Latest / Stuff Mom Never Told You / Women Around the World: Amasai Jeke
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie and Samantha and welcome to Steph.
- 0:07Speaker 1: I never told your production of I Heart Radio, and
- 0:18Speaker 1: welcome to our segment of Women around the World, where
- 0:22Speaker 1: we celebrate the women around the world and amazing ways
- 0:26Speaker 1: they work and an advocate to change the world and humanity.
- 0:30Speaker 1: I said it. Uh, And if you're listening to this
- 0:34Speaker 1: in chronological order as they are being released, congratulations to
- 0:38Speaker 1: Judge Katangi Jackson Brown. Yes, yes, I'm so glad that
- 0:44Speaker 1: wasn't like an episode we had to come back to.
- 0:47Speaker 1: I just want to go ahead put that out there
- 0:48Speaker 1: because I was like a moment like, we really hope
- 0:50Speaker 1: this works out. I really I don't want to come
- 0:52Speaker 1: back and cry about the fact that our country is
- 0:56Speaker 1: so much worse than we thought. Don't get me wrong,
- 0:58Speaker 1: there's a lot of things that needs to happen to
- 1:00Speaker 1: help all of humanity in our country. But to be
- 1:04Speaker 1: able to actually celebrate the first black woman justice, that's
- 1:08Speaker 1: always nice to have and we wanted to take a
- 1:10Speaker 1: second to celebrate that. So yeah, yeah, yeah, And congratulations
- 1:17Speaker 1: to her and her achievement. Uh. Did you also, I
- 1:21Speaker 1: had a moment where I was watching through all the
- 1:24Speaker 1: announcements and there was a moment where Vice President Harris
- 1:28Speaker 1: had two of the black congressmen come up and she
- 1:32Speaker 1: gave her letterhead did you see this to them, in
- 1:36Speaker 1: which she was like, I want you to write to
- 1:39Speaker 1: a black woman or a young black girl about today
- 1:42Speaker 1: and how significant it is. And of course Reverend Warnock
- 1:47Speaker 1: wrote to his daughter about the significance of what this was,
- 1:50Speaker 1: and I cried. I was like, oh my god, this
- 1:52Speaker 1: is amazing. Yeah it was, but we're not talking about
- 1:59Speaker 1: that complete today, but we did want to take that
- 2:01Speaker 1: moment to celebrate that and hope that you were able
- 2:04Speaker 1: to celebrate with us as well. But we are talking
- 2:07Speaker 1: about other world changers. Um. And this month is Earth Month, April,
- 2:12Speaker 1: and I think it's become a global thing, right, I
- 2:14Speaker 1: think all over the world is something. I know. Earth
- 2:17Speaker 1: Day is global. And if you're listening to this this
- 2:21Speaker 1: week as it's being released of this episode, then you're
- 2:24Speaker 1: listening around Earth Day, which is April twenty two for
- 2:30Speaker 1: so timely. If you're not, don't worry about it. Just pretend, okay, right,
- 2:34Speaker 1: you know why I said, Okay, So like you're talking
- 2:36Speaker 1: to me, you're talking I'm talking to you because we're
- 2:38Speaker 1: supposed to celebrate Earth Day every day. We should be
- 2:40Speaker 1: making changes and conscientious choices. Uh so you know, well
- 2:44Speaker 1: we're gonna go with that. But today, Yes, I did
- 2:47Speaker 1: have a question because I remember Earth Day that was
- 2:50Speaker 1: a significant day. I also remember like thirty Rock did
- 2:53Speaker 1: a little bit about it, even having a former vice
- 2:56Speaker 1: president Gore in the show do You Try? But did
- 3:00Speaker 1: you do any special events for Earth Day in your school?
