An inspiring evening in Oxford
A big WOMANKIND thank-you goes to the Oxford Givers Circle and Kate Adie for a wonderful event, held on Thursday 7 May, to celebrate WOMANKIND’s 20th Anniversary.
The evening was a resounding success. Guests enjoyed an exquisite meal and glass of wine, to the accompaniment of two extremely talented musicians playing guitar and drums. The venue, a Rotunda at Grove House in Oxford — kindly donated for the evening by Polly McLean — was the perfect setting for this special celebration.
The event highlight was a talk by — and impromptu Q & A session with — WOMANKIND patron, Kate Adie. Packed with colourful personal experiences, Kate’s talk was deeply moving, yet filled with humour.
She spoke of the women she had met in war zones over the years who, despite not participating in the fighting, always bear the brunt of the deaths and injuries. During the most violent stages of the conflict in Afghanistan, for example, women were not allowed to leave their homes because they would bring dishonour on the family: instead, they and their children perished in their thousands.
Kate explained how notions of cultural ‘tradition’ were misused to make women objects whom men could use as they wished. She spoke passionately about the need to educate girls, giving them the power to change their lives; how important it was to educate boys to like and respect girls as equals; and called for legislation throughout the world to bring about lasting change.
As a WOMANKIND patron for over ten years, Kate emphasised the wonderful work of WOMANKIND and other women’s organisations — and how the work needed to continue.
The evening concluded with an auction of ‘promises’. The Oxford guests were extremely generous in their bids for ‘lots’ such as the use of the Rotunda for an event and a day out with lunch on a skiff. But the generosity of donors did not end there: every guest received a range of sauces from new company Masala Masala at the end of the evening, so no one left empty-handed.
Close to £3,000 was raised for WOMANKIND. This was all made possible through the hard work of the Oxford Givers Circle, in particular Mary Isaac and Anne James, and by Kate Adie who was so very generous with her time. Thank you.
