I am a performance artist too. When I perform as an artist, women are the core inspiration which sets the context of my art. I often ask myself, why women trigger me? The answer from my deeper soul which I receive every time, is that women are the world, their existence is the universe. Women are the key reason of this mysterious world. Women initiate the festivity of life, they add the spark in life. Therefore, women are the key component which intrigues this world to celebrate its infinite possibility. Women give us sense of security as mother; we refer the world as ‘she’. Hence the power of ‘she’ is enormous. We just don’t realize as we pass our day to day life, every minute by minute doing lots of small details that makes our journey meaningful. That’s why for women, for us introspection is so necessary.

This was for the first time Women in Leadership (W IL) has organized an event to celebrate the prosperity of women. WIL FEST celebrated “festive women” to rejoice their success in every field that they pursue and excel. For me as a woman it was a proud moment to embrace these leaders who believed in their craft and expertise and embraced their boldness to be visible. Women has always been strong, courageous and visionary. They weave the society by nurturing families which in essence is the backbone of any country. In Southeast Asia, the socio-economic and political stereotypes are the major obstacles for women to reach their potential. But we should remember that these are just mere taboos and they definitely do not have any strength to prevent women to rise up and go beyond. WIL FEST was designed and organized with two broad themes in mind: owning and visibility. Once our women learn to own themselves and own their talent and potential, they’ll be able to take greater strides forward. Hence WIL is an important platform that aims to bring the professional women together for the higher purpose and drive the vision of empowering women through leadership. Owning thyself is the true and ultimate leadership. The way we perceive leadership is NOT the actual meaning of leading. Leadership to me is to engage and motivate others in order to build and inspire a whole community. We need to understand deeply why do we exist in this world. We have to make ourselves visible to create context of the meaningful existence. Women should remember that they are not a commodity or publicity material. Rather they are here to pursue a concrete path of professional leadership and be sustainable professionals to reach their potential. They are here to stay.

We talk about leadership. Many a times, Leadership is mistaken for authority. But this could not be further from the truth. Leadership is a broad concept. A women taking ownership of her life and expressing herself to the world is an act of leadership. Right kind of leadership will infuse life in us and jumpstart our journey of life.

For a woman to truly get what she deserves, she has to push forward in the race of life day in and day out. She has to be strong to break over newer boundaries. But she should never lose sight of her end goal. Because, only a clear goal will facilitate a woman to conquer the heights she aspires to reach.

However, we tend to blame the society. Society was never easy for men either. Men crafted their own destiny by taking charge of their fate. Women should expect no different. We have to push forward against all odds, and surely we will rise high. For the reason that change does not occur by itself, it is driven by awareness, perseverance and years of commitment. There are no boundaries to accept our own stigma. Look at women around you, who are fighting constantly for their rights and making their mark every day. Do not complain, just go and be a leader to be independent, to be empowered. Always remember you are not mere dust you are ‘Magic Dust’!

Nazia Andaleeb Preema
Editor, WIL Publication
President, Women in Leadership