- 3:04Speaker 1: We did? I think we did, like it kind of
- 3:09Speaker 1: learned in primary school. I did kind of like I
- 3:13Speaker 1: learned about recycling type thing. Um. We would do just
- 3:17Speaker 1: kind of educational kind of events where we would go
- 3:22Speaker 1: and figure out what was the things to do we
- 3:26Speaker 1: could help the earth. When I got older, we would
- 3:28Speaker 1: read like um, Rachel Carson books. Georgia Tech, the school
- 3:32Speaker 1: that I went to for college, had a huge Earth
- 3:37Speaker 1: Day celebration, just enormous and funnily enough. I my dad
- 3:42Speaker 1: was really big. He loved the wilderness. He was very
- 3:48Speaker 1: into protecting the environment. So it was it was something
- 3:51Speaker 1: that I grew up and it was important to me
- 3:53Speaker 1: as well. So I would go to these Georgia Tech
- 3:57Speaker 1: Earth Day events and I loved them, and I went
- 4:02Speaker 1: to one I think it was my freshman year. I
- 4:04Speaker 1: won a microwave that I still had. Yes, it was
- 4:12Speaker 1: like a you know, supposed to be very efficient wave.
- 4:18Speaker 1: So I won that, and then I got a shirt
- 4:22Speaker 1: that later I would realize was from my future employer,
- 4:26Speaker 1: how Stuff Works. I still have it, but they were
- 4:29Speaker 1: a sponsor at the event, and I got a house
- 4:31Speaker 1: Stuff Work shirt. It was a big It was a
- 4:34Speaker 1: big event, and it was a really fun event. But
- 4:37Speaker 1: unfortunately shallowly, perhaps I mostly remember the free things that
- 4:43Speaker 1: I won. Really, it's not wrong, it's not wrong. Yeah,
- 4:47Speaker 1: I think we hadn't event when we actually planted trees
- 4:50Speaker 1: around the school and we did a whole like and
- 4:53Speaker 1: I love stuff like that. That is right up my alley,
- 4:55Speaker 1: and we did have an event like that. We also
- 4:57Speaker 1: watched the videos where definitely there was a cartoon Globe
- 5:01Speaker 1: World things I will tell you about recycling. I think
- 5:04Speaker 1: we did some things about like wildlife conservationalism and about
- 5:08Speaker 1: that for our day, so very wide and stretched. Of course,
- 5:12Speaker 1: learning now what it is in climate activism and what
- 5:16Speaker 1: that should look like, it's a lot more complicated than
- 5:20Speaker 1: what we learned in childhood. As well as the fact
- 5:23Speaker 1: that we were lied to about what can be recycled.
- 5:26Speaker 1: I have been lied to about what can be recycled.
- 5:31Speaker 1: It's a lie. And I still have to keep asking
- 5:34Speaker 1: people can this be recycled and getting mad about the
- 5:37Speaker 1: fact that they can't. Um. And also we could also
- 5:40Speaker 1: have this conversation about is it really on us? Is
- 5:43Speaker 1: it really on the consumer's fault when all we're offered
- 5:46Speaker 1: is bad plastics and bad options to buy, and when
- 5:48Speaker 1: the cheapest option for those who really can't afford to
- 5:53Speaker 1: go beyond like that, there's a whole different conversation. And
- 5:55Speaker 1: those with like kids, single parents with kids try to
- 5:59Speaker 1: reuse things that's not as convenient as you think. Yeah,
- 6:02Speaker 1: and I think that's a huge part of this conversation. UM. One,
- 6:07Speaker 1: not that I don't think we should take personal responsibility,
- 6:10Speaker 1: but ultimately companies are who are really holding responsible exactly.
- 6:16Speaker 1: And also yeah, like there's accessibility issues with recycling or
- 6:21Speaker 1: any type of environmentally friendly activity, which is really unfortunate,
- 6:26Speaker 1: but we have to admit it is true, right. I
- 6:28Speaker 1: mean growing up in La j Georgia, I knew nothing
- 6:31Speaker 1: about recycling because we had no access. It wasn't picked up,
- 6:34Speaker 1: there was no options to do. So I think we
- 6:36Speaker 1: had to pay money instead of being paid money. So
- 6:41Speaker 1: it was kind of like, wait, I can't afford this.
