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PHOTO: CHRiS KnigHT
EdITOR’S nOTE
jEFF BERRY
@PaEDIToR
What is a woman?
I’VE hAd mAnY TEAChERS In LIfE, InCLudInG WOmEn
who have taught me particularly important lessons about
courage, strength, resilience, caring, and compassion.
Cindy, the oldest of my three sisters, realized at an
early age that it was her job to help look after the other
four kids in the Berry clan. My sister Barb became a
veterinarian, the first doctor in our family. The one who
was closest to me in age, Wendy, became my best friend
growing up. My mother Norma went back to work when
I started preschool in the early 1960’s, and continued
working as a schoolteacher and elementary school principal
until she retired. And my grandmother, Ruby, lived
to be 101, and would often recount to us colorful stories
from her life, such as the one about traveling all day in
a covered wagon to see the Wright Brothers perform
breathtaking feats in their amazing flying machines.
All these women and others demonstrated to me
wonderful qualities that I respected and admired, and
sought to emulate and incorporate into my own sense
of values and ideals. There are countless examples in
our culture of strong, courageous women and their
many accomplishments and contributions to the world.
So why is it that so many women who are in positions
of power and leadership appear threatening to so many
who live in our male-dominated society?
A recurring theme at this year’s International AIDS
Conference was the role of women in ending the
epidemic. In her address at the conference opening
plenary, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked about
the essential role of communities, especially people living
with HIV, in turning the tide on the epidemic. “And it
will come as no surprise to you,” Clinton told the packed
audience, “that I would like to highlight the particular
role that women play.”
Clinton pointed out that in Sub-Saharan Africa
women account for 60% of people living with HIV.
“Women want to protect themselves, and they want
adequate health care, and we need to answer their call,”
said Clinton. “Every woman should be able to decide
when and whether to have children. This is true if she is
HIV-positive or not. Women need and deserve a voice in
the decisions that affect their lives.”
In a lively morning plenary session by a panel made
up of mostly women, HIV-positive
educator and activist Linda Scruggs
said it best by stating she wasn’t
going to ask for anything, because
women have been asking to be
counted in for the last two decades. “Today I stand here
to give you some directions. We’ve decided to stop asking,
and maybe you just need the recipe.”
Scruggs called for meaningful involvement of women
at every level, from the government to local communities
and organizations, and also made it clear that women are
not just asking for male-run organizations that “tolerate” a
women’s program. “We need the support and resources…
to give us the power to heal our sisters, to change our
men. We are the mothers of the earth.”
In her talk, Scruggs also shared part of what she says
got her to the stage that day. She learned she was HIVpositive
while visiting a perinatal clinic and was 13-weeks
pregnant, and had to decide whether to terminate the
pregnancy and live five years, or have the baby and possibly
live three. She says she’s glad that day the doctor
was wrong, and her son, Isaiah, was born free of HIV,
and he just recently turned 21.
“I could’ve made the decision to have an abortion.
An abortion would not have been the first one I had had,
but I had an experience with God. I had an experience
that…made me really look and reflect about women.
After all, what is a woman who thinks she’s ugly? What
is a woman who feels she has no self-value? What is a
woman who allows not one, but two men to rape her in
silence? What is a woman who allows an uncle to molest
her and others and still be silent?... What is a woman
who feels that she’s been broken and voiceless? What is
a woman who’s afraid of understanding herself? What
is a woman who spent a lifetime trying to be someone
other than herself?
“I’ll tell you, that cold November day, that woman
was me, but it was through the support of this community
that I was able to find a voice and a place, that
I could be just who I say I am. I am a woman.”
Take care of yourself, and each other.
there are
countless
examples in
our culture of
strong, courageous
women
and their
many accomplishments
and contributions
to the
world. so why
is it that so
many women
who are in
positions
of power
and leadership
appear
threatening
to so many
who live in
our maledominated
society?
POSiTivElyAwARE.COM SEPTEMBER+OCTOBER 2012 7