On Board a 'Bullet Train'

When I first came to China in 1984, your country didn't have a bullet train. But now you have that kind of train. The development of China over the past 20 years has been like a bullet train. Without development (that resembles) a bullet train, women would be left behind. This time, we have to be on board the 'bullet train' that connects the development in China and Africa.

 A Remarkable Event for Women

The UN Fourth World Conference on Women has been, so far, the largest and the most effective (world conference on women). It touched a lot of people, be they from governments, nongovernmental organizations or various institutions. We could say the conference was a global representation of humanity. It was a very remarkable event that had a special focus on women. We identified, for the first time, 12 critical areas that concerned the advancement of women. The conference was effective because preparations involved people from the grass-roots, national, regional and international levels.

When we talk about Beijing today, we no longer identify Beijing as just a city; we understand that it stands for the empowerment of women. Women's issues were not included on important agendas over many centuries, but the conference in Beijing was able to break the silence on many issues related to women's rights and interests. For instance, violence against women has not been eradicated, but now people worldwide consider the issue to be something evil. The economic empowerment of women has become an important issue; governments have changed their policies, legal systems and development plans to take care of women's issues.

The conference provided opportunities for women from different parts of the world (to build) networks across the globe. They used various means of technology, the Internet for instance, to reach each other and exchange experiences and knowledge. It is difficult for us to change things, which have existed for centuries, in just 20 years. However, women are realizing they are important … and they have their right positions in society.

My Commitment

As I was traveling to different places, discussing (with people) women's issues and preparing the documents before the conference, I came to realize that the problems women had to face, the world over, were the same. Women are not trusted and they don't have the same status as men in society, whether in developed or developing countries.

We cannot leave the problems for each country to solve. We must create an international system, in which women are respected and women have the right (to protect) their human dignity.

During the conference, we called on women all over the world to make commitments. I made a commitment that I was going to address one thing: In the Platform for Action, there's a topic about women's political empowerment. I was in the position where I could … be a leader. I became the first president of the Pan-African Parliament in 2004. (The Pan-African Parliament ensures full participation of African people in the development and economic integration of the African continent) On the one hand, we need empowerment from governments, societies and families to support women's development. On the other hand, there's a demand for each woman to aspire to a better position in society.

Factors Contributing to a Woman's Success

A woman must have courage to break the 'glass ceiling' (that prevents women's participation in decision-making). Courage and confidence are important, but, at the same time, a woman needs to be well prepared. I was able to enter university … (and that) helped prepare me for what I would do in my future career.

When I was young, my father treated me like an independent person. I learned, at a young age, that I should obtain support from men. In the political field, a woman should not only look for the support of women, but also for the support of men. Don't think that men or women will vote for you because you are a woman; they will vote for you because you are the best. I think distinguished female leaders all over the world share similar character traits, such as courage, confidence and working hard.

We are never short of strong women and capable female leaders; the problem is that obstacles … have existed throughout our history. What we tried to do in Beijing 20 years ago was remove those obstacles, so that we could give full play to women's potential to change the world.

I'm going to be 70 in September. I still have many ideas. I would like my granddaughter to live in an industrialized Tanzania, a country with better infrastructure, and a country without poverty. My current goal is to stimulate younger generations, and to help prepare them in a way that they can take opportunities … to reach personal advancement.

(Women of China)