In light of the celebration of International Women’s Week, the Global Spectrum, in collaboration with International Programs & Services, will showcase interviews with our UBC-O community. Enjoy!

Sierra Bharmal

Q: What makes a self-identified woman remarkable or exceptional?

For me a remarkable woman or self identified woman is somebody who doesn’t let either other woman or other people who identified as male to pick or have an impact on their decision on how to live their life

Q: Do you have a remarkable woman in mind? Why?

For me, a person who i find remarkable is my mom she made the decision to stop working, so that she could focus on her hobbies, she loves to play tennis and  she is improved a lot in the last year, she is taking the initiative to join classes, even if they can be intimidating. like for example in Santiago, she joined all male classes, so that she can improve her self. because she wanted to prove that she is just as good a the male, she exercises for her, because it makes her feel good. she doesn’t do it for anybody else. she takes interest in all hobbies that she wants, she learned to play the guitar, she continues to learn to speak Spanish, she wants to pick up another language and so for me she is remarkable, because she is doing what makes her happy without letting other people stop her.

Joses Akampurira

Q: Do you have a woman in mind who you think is remarkable or exceptional? Why?

The most remarkable woman would be a mother. Motherhood is not an easy gift, I can tell you its a choice that people make but its really though for raising a child, and a boy in that. But what is remarkable is all the sacrifices she makes. Having your only son go miles and miles away from you, knowing you will never get to see him until a year or more.

Just to live by the faith that he is okay in a world that you don’t know anything about, that is a huge sacrifice. It is this thing about a mother you can tell, how much they do for their children to be comfortable. They make so many sacrifices. That alone makes them remarkable!

Tolga Aday

Q: Do you have a woman in mind who you think is remarkable or exceptional? Why? mandira_1912@hotmail.com

First of all I think we all humans are the same. Same spirit, same this, same that. I can’t say what makes a person special, but for a woman, there are different categories. Some people like the look, some people like the spirit. But for me, what makes a woman special is how she is independent at a time such as this. My mom is an independent woman and she has raised me.