Happy International Women's Day!

I have thought for over a week of what I would write today. There's too much to talk about, too many angles to tackle the subject from and unfortunately I don't have the time to think of something clever.

It is International Women's Day today and all over the world, including Sweden, supposedly the best country in the world for women to live in, we are still very far from equal to our male counterparts. I'm a huge fan of the Madeleine Albright quote (skip to 12:30):
There's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other”.


As with anything, together we're stronger and it is only together we can work to abolish the inequalities that mean women are perceived differently; traditionally female jobs pay less and women are still underrepresented in the executive bodies of corporations and governing bodies worldwide.

On that note I today want to wish a special happy International Women's Day to these persons:

1. Maya Angelou – an inspiration in life, art and willpower. I named my daughter (and blog!) after her and thinking back, it was even her time in Ghana that inspired me to attempt at living in my homeland.

2. Every friend of mine, whether real-life or virtual. Our paths are so different, our goals likewise, and yet I can't but be amazed by the strength and tenacity that leads us to manage three children, work and fulltime studies, single motherhood with a successful corporate career, pursuing entrepreneurial dreams while creating a family and caring for a sick parent, etc., etc. The list is too long to write out and here I am talking of my closest group of friends!

3. My mother – the most amazing woman in the world. I hardly praise her here. Why? No words can do justice to how wonderful she is.

Happy International Women's Day!

Kony 2012

Got 30 minutes to spare? Well even if you don't, free up thirty minutes to watch this video!

Now I try not to tell others to donate money to a cause where I can't vouch for how the money will be spent, but I do think it can be worth spreading the message by sharing it on blogs, Twitter and Facebook.

I don't need to add anything to the message, it's all in the video, but aside from all it entails I am amazed by the fact that in the time I spent watching the clip, the number of viewers rose from 4,285,570 to 7,377,102. More than three million people watched the Kony video at the same time I did! I will never stop being amazed by the power of modern media and the powerful changes it can make.

Need I remind you of my favourite 2011 phrase - the Arab Spring?