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