Wow, this is interesting. It is said that many unmarried women in Utah are considered old maids. It seems that children are taught, from an early age, that a woman's happiness depends on marrying and staying at home to raise the children. But, now there are several unmarried female business owners that want to change this stigma. They want to get the word out to Utah's women that it's okay to be a strong women, and that they should take that strength into their own hands.
In hopes of empowering young girls and women in Utah, the festival, Girls Gone Radical 2008, will be held in Salt Lake City this weekend on Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. at the Salt Lake City Main Library. The festival is free and will last all day. The festival will be filled with performances and workshops by women, for women.
The Female Empowerment Movement members are excited about the festival, but there are few that worry if it can be pulled off because the group was just recently formed in Salt Lake City. A Utah native, Courtney Maguire, is the founder of the group, which she started after moving back to Utah. She couldn't find any groups in the area that were passionate about empowering women, sexism, feminism, or ending domestic violence. So, she decided to start the group herself. Her first group meeting was a two hour meeting made up of twenty men and women, all in their 20s.
The purpose of this festival is to get information to people about the reality of domestic and sexual abuse as well as how women can empower themselves by speaking their minds. Courtney wants to bring it to the attention of everyone that sexism and violence are big problems in many states. And she wants Utah to be one less state on that list.
The festival's workshops will be about being a single mom, self-defense, and domestic violence prevention. Women and men will get to enjoy dance and music performances. There will also be a candlelight vigil for people who have lost their lives to domestic or sexual violence.
This will be a great step forward for Utah's women. I hope to see all Salt Lake City's women and more there.
Comments(0)