International Women’s Day is a celebration that takes place around the world every year on 8th March. In each country the focus of the celebrations slightly varies; it can range from celebrating respect, appreciation, and love towards women to highlighting women’s economic, political, and social achievements. In Nottingham we are proud to celebrate this special day along with our members.

Galleries of Justice Museum were in the spotlight last week when they hosted a special event to celebrate women and their inspirational stories. I was lucky to take part in those celebrations of International Women’s Day at the Galleries of Justice Museum and schedule was packed with amazing speakers and fascinating activities.

I arrived at the venue at 12pm for networking and lunch, there were 70 confirmed guests attending the event, which made networking particularly interesting. I had a chance to speak to several wonderful ladies who are active in their professions and passionate about their jobs. It’s reassuring to know that our economy is supported by such a strong group of influential individuals. After networking we were invited to the Civil Courtroom for a Ghanaian singing lesson with Bracha Music. It was an amazing experience as most of us, if none at all, never had an opportunity to listen nor sing Ghanaian compositions. It also made the attendees worm up before the key part of the event, which were the inspirational speeches.

After the 15 minute singing session Nicola Burley from the Galleries of Justice Museum and Jo Belton from the Yorkshire Bank had a brief introduction and then we were presented with two key speakers of the day Deana Williams and Sadi Khan. Deana told us about how the organisation Positive Futures helped her change her lifestyle and bad habits. It was touching to hear how Deana’s life changed after she was able to lose a significant amount of weight and start a healthy lifestyle. Her determination and strong will with dedicated help from Positive Features helped Deana become a stronger person and deal with difficulties that were brought up by being overweight. The second speaker was Sadi Khan from Noble Khan, who told us the story of her life and the struggles she went through during her five-year marriage. Her husband was extremely violent towards her throughout their arranged marriage, and hearing how she dealt with the violence was really inspirational. The difficulties that Sadi encountered in her life made her a stronger person and helped her become who she is today, and although it was hard, she is now helping others to gain confidence in themselves and not not give up even when life is harsh and cruel and it seems like there is no way out.

The event at the Galleries of Justice Museum was special in many ways, the speeches very touching and there were several people who were moved by the stories that were told. It was an amazing opportunity to network as well as  listen to women who had enough will power and strength to overcome difficulties and move forward with their lives to create a better future for both themselves and their loved ones. Because this event was so inspiring I really look forward to next year and hopefully another International Women’s Day celebrations and the Galleries of Justice Museum.

     
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