March 10, 2023
by Shelby Allen
The United Nations is full of a variety of people who come from different nations, speak different languages, and have different beliefs. It’s amazing to see so many people with all of these differences coming together working towards having a better future. However, the way we define what a “better future” is, differs depending on the individual, organization, and nation. For example: There are women who gave a call to action to replace girls playing with baby dolls and have them play with microscopes instead. While we should allow for women to play with microscopes, we cannot replace baby dolls or what they symbolize.
We cannot replace motherhood with any other role, otherwise we diminish the very nature of what makes women so important, unique, and powerful. This is not an either-or issue; we can create ways for women to be powerful influences both inside and outside of the home. One of the ways that is accomplished is through education. Dr. Timothy Rarick spoke at a side event concerning the positive uses of technology and discussed the importance of being able to provide education to every woman, man and child using online resources. When women are educated and have the choice to choose what they want to study, then they are able to pursue a path that they are passionate about while still being a mom.
An educated mother can then help her children to be better educated themselves and they can continue walking down the path that their mother paved to build upon the foundation of creating a better future. I believe a new call to action should be extended, one where women don’t have to choose to give up the baby doll, but where multiple paths are available, empowering women to fulfill their sacred responsibility and privilege to be mothers, as well as ensuring that they can be involved in the areas they want and find their voice to change the world and help make it a better place. The most important way women make this change is through marriage and raising children. There is no other institution that is as important or as needed as the family. The family is the basic unit of society and when we help families thrive, we help societies thrive.
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Shelby is a student at Brigham Young University – Idaho and attending the Commission on the Status of Women with United Families International.