- 6:44Speaker 1: We I have four kids and we have one job
- 6:46Speaker 1: and we have I can't afford to recycle. I mean
- 6:49Speaker 1: essentially was like what as well as the fact that
- 6:52Speaker 1: it was more convenient to burn it in the back,
- 6:54Speaker 1: which is also really bad, really bad. I know exactly
- 6:59Speaker 1: what you're talking about. I remember driving past houses and
- 7:04Speaker 1: you just see these like flames going and my mom
- 7:07Speaker 1: would be like, right, they're just burning, They're burning the trash.
- 7:11Speaker 1: That's what I grew up with. And I don't even
- 7:13Speaker 1: know if it's still accessible because for the longest time
- 7:17Speaker 1: we still like there there are dumping grounds for trash,
- 7:20Speaker 1: and that's where we would have to take it. If
- 7:22Speaker 1: it wasn't burnable, you took it to the centers, and
- 7:25Speaker 1: you also have to pay for that. We should have
- 7:27Speaker 1: to pay for that. That is a lot different conversation,
- 7:30Speaker 1: but still not accessible and not convenient. Yeah, and we
- 7:36Speaker 1: have a well it depends on when you're listening to this,
- 7:38Speaker 1: but we have a book club coming out or is
- 7:40Speaker 1: already out about all of this, because I think it
- 7:43Speaker 1: is super important because there are just so many accessibility
- 7:48Speaker 1: issues with this and also just who has impacted and
- 7:52Speaker 1: I think that gets left out a lot in this
- 7:56Speaker 1: conversation and we should not leave it out because it's
- 7:59Speaker 1: essential and it's a huge thing, y'all know. When it
- 8:15Speaker 1: comes to women around the world, we love the activists
- 8:18Speaker 1: who are trying and doing their damnedest to try to
- 8:21Speaker 1: make some change or at least speak out about the problems.
- 8:24Speaker 1: And typically these activists are in the sectional so meaning
- 8:28Speaker 1: there are so many layers to their activism and they
- 8:31Speaker 1: just take it all on because when it comes down
- 8:34Speaker 1: to it, it is this level of intersectionality that is
- 8:37Speaker 1: so important and why we have to continue to talk
- 8:40Speaker 1: about breaking down of who was being harmed and who
- 8:43Speaker 1: was being targeted. So on that note, we are actually
- 8:47Speaker 1: talking about amazing activists. I'most say j K from Fiji, Yes,
- 8:52Speaker 1: and almost said. J K is a trans feminist, queer
- 8:55Speaker 1: rights and environmental justice advocate. She has been fighting for
- 8:59Speaker 1: her community all around the world and has been highlighting
- 9:02Speaker 1: the needs and dangerous growth around the environmental issues in Fiji.
- 9:07Speaker 1: So j K is known as an outspoken speaker who
- 9:10Speaker 1: is not afraid to lead and start the conversation about
- 9:13Speaker 1: the much needed change when it comes to the environmental, queer,
- 9:16Speaker 1: trans and feminist justice which again, yeah, lots of intersectionality.
- 9:22Speaker 1: She is involved in several organizations, including the Rainbow Pride
- 9:26Speaker 1: Foundation and the women's major group Right and just some
- 9:29Speaker 1: information about each of these organizations. The Rainbow Pride Foundation,
- 9:33Speaker 1: which j K is a Project support Officer of Human
- 9:36Speaker 1: Rights and Social Injustice, is a quote not for profit
- 9:39Speaker 1: organization legally registered in Fiji that advocates for the human
- 9:43Speaker 1: rights of the LGBT persons so that they are respected
- 9:46Speaker 1: and are able to live with dignity, free from discrimination
- 9:49Speaker 1: and persecution and violence, and whether human rights are upheld.
