Warm Welcome Male Journalist Finds Warmth, Not Hostility, At Women’s Conference

Editor’s note: The writer, based in Hong Kong, covered the 10-day Non-Governmental Organization Forum, a gathering of private activists held in concert with the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing.

As I left Huairou for the last time, I stopped to watch about 100 women from Africa who were standing in a circle, holding candles and singing songs in the Chinese darkness far from home.

It was one final, arresting image from a moving and exhilarating week.

Wandering among the multitude of women gathered at Huairou, my overwhelming sensation was of warmth and the constant crackle of creative energy. Sisterhood, that overworked cliche, came alive.

When I was preparing for the Fourth World Conference on Women, male friends joked to me about my chances of surviving the feminine onslaught.

The onslaught never happened. I never encountered hostility. I would creep into the tents where the women were holding their workshops, hesitantly asking permission to listen in. I was always made to feel welcome.

The women were obviously proud of overcoming rain, mud, bad organization and intrusive Chinese security to hold 6,000 workshops over nine full days. They felt they were doing something important, and they wanted the world to know it.

There were no egos on display, no posturing - just tent after tent full of thoughtful, straightforward talk.

At the circle of women on the last night, I was offered a candle and told, “Please join us.” I felt honored.