Fremont, California
Gather the Women Focuses on Nurturing
Fremont event emphasizes the value of feminine traits
through dance, storytelling, meditation

Story by Catlin Driscoll, The Argus
Photos submitted by: Susan Smith

 
Women gathered together Saturday for an all-day celebration -- "Gather the Women" -- an international event focused on the nurturing, creative and caring traits women possess.  The celebration in Fremont -- which took place at Community of Christ Church -- brought together women of all different religions and cultures for a day of storytelling, dance and silent meditation.


During the event, led by Fremont psychotherapist Susan Smith, participants shared stories of women's heritage, laughed as they danced together and turned to their neighbors to share their feelings and experiences.

"Feel the energy of all the women who have gathered all over the world," Smith said to a crowd of more than 100 women seated in a large circle.

The event, which began during Women's History Month in March 1993 as a call for women to come together, has become a global movement, according to organizers.
This year, 2,600 women from 52 countries registered to take part in celebrations, according to the Women of Vision and Action.

Smith encouraged participants to "feel the energy of all the women who have gathered all over the world."


Several local women were recognized during the event for their work in the community, including: Arminta King, who helped start the Centerville Free Dining program and the Tri-City Homeless Coalition; Shahla Arsala, who co-founded a project to help widowed women in Afghanistan; and Seham El-Ansary, who founded a peace activist group called World Alliance for Humanity.

Smith's speech told of the celebrations going on in other parts of the United States and internationally -- including Afghanistan, India, Nigeria, Uganda and the Congo.


"We see the bright points of energy created by these gatherings," she said. "We are all connected by a golden thread of the human heart."

After participants shared stories "from the past from the four corners of the world," Smith turned the discussion in a politically charged direction.

Speaking of the difference between masculine and feminine values, Smith juxtaposed current events with an age-old struggle between the partnership and "dominator" paradigms.

"If you have power without love, you have tyranny. And that's what we have now," Smith said.

Smith went on to describe how social, historic and economic factors affect a woman's familial relationships, which are carried out into the community.
"We carry tension and stress from our relationships which are dominating," she said.
Urging the women in the audience to embrace positive family relations and life-sustaining values, Smith said strengthening of feminine values and partnership is essential to making a difference in their communities.

"It's very hard to have an impact at a national level -- has anyone written George Bush lately?" Smith said, joking.


 

 

"We need to start focusing on the primary level -- the intimate family level."