hidden. It’s that tortoise spirit of women hiding in their shells that we need to break through storytelling.
When I think of influential world leaders like Prof Wangari Maathai, Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates, and Sheryl Sandberg, I recognise the immense power of women telling their stories.
Reading about their lives makes women like me, and millions world over, feel that anything is possible.
Storytelling is a humbling and cleansing experience, and that’s why it should be every woman’s goal to tell their story as authentically as they can.
The writer comments on social and gender topics (Twitter @FaithOneya; Email: [email protected]).
