Every Woman is a Woman of Worth

Building a “Wall of Change” at South India’s Largest Mall

By Stacy Wiebe | Chennai, India.

Her eyes were organic, living. But all else was hidden— shrouded by her black burqa.

“Happy Women’s Day!” I greeted her and her female companion, also covered head to toe in black hijab, though the latter’s face was not veiled.

“I’m with a group called Women of Worth, I explained. “We’re asking people at the mall today to express their views on the “Post-It Wall of Change.” I gestured towards the 8-foot by 8-foot freestanding “wall” we’d set up at Express Avenue, the largest shopping mall in South India.

Passersby at the mall were given a pink Post-it note and asked to write about a positive change that women in India have experienced over the last 100 years. Then on a green Post-it note, they were invited to write about a problem that women in India are still facing today … a change they still long for.

“Would you like to share your thoughts and add them to the wall?” I asked the girl in the burqa. She spoke inaudibly to her friend, then gave me the side-to-side “Indian head bob,” a polite form of assent.

I watched as they wrote on their Post-it notes, and stuck them with hundreds of others already on the wall. Previously, I’d interviewed several people and asked them what they wrote on their Post-its. But this time I was silent.

It was a holy moment. They had a voice. They could give their longings words.

Throughout International Women’s Day, hundreds of Post-its were added to the wall— by mothers in saris who were out shopping with their families, by girls in leggings who worked at the Esprit store, and even by jean-clad college-age guys who comprised the majority of mall-goers.

The “Post-it Wall of Change” became both mouthpiece and masterpiece, a work of audience-collaborative art. The pink cards were arranged to reveal the letters W-O-W, for Women of Worth. That was our message at the mall: “Every woman is a woman of worth.”

Why do women and girls in India need to hear that they are of worth?

• The United Nations Children’s Fund estimates that up to 50 million girls and women are “missing” from India’s population because of termination of the female fetus or high mortality of the girl child due to negligence.
• Close to 245 million Indian women lack basic literacy.
• More than half of Indian teenage girls think it is OK for a husband to beat his wife, under certain circumstances.

The vision of Women of Worth (WOW) is to reach out to women across color, race, age, creed and economic status, to let them know that they are of value, especially because they are created in the image of God. As part of WOW, I’m passionate about getting this message out to Indian women. And about giving them a voice… so that their longings may have words.

About Stacy:

Stacy Wiebe likes biriyani, books and things that grow. She’s lived in Chennai, India for the past three years, writing and speaking with WOW and other non-profits.

Photo credits, Post-it Wall of Change: Zippora Madhukar and Diya Paul