H.E. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: How women will lead us to freedom, justice and peace | TED

Translator: Emma Toft Reviewer: Ditte Christensen

I was the first woman president

Jeg var den første kvindelige præsident

of an African nation.

i en afrikansk nation.

And I do believe more countries ought to try that.

Og jeg mener, at flere lande burde prøve det.

(Laughter)

(Latter)

(Applause and cheers)

(Bifald og jubel)

Once the glass ceiling has been broken,

Når glasloftet er blevet knust,

it can never be put back together --

kan det aldrig blive sat sammen igen --

however one would try to do that.

selvom man prøver.

When I assumed the presidency of Liberia

Da jeg overtog præsidentembedet i Liberia

in January 2006,

i januar 2006,

we faced the tremendous challenges of a post-conflict nation:

havde vi enorme udfordringer efter at have været en nation i konflikt:

collapsed economy,

en kollapset økonomi,

destroyed infrastructure,

ødelagt infrastruktur,

dysfunctional institutions,

dysfunktionelle institutioner,

enormous debt,

enorm gæld,

bloated civil service.

enorm statsforvaltning.

We also faced

Vi stod også med mennesker,

the challenges of those left behind.

der var blevet efterladt.

The primary victims of all civil wars:

De direkte ofre af alle borgerkrige:

women and children.

kvinder og børn.

On my first day in office,

På min første dag som præsident

I was excited ...

var jeg spændt...

and I was exhausted.

og jeg var udmattet.

It had been a very long climb

Det havde været en meget lang kamp

to where I was.

til hvor jeg var.

Women had been those who suffered most

Kvinderne havde lidt mest

in our civil conflict,

i vores civile konflikt,

and women had been the ones to resolve it.

og kvinder havde været dem, der løste den.

Our history records

Vores historie har

many women of strength and action.

mange stærke og handlekraftige kvinder.

A President of the United Nations General Assembly,

En præsident for FN's generalforsamling,

a renowned circuit court judge,

en anerkendt dommer,

a president of the University of Liberia.

en rektor på University of Liberia.

I knew that I had to form

Jeg vidste, at jeg skulle sammensætte

a very strong team

et meget stærkt hold

with the capacity to address

med evnerne til at håndtere

the challenges of our nation.

vores nations udfordringer.

And I wanted to put women in all top positions.

Og jeg ville have kvinder i alle topstillingerne.

But I knew that was not possible.

Men jeg vidste, at det var umuligt.

And so I settled for putting them in strategic positions.

Så jeg accepterede blot at give dem strategiske stillinger.

I recruited a very able economist from the World Bank

Jeg rekrutterede en meget dygtig økonom fra Verdensbanken

to be our minister of finance,

til at være vores finansminister,

to lead our debt-relief effort.

som skulle lede gældslettelsesindsatsen.

Another to be the minister of foreign affairs,

En anden til at være vores udenrigsminister,

to reactivate our bilateral and multilateral relationships.

som skulle genoprette vores bilaterale og flersidige forhold.

The first woman chief of police

Den første kvindelige politichef

to address the fears of our women,

som skulle håndtere frygten hos kvinderne,

who had suffered so much during the civil war.

der havde lidt under borgerkrigen.

Another to be the minister of gender,

En anden til at være kønsminister,

to be able to ensure the protection and the participation of women.

som skulle sikre kvinders beskyttelse og deltagelse.

Over time,

Med tiden også

the minister of justice,

justitsministeren,

the minister of public works,

ministeren for offentligt arbejde,

the minister of agriculture,

landbrugsministeren og

the minister of commerce and industry.

ministeren for handel og industri.

Participation in leadership

Deltagelse i lederskab

was unprecedented in my administration.

var hidtil uset i min administration.

And although I knew

Og selvom jeg vidste,

that there were not enough women with the experience

at der ikke var nok kvinder med den rette erfaring

to form an all-women cabinet --

til et ministerium kun med kvinder

as I wanted --

-- som jeg ønskede --

I settled to appoint numerous women

nøjedes jeg med at udpege adskillige kvinder

in junior ministerial positions,

som til ministerieroller,

as executives,

som ledere,

as administrators,

som administratorer,

in local government,

til de lokale myndigheder,

in diplomatic service,

til diplomatiske roller,

in the judiciary,

i retsvæsenet,

in public institutions.

i offtenlige institutioner.

It worked.

Det fungerede.

At the end of 2012,

I slutningen af 2012,

our economic growth had peaked at nine percent.

havde vores økonomi vokset med op til 9%.

Our infrastructure was being reconstructed at a very fast pace.

Vores infrastruktur blev hurtigt genopbygget.

Our institutions were functioning again.

Vores institutioner fungerede igen.

Our debt of 4.9 billion

Vores gæld på 4,9 milliarder

had been largely canceled.

var stort set annulleret.

We had good relationships with the International Monetary Fund,

Vi havde gode forhold med Den Internationale Valutafond,

the World Bank,

Verdensbanken,

the African Development Bank.

Den Afrikanske Udviklings Bank.

We also had good working relationships

Vi havde også gode arbejdsrelationer

with all our sister African countries

til alle vores afrikanske naboer

and many nations all over the world.

og mange nationer over i hele verden.

Our women could sleep peacefully at night again,

Vores kvinder kunne igen sove roligt om natten

without fear.

uden frygt.

Our children were smiling again,

Vores børn smilede igen,

as I promised them during my first inaugural address.

som jeg lovede dem i min første tiltrædelsestale.

