A message from a mother: Be the men and boys who #ChangeTheStory for women and girls.

Rajinder Pryor MBE is a White Ribbon Champion who has been actively raising awareness about domestic abuse since 2018. To mark White Ribbon Day, she shares a poem about the hope the White Ribbon symbol gives to mothers of young girls.

We know it’s not all men, but it’s up to all men to create a safer world for women and girls by being proactive in calling out sexism and misogyny.

It’s this understanding that led a group of feminist men in the early nineties to start the White Ribbon campaign in Canada. The symbol of the White Ribbon went overseas and soon became a global movement focused on raising awareness about men’s violence against women and girls (VAWG), with male engagement at the forefront.

While male allyship is crucial to eliminating VAWG from our society once and for all, women’s voices will always guide the work of White Ribbon UK. The diverse, lived experiences of women inform how we work with men and boys.

Rajinder Pryor MBE is a White Ribbon Champion and, like the nearly 2,000 other women in England and Wales signed up as Champions, has been tireless in uplifting the stories and voices of women. For her work promoting diversity and inclusion and raising awareness about domestic abuse in the rail industry, which saw Network Rail develop its first Domestic Abuse Policy, Rajinder was honoured with an MBE last year. She wrote about this experience in a blog post for White Ribbon UK.

To mark White Ribbon Day 2023, Rajinder has written a poem about motherhood and the hope White Ribbon brings to men and women raising girls. Part of this poem has been translated into Punjabi as a nod to her heritage.

White Ribbon Day

ਚਿੱਟਾ ਫੀਤਾ ਦਿਨ

By Rajinder Pryor MBE

Two little girls being joyful

Playing

Two sisters a few years apart

Then, so innocently unaware

Today, they are no longer little girls

Today, in early adult years

Now, fully aware

 Violence against women and girls is in the forefront of their psyche

Their world is not the happy-ever-after of fairy tales they were once told

Violence against women and girls is a reality they live

A reality they have been warned of

Warned of to keep them safe

As a mother, I wish it didn’t have to be this way

I know their father has fears as any man would

Violence against women and girls knows no barriers

It isn’t bound to age or culture

It isn’t bound to social norms

It isn’t bound to anything

It has no boundaries

It has seeped into all communities

It spreads

Tainting our existence

In a world where all women and girls should feel safe

There is always hope

The White Ribbon gives that hope

Understanding the role of men and boys in our communities is the key to unlocking change

Change in attitudes

Change in behaviours

Change in how we see masculinity

It’s so easy to look away

To scroll past

But violence against women and girls cannot be overlooked

You can’t unsee or unhear it

It’s everywhere

Let little girls grow up in safety

Let women thrive

Stand up for a better future

A future without gender-based violence

Rewrite the story for future generations

ਆਉਣ ਵਾਲੀਆਂ ਪੀੜ੍ਹੀਆਂ ਲਈ ਕਹਾਣੀ ਨੂੰ ਦੁਬਾਰਾ ਲਿਖੋ

Be the men and boys who #ChangeTheStory for women and girls.

 #ChangeTheStory for White Ribbon Day and beyond.

 #ChangeTheStory in your communities to start.

 #ChangeTheStory

ਕਹਾਣੀ ਨੂੰ ਬਦਲੋ

Rajinder Pryor MBE is Lead Delivery Manager — Customer at Network Rail and a board trustee of Women in Rail, a charity aimed at improving diversity in the UK rail industry. She also recently became an Ambassador for the Employers’ Initiative for Domestic Abuse (EIDA).