Purple, Green, White... and GOLD

BAG Networks International Women's Day Celebration

with Datuk Dr Jemilah, Ruzita Hj Misbak and Lee Ming

Purple, green and white are the official international women's colours.

The colours originated from the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU), in the UK in 1908. The colours were said to represent:- white for purity in public as well as private life- purple for justice, dignity, self-reverence and self-respect (and representing the women's vote)- green for hope and new life.

More recently, two changes have occured:- the use of the colour white has more recently been rejected as 'purity' is a controversial issue and attitudes towards the role of 'purity' from women differ greatly- the introduction of the colour GOLD representing 'a new dawn' has been commonly used to represent the second wave of feminism. (adopted from: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/colours.asp)

I am very lucky to be working with BAG Networks - where our management is very supportive and recognises the capability and contribution of women within the company. (ehh, boss, if u read this - remember to gimme more increment ar? )

I am also very lucky to be present during the interview with Brunei Times and some of the most prominent women in Brunei. They've inspired me endlessly. And some of the interviews were so touching that we weep as they speak. The courage, strength and self-believes in them are so powerful that I believe is the main cause of their success. One has mentioned that we need to keep life simple. It sounds easy, but with all the parental, siblings, relatives and peer pressure around, keeping things simple is never easy. Another has mentioned that we should never go for self-pity. We need to do things in life with sincere. With sincerity, all the good things in life will come naturally. We need to find our self-worth. We know what our parents want from us, what our siblings want from us etc... BUT, the most important thing that we need to know is "What do we want?" It is our life - we do what we want. Life is too short to be spent arguing about things and doing things what other people wants. One of the interviewee asked me, "So, what are you? Take out your job title. What do you want?" A lot of us refered ourselves as our position. But without our job position, what are we? What do we want in our lives? I felt proud, that at least I have got something else to refer myself to. I am very much indulge with my hobby - diving. Without my job title - i am a diver. What do i want? Dive till there is no freaking way for me to dive anymore.

We need to value ourselves. We continue to grow each day... continue to learn new things everyday... Find out what we want and go for it. Do not take things personally. Leave impacts; good notes on people's lives, with sincerity. Welcome the new dawn with fun - make life interesting and Live a Legacy...!

written on 22nd March 2007