- 9:53Speaker 1: Its mandate includes promoting lgbt q I rights and equality,
- 9:58Speaker 1: social justice, and health and well be It empowers and
- 10:01Speaker 1: encourages LGBT individuals in Fiji to participate fully in the
- 10:05Speaker 1: democratic decision making in their households, communities, and national processes.
- 10:10Speaker 1: It also works with various partners to promote equal access
- 10:14Speaker 1: to sustainable livelihoods, economic assets and resources among LGBT people,
- 10:20Speaker 1: ensuring that they're not barred from accessing basic education, health
- 10:23Speaker 1: and other services that are enjoyed by their fellow citizens,
- 10:27Speaker 1: which are essential for their personal well being and growth.
- 10:30Speaker 1: It encourages LGBT persons and their allies to come together
- 10:34Speaker 1: to advocate for the equal treatment for all people's regardless
- 10:37Speaker 1: of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. And according
- 10:42Speaker 1: to the Women's Major Group dot org quote, the Women's
- 10:46Speaker 1: Major Group w MG was created at the Earth Summit
- 10:50Speaker 1: in Rio de Janeira, Brazil, where governments recognized women as
- 10:53Speaker 1: one of the nine important groups in society for achieving
- 10:56Speaker 1: sustainable development. The w MG is an official particip in
- 11:00Speaker 1: the United Nations processes on sustainable developments. Other processes use
- 11:04Speaker 1: the Major Group or similar systems, with the w MG
- 11:07Speaker 1: active in the processes of the United Nations Environment Program
- 11:11Speaker 1: since nineteen nine six. The Women's Major Group has the
- 11:14Speaker 1: responsibility to facilitate women's civil society active participation, information sharing,
- 11:20Speaker 1: input into the policy space provided by the United Nations
- 11:24Speaker 1: e g. Participation, speaking, submission of proposals, access documents, development
- 11:28Speaker 1: of sessions. The w MG is self organized and open
- 11:32Speaker 1: to all interested organizations working to promote human rights based
- 11:36Speaker 1: sustainable development with a focus on women's human rights, the
- 11:39Speaker 1: empowerment of women and gender equality. Right and if you
- 11:44Speaker 1: go and look at each one of the organizations. You
- 11:45Speaker 1: can learn more about what they're doing and how you
- 11:47Speaker 1: can help if you want to be a part of this.
- 11:50Speaker 1: The women's major group organization is international as where I
- 11:54Speaker 1: believe the Rainbow uh Pride Foundation is located within Fiji.
- 11:59Speaker 1: But two amazing organizations and if you look up the
- 12:02Speaker 1: things that they have been doing, they are rocking some amazing,
- 12:05Speaker 1: amazing advocacy programs. Uh So it should definitely check that out.
- 12:09Speaker 1: But ms j K has been able to speak out
- 12:12Speaker 1: all around the world to represent her community and these organizations,
- 12:15Speaker 1: or as she calls it, quote making good noise. She's
- 12:19Speaker 1: been able to represent the different organizations to discuss the
- 12:21Speaker 1: need to hold the leadership accountable when it comes to
- 12:24Speaker 1: both human and environmental rights. She's been able to be
- 12:27Speaker 1: spokesperson for events like the People's Summit on Climates, Rights
- 12:31Speaker 1: and Human Survival, the cop or the Conference of the Parties,
- 12:34Speaker 1: which is a UN conference that brings different countries around
- 12:37Speaker 1: the world for a global climate summit, which has been
- 12:40Speaker 1: occurring for nearly three decades. And I know we've mentioned
- 12:43Speaker 1: them before because a lot of the people we talked about,
- 12:46Speaker 1: a lot of women have been a part of this conference.
