• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Sarah Neufeld Co.

Empowering Women through the Living Word & Living Stories

  • Start Here
    • The Blog
      • The Word of God
        • Christian Living
        • Motherhood
      • The Issues
        • Fair Trade
          • Mercy House Global
          • 12 Ethical Shopping Ideas
        • Humanitarian
          • Human Trafficking
        • Politics
          • Abortion
        • Social
        • Women’s Issues
    • The Podcast
      • Episodes
    • The Book Shelf
    • The Freebies
      • Devotion Reset Challenge
      • 50 Days in the Book of John
      • A Guide to Support Bill C-233
  • Women Praying for Canada
  • Meet Sarah
  • Let’s Connect
    • Contact Us
    • Prayer Request

The First 3 Steps to Becoming a Woman’s Advocate

January 4, 2017 by Sarah Neufeld Leave a Comment

The First 3 Steps to Becoming a Woman’s Advocate

Strong. Hard working. Determined. Passionate. A force. A fighter.

Intimidating.

With high expectations for all and an unwavering conviction for justice, it was easy to feel out of your depth when engaging in conversation with my aunt; especially as a young teenager. I found that the best practice was to sit back, be prepared to listen, and glean her words for wisdom.

In the summer of 2000, at 15 years old, I spent the afternoon sitting on my aunt’s porch while she painted the railings. She was focused on meticulously painting the curves and edges. She was also in the full thrust of a lecture.

Bored and immature, I removed one of her cigarettes from the pack, lit up and casually started smoking. It took a minute or two, but the waft of cigarette smoke eventually caught her attention. She wasn’t impressed, but she gave me grace. A good teacher can overlook the rebelliousness of a student when the lesson is highly valuable.

In this lecture, that lasted one if not two full coats of paint, she taught me the realities and responsibilities of being a woman. I believe future generations need to hear this. This is how I would summarize it:

Don’t surrender what you shouldn’t give away, but claim what is rightfully yours. And when you have persevered with success, examine your life and be grateful for what you have. Once you realize how truly fortunate you are, go find someone more vulnerable than you are and start fighting for them, too.

1.Foundational Knowledge

Don’t surrender what you shouldn’t give away, but claim what is rightfully yours.

I believe that a woman should know her rights, her gifts, her purpose and, most importantly, who she is in Christ.  Rooted in the right foundation of knowledge, we can live an abundant life in every way.

At times, I have observed a pervasive influence that suggests we are perpetual victims. I have heard some individuals focus more on the ways we are oppressed rather than on the ways we have achieved success.

My heart breaks for any woman receiving the spirit of victimhood claiming that it is empowering.

I have been on the receiving end of prejudice, harassment and even victimization, however I will not accept the identity of a victim.

For me to accept that I am a victim, disadvantaged or oppressed would require me to surrender my rights and potential. I would also be rejecting who I am in Christ; a woman with a spirit of love, power and sound mind. No human has the power to define me this way unless I give them the authority to do so.

Rather, we live in an age of hope due in part to the women’s advocates that came before us. Our generation has the stewardship over this legacy which should not be taken casually or with entitlement.


2. Intentional Gratitude

And when you have persevered with success, examine your life and be grateful for what you have.

At any given moment in our life, we should be able to stop and take account of our blessings. Intentional gratitude is a cornerstone of contentment.

Our country is one of the few safe harbours left in a world where free societies are on the decline.

And yet, we still battle with sexual violence, human trafficking, objectification (often with the help of other complicit women), and there are other areas where ignorance prevails. Not all of these issues are gender exclusive, but the target is most frequently female.

The Women’s March of 2017 sparked intense controversy, meaningful conversation and a wide scale of emotion. Personally, I was humbled with gratitude that this type a protest was even legally possible. Then it broke my heart because we have sisters beyond our borders who do not have a fraction of our rights or privilege.

Let’s not shy away from the ugly truth. Frequently forgotten are the millions of women living without the most basic human rights. (WARNING: The following statistics are explicit and may be upsetting for some individuals.)

