“Here’s to strong women: May we know them, may we be them, may we raise them.”.
When Ruth Samuel Ayano, a 10th-grade student at Nazareth Catholic School, entered the British Embassy’s Ambassador for a Day essay competition, she was motivated by Malala Yousafzai’s words about the power of women, seeing a chance to contribute to the conversation about how women are mistreated by society instead of being celebrated.
Writing from the heart, Ruth based her essay on her sister’s disturbing experience when searching for a job and being told ‘her body didn’t fit the boss’s desired type’.
Realizing she had been shielded from such gender discrimination at her all-girls school, Ruth decided to explore how such an ugly reality could be addressed. She argued that by failing to harness the strength, potential and talent of women society was missing a crucial opportunity to create a fairer and more inclusive world.
IN RUTH’S WORDS
“As an ambassador for a day, I would say that the experience was enlightening and filled with different opportunities. I had the opportunity to participate in a meeting and I learned many things like how much responsibility lies on the ambassador. My favorite part of the day was that I got to meet so many people who were willing to share their experiences about how they started their careers. Overall, I am truly grateful to have been given this opportunity.”