For generations, women in traditional communities were the transparent architects of society. They did not hold official titles, they did not sit at the head of the discussion tables, but they were the ones who wove the threads that held everything together. In the family unit and at the center of the community, they were a focus of healing, of belonging and of practical wisdom passed from mother to daughter in circles of mutual support.
in a novel “scarred stone”, Nagasti’s character brings this undeclared role to the fore. She reminds us that female power did not need external approval to exist – it was there, pulsing and present, managing life wisely and quietly even before the modern world offered us new definitions of success.
Today, when we talk about empowerment, we often find ourselves trying to adapt ourselves to existing models of success. These are models built according to very specific indicators: linear achievement, competitiveness and an emphasis on external results. It’s not that these metrics aren’t important, but they don’t predict everything.
The question that resonates with me is: Are these the only tools at our disposal, or do we have our own unique voice to bring to the table?
Should we give up that female healing ability? About the power in the support circles, about the deep intuition and the ability to grasp the emotional complexity of life? In traditional society, before the world of progress and individualism, women’s power lay in their “togetherness”. They knew how to heal each other, support without words and keep the community from falling apart. Maybe in the race forward, we lost something essential along the way?
I believe the time has come to replace the concept of “career” or “position” with a deeper concept: Loyalty to myself.
True female empowerment is not measured by pay scales or social status. It is measured inauthenticity. She is at a moment when a woman stops asking her friend “What should I be?” and starts asking herself: “Am I true to my inner voice?”
A woman’s choice of her life path – whether it passes through the public corridors or whether it focuses on building the family and community unit – is equally significant, as long as it stems from sovereignty. Leadership is the ability to influence reality from a place of self-perfection, and not from an attempt to please the expectations of others.
Instead of waiting for the environment to give us a certificate of recognition, we are invited to take ownership of the narrative of our lives. The challenge is not to convince the world of the value of our choices, but to free ourselves from the need for their approval in order to feel worthy and meaningful.
Maybe it’s time we first asked ourselves: What is right for me? The modeling we need to offer to the next generation of girls is not of a “superwoman” who manages to do everything according to the dictates of the environment, but of a woman who listens to her inner voice. A woman who brings her feminine uniqueness – the softness that is strength, the listening that is leadership and the healing that is a tool – to wherever she is.
We don’t have to ask permission to introduce ourselves. We simply need to return to being the sovereign architects of our lives, knowing that our roots are deep enough to hold whatever structure we choose to build.
Lecturer, writer and strategic consultant for identity-based leadership. Accompanying organizations, managers and communities in a process that transforms identity, roots and life experience from a source of concealment or friction - to a source of presence, belonging, leadership and impact.
צמיחה אמיתית לא נולדת מחיקוי, אלא מהאומץ לפגוש את עצמך - ולהביא לעולם את האני שלך באמת
אני מזמינה אותך ליצור איתי קשר
Fentay Maharat-Alamu's debut novel returns to the world of the women of the House of Israel in Ethiopia - to roots, memory, scars and female strength. Leave details to receive first updates on the release of the book, pre-purchase, premium edition and launch events.