- 12:48Speaker 1: And it was at the CP twenty one that the
- 12:50Speaker 1: Parents Agreement was born, which was a commitment to quote
- 12:53Speaker 1: bring forward national plans setting out how much they would
- 12:57Speaker 1: reduce their admissions known as the Nationally to Herman Contributions
- 13:01Speaker 1: or in d c s, which the countries agreed to
- 13:03Speaker 1: and as in fact, she was one of those to
- 13:06Speaker 1: advocate for Fiji to move towards a concrete way of
- 13:09Speaker 1: achieving the goals of the Pairs Agreement, as she participated
- 13:12Speaker 1: in the twenty five thousand people March in climate activism
- 13:16Speaker 1: in Fiji in seventeen and for her activism, j K says,
- 13:20Speaker 1: as a young feminist and someone who believes in climate
- 13:22Speaker 1: and ecological justice, it's all about building trustworthy relations, threading
- 13:27Speaker 1: common strategies, and amplifying the lived realities of people on
- 13:30Speaker 1: the front line of climate change. These people include those
- 13:34Speaker 1: in the global South, people of color, indigenous and rural communities, women,
- 13:38Speaker 1: lgbt q I, children, people with disabilities, and youth who
- 13:42Speaker 1: are making a change in the world. It's also all
- 13:45Speaker 1: about having solidarity as the foundation of how we work
- 13:49Speaker 1: and organize. Working together to end climate inequalities, the climate
- 13:54Speaker 1: crisis offers a lens to understand intersecting forms of inherent
- 13:58Speaker 1: injustices on this planet. This is why it's important to
- 14:01Speaker 1: have gender equality, which is more than just equality between
- 14:04Speaker 1: men and women, and human rights at the center of
- 14:08Speaker 1: how we work to achieve climate justice. It's also important
- 14:11Speaker 1: that marginalized communities are not sidelined or traded off as
- 14:14Speaker 1: bargaining chips, but included in decision making and elevated in
- 14:18Speaker 1: public debate. I have learned from the l g B
- 14:21Speaker 1: t q I movement women's feminist movement, that speaking truth
- 14:24Speaker 1: to power is the strongest thing one can ever do
- 14:27Speaker 1: and the rest will fall into place. Right. I thought
- 14:31Speaker 1: that was amazing, and that was actually an interview she
- 14:33Speaker 1: did with Amnesty International about her work as recently. On
- 14:37Speaker 1: her Facebook you can see her talking about the effects
- 14:39Speaker 1: of COVID in her community and how she's combating that
- 14:42Speaker 1: and or at least bringing out needs and concerns in
- 14:46Speaker 1: relations to COVID and her community and marginalized people in
- 14:51Speaker 1: her area. She does some amazing work. Obviously, she's also
- 14:55Speaker 1: another one who needs a Wikipedia page or I need
- 14:56Speaker 1: to be an assignment. Who do we make these assignments to?
- 14:59Speaker 1: But doing some amazing work and obviously, she's a huge
- 15:01Speaker 1: advocate when it comes to feminism as well as trans
- 15:04Speaker 1: and queer rights in her area and everywhere. We love
- 15:08Speaker 1: to see it. We do, we do uh. So many
- 15:12Speaker 1: amazing people we get to talk about in these segments.
- 15:15Speaker 1: Yes uh And as always, listeners, if you have someone
- 15:20Speaker 1: we should talk about in this segment or a movement
- 15:22Speaker 1: we should talk about, please let us know. You can
- 15:25Speaker 1: email us at Stuff Radio Stuff at i heeart media
- 15:27Speaker 1: dot com. You can find us on Twitter at mom
- 15:29Speaker 1: Stuff Podcast or on Instagram at stephanely ever told you.
- 15:33Speaker 1: Thanks as always to our super producer, Christina, also a
- 15:36Speaker 1: woman we love to talk about. Yes, yes, and thanks
- 15:40Speaker 1: to you for listening. Stephan never told me this. Protection
- 15:42Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. From more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
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