"A Powerful Noise"

Tonight, my Mom and I went to see the special airing of a recent documentary at a local movie theater. The documentary, called "A Powerful Noise" was being featured for one night only here in Charlotte. She thought I'd really like it, and boy was she right! Here's a brief description of the empowering piece, thanks to YouTube: "An official selection of the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival, this inspiring documentary follows three extraordinary women -- in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Mali and Vietnam -- as they overcome barriers to lead day-to-day battles against ignorance, poverty, oppression, and ethnic strife. Visit www.apowerfulnoise.org to learn more."

After the documentary was aired, we "tuned in" to a prerecorded live broadcast, with a Q&A session from the panelists, among them big names such as Golden Globe Award winning actress Natalie Portman. At the forefront of conversation was the importance of education and empowerment for women. One of the panelists proposed the question, "What is the most marginalized resource in the world?" He said, "It's not water, it's not food, it's women." I thought that statement was so powerful and rang so true. Women are being marginalized and are still largely subservient and inferior to men in many countries around the world today.

I want to play a role in changing this. Educating a woman means educating a village. Educating a village means educating the nation. And educating the nation ultimately helps educate the world.