To the women heroes of 2018 who smooth the path of humanity for a future of innovation, opportunity & safety of children and their families. Thank you, sisters.
Women heroes are humans, mothers, sisters, grandmothers, cousins, voters, leaders. Photo Credit: Melissa Hemingway Feminine Perspective Magazine
by Melissa Hemingway and Sharon Santiago of Feminine Perspective Magazine
The human race needs to substantially adjust its style of living in order to survive–literally survive, say the experts who prepared last fall’s UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report.
The year 2018 has introduced the most dramatic climate events in recorded history. Climate change is the biggest problem humans face after dysfunctional leadership that mines the value of its constituents and enriches itself for a short-term gain leaving citizens in severe trauma and destitution.
Women like General Motors’ CEO Mary Barra know that burning fossil fuel is morbidly choking Earth. She has taken enormous development risks by investing $billions, in fact, betting the company on human survival, to create the best possible electric automobiles and their necessary technology and infrastructure.
Ms. Barra is going to make an enormous difference to the safety of women and children in the coming years. She began the process full tilt in 2018. Thank you for your courage and your leadership in the fight to establish a safe and rewarding future for our children, sister.
Last November, as part of a restructuring plan to make the company more agile and profitable, she announced layoffs of 14,000 North American employees. While the news sent shockwaves through the American Midwest and angered US President Trump, the cost-cutting sent stock prices up 5%. Having earned $22 million in 2017, Barra has the highest compensation of any leader of a Detroit Big Three automaker. GM ranked No. 1 on the 2018 Global Report on Gender Equality. It was one of only two global businesses that have no gender pay gap. Source: Forbes.
Yafong Sun, Chair, Huawei Technologies, a Woman Run Global Business
Yafang Sun is pioneering 5G – AI – IoT technology innovations to open the door to a better future for children and their families. Acclaimed as one of the most powerful women executives for her role as chair of telecom giant Huawei since 1999, (dubbed Queen of Huawei ), Ms. Sun has also been one of its most reclusive leaders. Now she’s taking a more public role: Meeting with statesmen, corporate boards, trade groups, and giving speeches at schools that promote virtues such as innovation and teamwork. She avoids replying to American political accusations of spying that led Huawei to pull back on selling to the West. Source: FPMag files and Forbes.
Sabrina Meng, Political Prisoner in Canada
The CFO of Huawei Technologies, a Woman-Run Global Business, & Deputy Chair of its Board, Ms. Meng inspires & enables forward-looking engineers of Huawei 5G infrastructure. She holds a master’s degree from Huazhong University of Science & Technology. Ms. Meng has continually worked to improve treasury risk & tax compliance management systems & helped to make financial operations within Huawei more efficient, agile, & intelligent. She is held in detention on bail in Vancouver at the request of the Trump government which says she might be released if the US gets a good trade deal with China. Source: FPMag, Huawei & Forbes
Israa al-Ghomgham and her peers are Political Prisoners.
Women Human Rights Defenders in Saudi Arabia are grossly mistreated. Israa al-Ghomgham does not want to be killed by Mohammed bin Salman who says he wants her put to death. Others fear that too. Her fate is uncertain. She has been imprisoned since 2015 for driving a car in Saudi Arabia and other annoyances to the House of Saud. For example, she wanted equal rights for Shi’ite Muslims living in the eastern province of Qatif in her country that she loves deeply. The RINJ Foundation says that Saudi Arabia must release all human rights defenders from prison. Many are beaten and raped regularly according to FPMag sources. The RINJ Foundation has written to bin Salman and requested their release, even offering to post bail. The next court hearing: Sunday 13th January 2019.
Political Prisoner Loujain al-Hathloul was said to be the most influential human rights defenders in Saudi Arabia. Loujain’s health and safety are under attack. Sources says she is being raped and beaten by her jailers.
Imprisoned many times for driving a car in that country she was recently incarcerated permanently. She is a Saudi women’s rights activist, a social media figure, and a political prisoner. She is a graduate of the University of British Columbia in Canada. The RINJ Foundation has repeatedly demanded her release from prison since May 2018 when she was last arrested along with several prominent women’s rights activists, on the charge of attempting to destabilise the kingdom of Saudi Arabia by speaking out against escalating human rights violations since Mohammed bin Salman took power. Activists have protested abuses of women’s rights and even the horrific war against humanity in Yemen.
Leila de Lima, Political Prisoner in the Philippines, Human Rights Defender, Senator & Professor. She is an extraordinary human rights defender.
Hardly a day goes by when Ms. de Lima is not in the news, challenging the murders in the Philippines. Leila Norma Eulalia Josefa Magistrado de Lima is a Filipino lawyer, human rights activist, senator and law professor. She is a known critic of the thousands of extrajudicial killings of mayors, clergymen, activists, homeless, poor, and drug users by the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. In February 2017, days after garnering international awards for her campaign against extrajudicial killings in the Philippines, she was arrested. She has been imprisoned without bail since 02/2017. Her successor critic, a Senator Trillanes recently dodged imprisonment on a similar attempt by the sitting President which failed.
Elizabeth Ann Warren, United States Senator (Possible 2020 Presidential Contender)
Senator Warren is an American politician, academic and human rights defender serving as the senior US Senator from Massachusetts, a seat she held since 2013. Warren was formerly a professor of law. She taught at the University of Texas School of Law, the University of Pennsylvania Law School, and most recently at Harvard Law School. She was among the most cited law professors in the field of commercial law before she began her political career. She has in 2018 been a champion for the ordinary citizen and human rights defender in general. She is a critic of US authoritarian President Trump.
To the women sheroes of 2018 who smooth the path of humanity for a future of innovation, opportunity & safety of children and their families. Thank you, sisters. Art: Feminine Perspective Magazine Editorial Staff
Four out of 7 top Sheroes going into 2019 are political prisoners in Philippines, Canada and Saudi Arabia.Photo-Art: Rosa Yamamoto-Feminine Perspective Magazine