The reputation and credibility

Vores nations omdømme

of our nation,

og troværdighed,

lost in the many years of conflict,

der blev skadet af årene med konflikt,

were restored.

blev genopbygget.

But progress is never guaranteed.

Men fremgang er aldrig garanteret.

And in our legislature, in my first term,

Der var 14% kvinder i min lovgivende forsamling

women were 14 percent.

i min første valgperiode.

In the second term,

I den anden periode,

it declined to eight percent,

faldt det til 8%,

because the environment was increasingly toxic.

fordi miljøet var blevet mere giftigt.

I had my fair shares of criticism and toxicity.

Jeg blev udsat for en del kritik og giftige bemærkninger.

Nobody is perfect.

Ingen er perfekt.

But there's nothing more predictable

Men intet er mere forudsigeligt

than a strong woman

end en stærk kvinde,

who wants to change things,

som ønsker at ændre tingene,

who's brave to speak out,

som er modig nok til at sige fra,

who's bold in action.

og som udviser dristighed.

But I'm OK with the criticism.

Men jeg har det fint med kritikken.

I know why I made the decisions I made,

Jeg ved, hvorfor jeg traf mine beslutninger,

and I'm happy with the results.

og jeg er glad for resultaterne.

But that's why more women leaders are needed.

Men det er derfor flere kvindelige ledere er nødvendigt.

For there will always be those who will tear us down,

For der vil altid være mennesker, som vil nedbryde os,

who will tear us apart,

og som vil splitte os ad,

because they want the status quo to remain.

fordi de er imod ændringer.

Although sub-Saharan Africa has had major breakthroughs

Selvom subsahariske Afrika har haft mange gennembrud

in women's leadership and participation,

i kvinders lederskab og deltagelse,

particularly in the legislature --

specielt i den lovgivende forsamling

in parliament, as it's called --

-- i parlamentet.

so many women,

50% kvinder eller flere,

50 percent and over, one of our nations,

og endda over 60% i en af vores nationer,

well over 60 percent, the best in the world --

hvilket er det højeste i verden.

but we know that's not enough.

Men vi ved, det ikke er nok.

While we must be very thankful

Mens vi skal være taknemmelige

and applaud the progress we have made,

og bifalde den fremgang vi har gjort,

we know that there is much more work to be done.

ved vi, at arbejdet er langt fra ovre.

The work will have to address the lingering vestiges

Arbejdet skal fokusere på de sidste levn

of structural ...

af strukturel ...

something against women.

et eller andet mod kvinder.

In too many places,

For mange steder,

political parties

f.eks. politiske partier,

are based on patronage,

er baseret på vennetjenester,

patriarchy,

patriarki,

misogyny

og kvindehad,

that try to keep women

som prøver at afholde kvinder

from their rightful places,

fra deres retmæssige steder,

that shut them out

og derved udelukke dem

from taking leadership positions.

fra lederpositioner.

Too often, women face --

Kvinder oplever ofte --

while the best performers,

selvom de præsterer bedre og

while equal or better in competence --

har de samme eller bedre kompetencer --

unequal pay.

ulige løn.

And so we must continue to work

Så vi må fortsat arbejde på

to change things.

at ændre tingene.

We must be able to change the stereotyping.

Vi skal kunne ændre stereotyperne.

We must be able to ensure

Vi skal kunne håndtere

that those structural barriers

de strukturelle barrierer,

that have kept women

som har afholdt kvinder

from being able to have the equity they rightfully deserve.

fra at have den ligeværdighed, som de fortjener.

And we must also work with men.

Og vi skal også arbejde med mændene.

Because increasingly,

Fordi der er en stigende

there is recognition

anerkendelse af,

that full gender equity

at komplet ligestilling

will ensure a stronger economy,

vil sikre en stærkere økonomi,

a more developed nation,

en mere udviklet nation,

a more peaceful nation.

og en mere fredfyldt nation.

And that is why we must continue to work.

Det er derfor, at vi skal fortsætte arbejdet,

And that is why we're partners.

og det er derfor, vi er partnere.

I will be launching a Center for Women and Development

Jeg vil lancere et Center for Kvinder og Udvikling

that will bring together --

som vil samle kvinder,

(Applause)

(Bifald)

women who have started

der er gået i gang og ønsker

and are committed to their joining of leadership.

at blive en del af lederskabet.

With women who have excelled

Med kvinder, som sammen har

and advanced in leadership together.

udmærket sig og avanceret i lederskab.

Over a 10-year period,

Vi tror stærkt på, at vi

we strongly believe

over en 10-års periode,

that we will create this wave of women

kan skabe denne bølge af kvinder,

who are prepared to take,

som er forberedt på

unabashedly,

åbentlyst at øge deres

intentional leadership and influence

internationale lederskab og indflydelse

throughout society.

i hele samfundet.

This is why --

Derfor kan jeg,

(Laughs)

(Griner)

at 81, I cannot retire.

som 81-årig, ikke gå på pension.

(Applause and laughter)

(Bifald og latter)

(Applause and cheers)

(Bifald og jubel)

Women are working for change

Kvinder arbejder på

in Africa.

at ændre Afrika.

Women are working for change

Kvinder arbejder på

throughout the world.

at ændre verden.

I will be with them,

Jeg er med dem,

and one of them,

og en af dem,

forever.

for evigt.

(Applause)

(Bifald)

Thank you for listening.

Tak for at I lyttede.

Go out and change the world.

Gå ud og ændr verden.

(Applause and cheers)

(Bifald og jubel)