Women Of The Week: Canadian Singer Jully Black, Ukrainian Girl Veronika Krasevych And Dubai’s First All Women SWAT Team
Here are all the inspiring women you should know about this week.
Meet some of the incredible women who are making a difference in the world this week.
1. Canadian Singer Jully Black
R&B singer Jully Black changed the lyrics of Canada’s anthem from “our home and native land” to “our home on native land” at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game to acknowledge Indigenous history.
The 45-year-old, who was born in Canada to Jamaican immigrants parents, said she had stopped singing the national anthem a few years ago after hundreds of mass, unmarked graves were discovered at multiple former schools to assimilate Indigenous children in Canada.
The schools, established in the 1890s under the leadership of the Roman Catholic church, were part of a Canada-wide network of residential schools set up to forcibly separate Indigenous children from their families and assimilate them, according to Reuters.
Black told the BBC that she took a closer look at the anthem’s lyrics after she was asked to sing it at the game and decided to make the change.
“Our home and native land is a lie,” she said. “Our home on native land is the truth.”
2. Ukrainian Girl Veronika Krasevych
After her own cat, Masik, turned feral when Russia invaded Ukraine, 11-year-old Veronika Krasevych started feeding Masik and other feral cats in the rubble of her family home.
“I used to come here to search for my cat. I wanted to feed it and I saw all the other cats here,” she said. “I felt sorry for them and now I come here regularly to feed them.”
Masik is a regular at her sessions, rushing up to her when she arrives before retreating back to his new home in the ruined apartment block.
3. Dubai’s First All-Women SWAT Team
11 women in the United Arab Emirates have formed Dubai’s first ever all-women SWAT team, who are smashing stereotypes.
In a society where it is seen as a taboo for women to be in such jobs, many of the women had a hard time convincing others of their choice of profession.
“When I first told my parents that I would join the SWAT team, my mother was against the idea, she was very scared, especially as it requires speed, accuracy and shooting, but I was able to convince and prove to her that I am up to the position I am in,” Lieutenant Latifa Al Salman told Reuters.
The women not only have proven that they are ready to take on its challenges, but they have also found that it has been a rewarding journey for themselves.
“What changed in me is that I have more confidence and I feel like I can do anything, if you want me to climb down a tower, I can, or climb up Burj Khalifa, I am ready. I have more confidence now,” Al Salman said.
“I encourage every girl that likes to be in the field, considers herself an athlete, likes shooting and is strong, not to hesitate to join such teams and military work, because it changes one’s personality a lot and makes them more committed, it also develops them and pushes them to face their challenges and fears.” Sergeant Sheikha Ali Abdulla said.
