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I came to the job of president to give back something
to the wonderful woman who created Women of the Year,
Tony Lothian. My only sadness is that Tony was never
at a lunch when I was president.
Having founded the organisation, she made it her
life’s work to see to it that women from all walks
of life were honoured for their achievements.
Tony wanted to create opportunity not for herself,
but for women – the opportunity for each of us
in the room to marvel at what women can do. It’s
been a privilege for me, over the last five years as
president, to have met and admired women like Sister
Frances Dominica, the first person to found a children’s
hospice in the world.
Or women like Tabatha Khumalo who, having been
raped by 28 men, tortured, imprisoned and beaten, still
persists in helping women in Africa to get easy access
to sanitary towels. Let me explain how difficult it
is for these women. Imagine if you earned £800
per month and had to spend £500 of it in order
to buy sanitary towels: that’s what it’s like
in some parts of Africa.
Or women like Ann Cotton who knows the value of
education, education, education. From nothing, she has
educated over 600,000 girls in townships. The education
she provides is more valuable than simply supplying
aid. It allows people to help themselves. It allows
families to learn hygiene, reading, writing and a sense
of self. The education she is providing is producing
nurses, lawyers, doctors and teachers, plus they are
staying in their country to help their own and other
villages.
I’ve had a wonderful time as president: I’m
proud of the achievements I’ve made in the organisation
and the changes I’ve been able to bring about and
I’m proud of what we, all the people involved in
Women of the Year, have achieved together. I’ve
been surrounded by a board and the different committees
that make up Women of the Year, who are passionate about
what we do. Without these enthusiastic and dependable
women, my job would have been a lot harder.
I’m sad to be leaving but I am standing down
now because I think it’s right. I believe that
in order to grow, there must be change. I visualise
Women of the
Year growing year after year. We have a marvellous Foundation
that has helped so many to get the start that they would
not have had without the grants we have given to them.
We’ve helped women to grow food, we’ve provided
computers in the third world, we’ve helped Leah
Patterson who worked in a leper colony, and we’ve
worked hard to ensure that together we made wonderful
advances.
It has been hard work during my term but it has
been rewarding and, above all, tremendous fun.
Do I have any friendly advice for our new incoming
president, Helena Kennedy? Not really. She is her own
strong woman. But I will say this: enjoy. Your involvement
will be the reward. The more you enjoy the challenge
and the role, the greater the benefit. In a way, that
ethos underlines the women who attend this lunch. They
face so many challenges but time and time again they
rise to the occasion. I have done my best and put everything
I have into this wonderful experience. I feel richer
for it; I thank you so much for this profound and special
experience. I give my very best wishes to the new president
and wish only continued success for the Women of the
Year.
Joan Armatrading MBE
President
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