You don't have to fight
for your rights to grow
and live in the world.
Not even a tree fights for the importance of its existence
in the ecosystem of nature,
with which humans are one.
The seas do not fight, nor the continents,
nor the mountains, nor the rivers, nor the lakes,
nor anything alive or lifeless,
but all merge into each other
regardless of their differences.
It wasn't the tree's fault
that its leaves fell in autumn.
Every single fall, year after year.
They were external conditions
independent of the tree.
The tree didn't choose
its place of growth.
Life chose it.
A power greater than man.
Chose the time and place.
Because a human is incapable
of such big choices.
Its seed only found its place in the wind,
drifted as life often does.
There is nothing wrong with you.
Nothing erroneous.
In your soil, your roots, your growth.
It is not your fault if circumstances
dried up your growth, dried up
the flowers of your possibilities
Because I know, that bud is in you.
It's just waiting for light.
For that cloudless sky
without dark shadows.
And the rains, the rains that fall
from the teardrop eaves like a tidal wave.
From which there is
permission to cleanse.
Permission to grieve.
Permission to grow new every day.
Rejoice this growth,
seeing that day of blossoming.
When you get to open your petals
to the world in the light of day.
Free to grow.
Free to shine.
Free to choose.
Not to decorate as a backdrop,
cut off in a crystal vase
on the kitchen table.
We all know the life story
of that cut flower.
The prisoner of the vase
waiting to wither.
Free to grow.
Free to shine.
Free to choose with responsibility.
The culprits give way
to those responsible.
And an endless vision
of possibilities opens up.
Everything that was already in you
when you were born.
Is as growth in you.
In the endless growth of possibilities
in the natural cycle.
Minna Pietarinen
2023
The right to equality
The first article of the UN Declaration of Human Rights states the following:
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
The human dignity of every individual and the right to equal treatment and fundamental human rights are enshrined in several international documents and declarations. This right is also expressed in the constitution of almost every state. Nevertheless, around the world, women, girls and minorities are still subjected to multi-based discrimination based on, for example, gender or its expression, sexual orientation, disability or ethnicity. Different forms of discrimination also often pile up and intersect, which means in practice that a disabled woman belonging to an ethnic minority will be discriminated against because of her gender, her disability and her ethnicity. The starting point of intersectional feminism is to recognize these intersecting and overlapping forms of discrimination, and strive to build a world where the human dignity and rights of every individual are respected and protected.
The goal of the work of UN Women is to create a world where gender equality is realized, and where the rights of women, girls and minorities are respected. Promoting the rights of sexual and gender minorities is also a significant part of UN Women's work.
Human rights and equality cannot be promoted without anti-racism. A feminism that is blind to various overlapping and cumulative forms of discrimination can end up reinforcing racist and discriminatory structures. That is why today's feminism must be intersectional. It is a tool with which we can effectively deal with discrimination and prejudice - including racism.
All over the world, the status of women and minorities in society is being narrowed down. Around the world, the progress made in equality and human rights are under threat. Equality and human rights must be defended so that they do not take any steps back.
Gender equality does not happen by itself. The rights of women, girls and minorities do not come as a given. We live in a world where, unfortunately, we still have to fight actively and relentlessly for these rights, every day of the year. Women, girls, and minorities don't have time to wait for a better tomorrow - we need to build a more equal, safer, and fairer world today.
UN Women is the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women. A global champion for women and girls, UN Women was established to accelerate progress on meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. UN Women Finland is the Finnish National Committee of UN Women. The accompanying texts telling the stories of the women in the paintings and the rights that are depicted were written by Emma Winiecki, Head of Communications for UN Women Finland.
