Female condom and Pesos : memorabilia from women empowerment Woodstock
When my artist friend asked me what Women Deliver conference is all about, I told her it's like Woodstock but on women empowement. For 3 days in the last week of May, 'celebrities' of the development field take their stage in Kuala Lumpur Convention Center. A-list speakers such as the head of UNDP, UN Women, UNFPA, Melinda Gates, Chelsea Clinton and Malaysian Prime Minister 'headline' the plenarry hall sessions. They talked about health access, MDG, violence against women, child marriage and other universal issues. While more than 100 'indie' sessions such as social barriers, economic empowerment, youth leadership, engaging men as partners were held in various smaller venues.
At the same time, participants like myself get to visit exhibition sprawled in 3 halls, watch more than 80 women-themed films, listened to new product/initiative launches or network like crazy with thousands other attendees who come from more than 100 countries.
I collected alot of name cards, brochures, samples, freebies and found 'cute' memorabilia in my hand bag at the end of the conference.
1. I'm on toilet break
Everyone fought for the best seats in the room or developed preference for a favorite spot.Mine is near the aisle so I can make toilet run easily. It was freezing cold inside the convention and scorching hot outside the building. I gulped down bottles of water to stay hidrated. I made this little signage to 'chope' my seat while I went to the bathroom.
2. Female condom
I had 15 hours-worth of information how policy, power inbalance in the family or financial situation limit women's rights to choose when, with who and how many children they want to have. I realized how many vulnerable women in the villages and remote areas end up with too many children that her physique, emotion or finance can handle. They showed a woman who lives in a slum gave birth to 22 children-not by her choice.
So there's a booth of a female condom manufacturer that became more popular as the conference progressed. They give free samples. I guess more people realized (including me) that in some places, the onus is on women whether to have 2 children or end up with 22.
I always wanted to find out how female condom works. Turned out it's like inserting a tampon. Read more about it here. I learned that it can be placed way in advance of intercourse. The staff told me that some women found this very useful especially when the husband came home drunk and wanting sex but refuse to put on condom.
3. Foreign currency
You bound to meet really cool people in this sort of event. I spoke to a director from Clinton Global Initiative while waiting to check-in to my hotel, chat with the head of JP Morgan Philanthropy Center while queuing in the toilet and met a 70-year old Australian midwife who had trained young midwife around the globe, from the African desert to Sweden since the 60s.
I was shuttled to my hotel with a group of South American delegates. One of them is a young, skinny-jeans-wearing, human rights lawyer who just flew 30 hours from Colombia. The next day, he asked whether I would be interested to attend a session on legal abortion and I invited him to a session on ending violence against women. We had dinner at the airport before flying back to our respective countries. He gave me 1000 Colombian Pesos as souvenir. He said it doesn't worth much but he hopes it'll bring me to Colombia.
