Keep Empowering Women Around the World

Rumi said, "Travel brings power and love back into your life." But of course he was talking about sustainable travel :)

The COVID-19 global pandemic has had a devastating impact on the travel. Now, there is a critical need for more sustainable traveling. Together, we have the opportunity to rebuild for a more balanced and equitable future. 

Many of us want to travel in ways that make the planet better. Indeed, we will have a better trip if we keep these mindset strategies in mind:

1. Treat their home as you would your home
2. Travel with companies that share a sustainable travel vision
3. Do as much as you are comfortable with
4. Include your children
5. Make your carbon footprint worth the trip
6. Share what you know

But one of the best ways to make all of us better travelers is to empower women that are out there! Travel must bring power and love to all the women who need it around the globe. 

We need to empower and connect women through our different trips around the world. Women empower. With our presence. With our voice. With our empathy. With our kindness. With our hopes. With our dreams. With our intellect. 

There is a lesson in every woman we encounter. Women should empower themselves to move forward. The woman is the main pillar to her family and society.

I wish more women realized that helping another woman win, cheering her on, praying for her, or sharing a resource with her, does NOT take away from the blessings coming to them. In fact, the more you give, the more you receive. Empowering women does not come from selfishness but rather from selflessness. 

We need to empower women around the world on our next trips. 

For example, investing in female and locally-owned businesses goes a great way towards supporting a community and creating jobs. For a deeper experience, you can search for or request female tour guides. Most of these women are battling a male-dominated industry in their own cities and they are paving the way for other women to do the same. 

Why not search the history of a destination before you visit and learn about some of the powerful women that shaped the destination? 

It is important to explore also economically depressed countries and support the women and children in these areas through humanitarians donations of school supplies and patronizing local female entrepreneurs. 

If you are ready to step out of your comfort zone and ready to inspire and to be inspired, think about journeys that empower women around the globe. 

Travel to change Lives. Travel to empower women. The journey towards gender equality in the developed world is one thing, but in the developing world, it is another  thing entirely. While many countries in the developed world, when it comes to gender equality, are making strides, women in the developing world continue to be disenfranchised and marginalized. 

In many developing countries, women have only a fraction of the rights of men. They still earn less than men for work of equal value and comparable skill sets. Supporting women today is more crucial than ever, and the travel industry can play a significant role in opening up space for local women and helping grow their personal economies as well.

In rural regions on many countries in North Africa, roughly 83 per cent of women are illiterate. Therefore, it is necessary for us to travel and to make the world a better place. More rights and better access to resources for women does not mean less for men or anyone else. 

Many women around the globe are offering cooking classes for travelers demonstrating how to make local dishes, as well as sell handicrafts to support their communities in financially sustainable ways. In essence, creating support structures in place so they have more freedom to choose their own destiny. 

Fernweh Fair travel is a women-led nonprofit organization working to empower women, mostly young widows, and bring sustainable development to communities in India through responsible tourism that preserve culture and protect the environment. 

Purposeful Nomad runs women, small-group adventures around the world designed to empower women through responsible community engagement. Remember that women are the driving force in most communities and families around the world. 

Urban adventures offers day tours hosted by local women. For example, The Olive Tree of Istanbul tour visits a community center that offers education and support to Syrian refugees, including a women's social enterprise program. Syria's civil war has triggered the worst humanitarian crisis of our time. 

We are all about empowering women through local tourism. Women make up over half of the tourism workforce, and yet they are often underpaid and have limited opportunities to move into higher positions in their jobs. 

Traditional gender roles make it hard for many women to access the same education and employment opportunities as men. For many women around the globe, being able to contribute to their family's income has been life-changing. 

Unbutu is a local Kenyan non-profit that helps to create jobs and empower local women around Maai Mahiu, a town along the major tourist and trade route through kenya. 

In Jordan, you can take a cooking class with one of the women from the Iraq al Amir Women's Association founded by the Noor Al-Hussein Foundation (NHF). You can learn to make a traditional Jordanian food and enjoy a meal at the historic, Ottoman-era building of the Association. You can get to know one of the members of the association and support their work to empower local women. 

In Peru, you can visit social impact projects, such as the Weaving Workshop or Pawra restaurant. These projects are ideal responsible tourism initiatives, allowing women in local communities to make a living from tourism. With funds earned from sales of their products, these women can support their families, many sending their children to school. 

Women empowerment through tourism! 

I wish to re echo the idea that; empowering women results into an empowered nation, region and world. This is because it is undeniable that women uphold society by preserving culture and environment through their daily interaction with nature and society. 

It is on this basis that I advocate for more proactive ways to enable women empowerment by tapping into the lucrative tourism business for the benefit of the entire globe.