ABIDJAN – Looking to promote, empower, unite and draw women closer together, Linda K. Fawaz ventured into a territory hoping to bring about a strong awareness about women empowerment through Empress Mindset, a non-governmental Organization she jumpstarted in January 2020 with the focus on women and girls empowerment.
Fawaz, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Empress Mindset told a gathering at Pullman Hotel in Abidjan, Côte D’Ivoire last week developing the mindset of women to positively impact the lives of others is crucial to their survival.
“I deplore the fact that women are not aware that their mental health can influence or destroy their character and the lives of others,” Fawaz asserted.
Said Fawaz: “The Empress Mindset is building an empire of women and girls to understand who they truly are. Women and girls are going to create the change for the future, it’s about cultivating our society and telling them how great they are.”
Fawaz says, the purpose of the organization is to elevate the mindset of women and girls through mental health, physical health, financial health, spiritual health, legal/justice, fashion/beauty, media, and women in leadership. “The Empress Mindset organization are women from every economic and educational background, collaborating, promoting, uniting and empowering other women and girls.”
Fawaz says the cornerstone of Empress Mindset was a divine moment that started as a spiritual conversation between two childhood friends. We were discussing the meaning of a God-fearing, strong, confident woman and why it is so important for women to support and love each other.
The session in Abidjan last week marked the launch of the Abidjan edition of the organization and featured thematic panels led by women from different sectors.
Among them, the founder of Solidaridad, Stand Up Africa 2050, a coalition of women leaders of Côte D’Ivoire, Senator, current Chairperson of the Normalization Committee of the Ivorian Football Federation, Mrs. Mariam Dao Gabala, the editor-in-chief of Fraternité Matin, Germaine Boni, the Liberian Ambassador to Côte D’Ivoire, her Excellency Willymaie Tolbert-King, the activist Nabou Fall …spoke about topics such as mental health, physical health, financial health, spiritual health, legal, justice, fashion and beauty, women in leadership and media.
Germaine Boni, Editor-in-Chief of Fraternité Matin, emphasized her presentation on the presence of women in the media.
In spite of the weak female presence in the media, the few women who are there emerged thanks to their selflessness and diligence at work.
Only hard work can allow women to impose themselves in the media sector and thereby climb the ladder. Senator Mariam Dao Gabala, in her presentation, recalled the importance of financial health. “Financial self-sufficiency comes from our ability to transform our talent to serve others. When we want to earn money, it goes away from us. Let us put our talents at the disposal of others… There is no evolution without economy,” she advised.
Her Excellency Willymaie Tolbert-King, the Liberian Ambassador to Côte D’Ivoire stressed the need for self-confidence, a value that allows people to assume responsibility in a given sector.
The shared experiences reflect the spirit and purpose of the Empress Mindset NGO, which urges solidarity and upliftment. This organization brings together women from all economic and educational backgrounds to collaborate, promote, unite and empower other women and girls.
For Fawaz, women face many challenges that are too many to list. “Women are often underrepresented in the top levels of leadership in government, administration, & business, lack of education, gender violence, child marriages and no justice. Women need to show more solidarity and unity. In most circumstances when they are in positions of power and influence they choose to serve themselves and not lift another woman and/or girl. Thus the call to elevate to the EMPRESS MINDSET.”
She adds: “When a woman rises to the top, she is blessed and when she lifts other women and girls she is doing God’s work, which is a blessing and when she doesn’t that means she only got lucky.”
Fawaz, the organization’s founder spent her formative years between Switzerland, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
During her childhood years she attended boarding school at St George’s School in Montreux, Switzerland where she obtained her high school Diploma.
She graduated from Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia United States of America with a BBA in International Business and Marketing. She further obtained a Master of Science in Shipping, Trade, and Finance at Cass Business School from London’s prestigious City University.
Of Liberian and Lebanese origin, Ms. Fawaz has blended her Euro-American education with Middle Eastern and African cultural values into a belief system deeply rooted and guided by her integrity, appreciation of diversity, love for humankind, and industrious work ethic.
Through a variety of professional experiences, from the Public to the Private Sectors, Her exceptional interpersonal skills have enabled her to establish a tremendous social and diplomatic network. Linda is known for her fantastic public relations skills and her incredible talent for problem solving.