I don't know anything about International Women's Day except that it is today. I only found out last night. I should rush off and google it. I’m not a feminist, but I believe in women’s rights and equal opportunity. And I ache for the women around the world who are unempowered, supressed and subjugated.
So today I am thinking about all the women I've seen in my travels. Especially the ones in developing nations who work hard to help support their families, who work tirelessly, and sacrifice so much, to provide their children with opportunities they, themselves have been denied.
I love this photo of this Vietnamese woman. I photographed her 5 years ago, and sadly did not find her when I returned to the region this time. I left my photo album of photos with a lady in Bac Ha Markets, I hope the photo I took of her found its way into her hands. And if so, it gave her the smallest of pleasures.
What I like about this photo, is that I connected with this woman. For the briefest moment, there was the briefest eye contact. But it was like the history of all womanhood was passed on, or rather acknowledged in that look. Woman to woman.
I know nothing of her life and she could not concieve of mine. But the communication through her eyes found common ground on a fundamental level. A brief encounter, long since gone, but preserved here this photo and in my memory. There is a knowledge, a secret code, that trandscends cultural and racial barriers. Not even the faintest of smiles, or the slightest nod of the head, but this woman and I read each other, accepted and acknowledged.
I wonder where she is today and how International Woman’s Day is treating her.
I am blessed that I was born into a society that allows me as a woman to have choice.