Decolonization of Women
March 2021
Dear Kaibigan,
Kumusta ka na. How are you? We invite you to invest in your process of wellness through the offerings we present and through the kwentuhan that happens within this community. This village of women is inclusive of those who identify as female, who are from the AAPI and BIPOC communities, who have a disability, and who are supporters of women.
Our village of women come from resilient lineages who have endured suffering. Women from the AAPI and BIPOC communities have suffered tremendously under colonial rule. Before European occupation women had roles outside of their homes and may have held positions of power in their community. We assert that women still have power. The Giving Well strives to enable women to take ownership of their power and apply it to their wellness as a means to prioritize their health, cultivate relationships, and make their aspirations a reality.
You may feel in your current situation powerless or helpless. Your wellness feels torn, ripped, or even destroyed. You may feel stuck in a situation or a relationship. You may be ambivalent or not ready to change something in your situation and are in a holding pattern. Perhaps feeling pressured to accomplish and reach milestones by a certain age. You may be curious about what is next in life for you and are looking for inspiration while uncertain of where to even begin. You may see your situation as neither good nor bad yet feel unsettled. You may be experiencing restlessness and in search of a community or an activity to quiet and calm that butterfly energy inside of you. Or you may be at a time in your life in which you are ‘starting over’ in some way - a new job, a new home, a new school, a separation or divorce, grief over a death or other loss.
This Giving Well space welcomes you as you are, in whatever situation you are in. Our community encourages you to take time to be present for yourself wherever you may be and emerge feeling rejuvenated to voice what you want in this life. We want to embolden you to share your stories through our Kwentuhan and participate in workshops, live events and retreats that support the decolonizing of yourself. We encourage your creation of new narratives, your maintenance of a harmonized wellness, and your immersion in your inner landscape with pride.
Our pasalubong, our offering of gratitude and thoughtfulness, for you today is a journaling activity to tap into your womanhood:
Reflect on ways your womanhood has been shaped by the lessons and messaging throughout your life.
What was your role in the family?
How were you able to take up space in your family in ways that aligned with your ideas and your wants?
How was your wellness nourished growing up? Was it?
How was being a woman or identifying being a female celebrated in your family and community?
How have the women before you felt empowered or disempowered simply by being a female or identifying as a female?
How have you felt empowered or disempowered as a female?
What empowers you now?
What does it mean for you to “have power”?
Know your power. Own it. Use it for your betterment.
Ingat lagi. Take care always,
Angel, on behalf of The Giving Well