  • In 2000, the United Nations estimate that 5,000 women were victims of honour killings each year. According to the BBC, other women’s advocacy groups suspect that the total is more than 20,000 women killed worldwide each year.
  • According to UNICEF, 200 million girls and women alive today living in 30 countries have undergone female genital mutilation or cutting. This involves partial or total remove of various parts of her genitals, the narrowing of the vaginal opening as well as other harmful procedures for non-medical purposes including picking, piercing, incising, scraping and cauterization. This is most often performed without anesthetic and in locations with poor sanitation.
  • It is estimated that each year, 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international borders. These numbers do not include women and girls trafficked within countries.
  • Over the last few years, thousands of women and little girls have been captured and sold as sex slaves. Via Google, you can find the ISIS rule book for raping a slave, as well as their price list. For all those who have fortunately to escape, thousands remain in captivity.
  • Female infanticide and foeticide involves the deliberate killing of female babies and foetuses for the very fact that they are female. In the cultures where these deaths occur, females are considered of inferior value and less able to contribute to a family or society economically or otherwise. Or put another way, they aren’t valued to be worth living or born.
  • 1,500 women die in child birth every day across Africa.
  • According to UNESCO, globally 62 million girls are not attending primary or secondary school.

3. Generosity

Once you realize how truly fortunate you are, go find someone more vulnerable than you are and start fighting for them, too.

I believe a woman achieves true empowerment when she stands up for the rights and freedoms of other women who have none.

Western women have fought for their rights to which end, I know they will continue. However, can we seek ways to actively advocate for those who are the most oppressed by ignorance, misogyny and tyranny?

Can we commit to supporting organizations who are on the ground right now rescuing and empowering these forgotten women?

The reality of being a woman in North America comes with great responsibilities…

Know yourself and your principles; do not compromise.

Evaluate your life and celebrate every blessing you have received.

Then, go advocate for a woman who needs your help.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Recommended Posts

Filed Under: Humanitarian, Social, The Issues, Women's Issues

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Let’s Connect Where You Hangout

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Extra Reading…

Stop Human Trafficking: 5 Things You Can Do Today

There are 5 things that you can do today that will make an impact in the fight against human trafficking.

1 Podcast on Human Trafficking Everyone Needs to Hear

“If we don’t shed a little innocence, these kids are stuck in hell. But by engaging, even just to hearing their stories and sharing them, that’s the solution that’s going to end this for them.”

devotions reset challenge

Reset Your Devotion Time with this 10-Day Challenge

Happy New Year to you! We are in the season of good intentions! This is when our personal outlook gets supercharged limitless possibilities of self-improvement, and, let’s face it, unrealistic expectations… It’s hard. When I scroll through my curated feed on Instagram, I see so many inspiring and accomplished people offering me their help & […]

Why I became an Ambassador for Mercy House Global

Everyone is struggling with something, yet there is always someone out there who is feeling the hurt and hardship more than we are. The question is this:

“What are you going to do about it?”

christian response to communism

The Christian Response to Communism

Which political parties share these views, and does this have an impact on how we vote?

How does the rise of Socialism impact the Christian church?

We unpack the answer to these questions in this podcast episode!

Instagram Feed

Something is wrong.
Instagram token error.

OUR BLOG

Sarah Neufeld Co. serves as a resource for women who want to go deeper in their spiritual walk, who seek after truth, and have a passion to empower women in their community and around the world. We’ll direct you toward the opportunities, as well as the tools and information through the lens of grace and truth.

  • Christian Living
  • Fair Trade
  • Humanitarian Issues
  • Mercy House Global
  • Motherhood
  • Social Issues
  • Women’s Issues

Before Footer

OUR SITE

Sarah Neufeld Co. serves as a resource for women who want to go deeper in their spiritual walk, who seek after truth, and have a passion to empower women in their community and around the world. We’ll direct you toward the opportunities, as well as the tools and information through the lens of grace and truth.

  • Christian Living
  • Fair Trade
  • Humanitarian Issues
  • Mercy House Global
  • Motherhood
  • Politics
  • Social Issues
  • Women’s Issues

Footer

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy

© 2021 · Genesis Framework by StudioPress Themes · Blog Design By Blogelina