Isabel Allende

I’ve developed a bit of a thing for Ted Talks lately.

I like to sit in front of my computer, wine in hand, having an a-ha moment when the speaker says something profoundly insightful.

Which I promptly forget (usually after the 2nd glass…).

But sometimes, something that is said will stick with me, unhindered by the fogginess of alcohol.

In a ground-breaking 2007 Ted Talk, Peru-born Chilean author Isabel Allende talked about the idea of a woman’s ‘passionate heart’ - one that drives us and determines our fate. Allende explained that when we stand up with a brave heart and dare to challenge the status quo, incredible things can be achieved for women around the world.

“I need mavericks, dissidents, adventurers, outsiders and rebels”, Allende implored. “Nice people with common sense do not make interesting characters - they only make good former spouses”.

Allende would know - the prolific author has sold more than 74 million books worldwide. The characters in her novels are brave, rebellious, passionate-hearted women - even under incredible strain.

Allende is a champion of human rights - particularly those of impoverished women. She has awarded grants to more than 100 non-profit organisations world wide through the Isabel Allende Foundation. “Eighty percent of all refugees and displaced people in the world are women and girls”, Allende says. “Although women do two-thirds of the world’s labour, they own less than one percent of the world’s assets”. There is a simple solution to the imbalance, according to Allende, one that gives some of the world’s most disenfranchised women a chance for a better life - education and work. “It is a fact that giving women education, work, the ability to control their own income, inherit and own property, benefits the society”. Her foundation achieves this by investing in programs that promote the power of women and girls to secure reproductive rights, economic independence and freedom from violence.

So, get yourself a wine, settle in, click the link at the top of this post and watch this 15 minute slice of oratory heaven - it might even stick in your brain!

*To learn more about Isabel Allende’s foundation, go to https://isabelallende.org/en/story