On account of Mother’s Day, we spoke with the creator and moderator of the online community “The Women of Cyprus“. As Shah states in the page’s bio, the goal is to educate, support as well as empower people on gender equality, social injustice and inclusivity. Gender, race, age and profession etc are of no substance when speaking on change, especially towards a better societal model, ideal to cultivate people free of pressure from unrealistic expectations.
“The women of Cyprus” is a community that educates promotes supports and empowers. How did your journey begin?
My journey, even though it has been years in the making, started during our first quarantine and with the Black Lives Matter movement that was happening in regards for George Floyd and all other black lives taken. As I mentioned, I have always had these beliefs and wanted change to happen towards a more equal world. Seeing how I didn’t use mine to bring change while people have been fighting for their rights for years, moved me. I have the privilege to have a voice that I can use. That’s when I decided that I wanted to take action.
What gave you the necessary education, support and empowerment to pass it along?
Throughout my life I have had many experiences whether personal or not that have educated me in the unfairness of our patriarchal society towards women. I have also been humbled and had to unlearn the internalized misogyny that we are conditioned in. I have read many research statistics, papers and generally others’ experiences on the subject. I started doing some courses and seminars to better my deeper understanding of the system and how we can change it. I’ve also been very lucky to be surrounded by amazing women, like my mother and friends, that have empowered me through every step of this journey. As well as the community of women that are growing through my page. It’s incredible what we can do united.
Who are your favourite educators and advocates on female empowerment?
Some amazing women I look up to through the years are first of all The Suffragettes, without them we wouldn’t even have rights. Rosa Parks, Malala Yousafzai, Simone De Beauvoir, Bell Hooks, Maya Angelou, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Angelina Jolie, Alexandra Ocasio Cortez, Dolly Parton and so many more that will take forever to name, because for me every woman is doing her best with what means she has to fight. My mother is also my greatest supporter and a lot of what I do is inspired by her life.
How would you comment on the statement that all women have a maternity alarm waiting to go off?
I find that our patriarchal society has created this role for us to be controlled. Our biology doesn’t dictate our wants or needs for children. It’s high time we accept that not all women want to become mothers and that not all women should become mothers. It’s a personal choice and should be 100% respected.
What is your take on the abortion ban and the lack of reproductive rights in the US as well as in a global scale?
I strongly believe that every woman has a choice and safe abortions are every woman’s right. What a woman decides to do to her body is her personal choice alone. If the people that are pro-life care so much about unborn embryos, why don’t they care about the millions of children and especially immigrant children of wars and poverty that live without healthcare, safe homes, education and a lethality rate that is horrible to think about. This again is about control, men in power deciding what women should do with their bodies. It’s about the patriarchy keeping women under its control and taking rights away from us. My body, my choice and mine alone.
Summer is the ultimate fake threat; people exhaust themselves all year long to obtain a “bikini body”. For the many people who experience body dysphoria what would be your advice?
I find that this is a very important issue to address especially in Cyprus. Women in the majority go through all of their lives worrying if they fit into this beauty standard that was created for companies to benefit from. We learn to hate our bodies from a young age and put value of our worth onto it. My advice and what I have been practising myself for the past 2 years is to start unlearning to hate our bodies and start loving it. Especially online, on social media, follow accounts that are body positive and promote self-love. Once I started sharing all this from my personal account not only did I help myself but so many others that related to me. Unfollow any accounts that bring you discomfort and negativity. It takes time and daily work, but once you understand that you are beautiful just the way you are and YOU are the one that has to love yourself first, it gets easier. Every body is a bikini body. The people that judge us for our bodies are the ones that have the issues and haven’t found self-love yet. Try to love yourself a little more every day.
Do you believe that in Cyprus the conversation around the subjects of body acceptance, female empowerment and gender equality has brought any actual change?
I believe that it has started to slowly bring change definitely. I see from the community that I’ve created online, younger generations especially have started to work towards acceptance of themselves but also others. It’s important to continue having these conversations so we continue to bring change however long it takes.