I can promise you that women working together - linked, informed

The words of Isabel Allende — “I can promise you that women working together — linked, informed and educated — can bring peace and prosperity to this forsaken planet.” — resound like a prophecy, carrying both the sorrow of what has been lost and the hope of what may yet be gained. They remind us that in the unity of women lies a force untapped, a fountain of healing long suppressed, a wisdom born of struggle, resilience, and love. In these words, Allende, herself a daughter of exile and witness to injustice, speaks as one who knows that the future cannot be built by domination, but by the weaving together of hands, voices, and hearts.

Throughout history, women have often borne the heaviest burdens in silence. They have been the keepers of the hearth in times of war, the guardians of children in times of famine, the hidden laborers whose strength sustained the world while others sought glory. Yet when given space to rise, to learn, to speak, they have proven themselves not only equal to men, but often surpassing in the arts of reconciliation, endurance, and community. To be linked, as Allende declares, is to break the isolation imposed upon women, to transform scattered voices into a chorus that can reshape nations.

One need only recall the story of the women of Liberia in the early twenty-first century. Amidst a brutal civil war, thousands of women — Christian and Muslim alike — joined together under the banner of peace. Through prayer, protest, and persistence, they demanded an end to violence. Their unity was not born of weapons, but of the simple strength of mothers, sisters, and daughters refusing to accept despair. And through their courage, they forced warring factions to the table, paving the way for Africa’s first elected female president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. In them, Allende’s promise is fulfilled: linked, informed, and educated, they brought peace to a land drowning in blood.

The ancients, too, offered glimpses of this truth, though often obscured by patriarchy. The poet Sappho sang of the power of women’s voices in harmony. The Spartan mothers taught their sons valor, but also stood as the moral backbone of their society. In every civilization, though men wielded the sword, it was the unseen labor and wisdom of women that kept the community alive. What Allende calls for is not a new invention, but the unveiling of an ancient truth: that when women are allowed to join in strength, they become builders of prosperity, not only for themselves, but for all.

Yet her words carry both hope and rebuke. She names this earth a forsaken planet, for indeed humanity has squandered much — through greed, war, and the arrogance of unchecked power. But in the same breath, she gives us the antidote: the rising of women, not as individuals scattered, but as a collective force of justice and renewal. To be educated is to wield knowledge against ignorance. To be informed is to see clearly through the deceptions of power. And to be linked is to ensure that no woman stands alone, for together they form a network stronger than any chain of oppression.

The lesson for generations is this: if peace is to come, it will not be forged by greater weapons, but by greater wisdom; not by deeper divisions, but by deeper unity. And in this work, the leadership of women is not optional — it is essential. When women are silenced, humanity limps; when women rise, humanity heals. The path forward is not to imitate the violence of the past, but to chart a new way, one shaped by compassion, justice, and the strength that endures.

In practice, let each listener act. Support the education of girls, for in every girl taught, a future is transformed. Encourage the leadership of women in communities, for their vision often carries the needs of the many, not the few. Build networks where women may stand together, sharing wisdom and resources. And above all, listen to the voices of women, for they carry truths that the world can no longer afford to ignore.

Thus Isabel Allende’s words endure like a torch in the darkness: that the unity of women, bound by knowledge, courage, and love, holds the key to renewing this world. If we heed her promise, the forsaken planet may yet be healed, not by domination, but by the collective strength of those who have always carried life itself within them. And in their rising, peace and prosperity shall no longer be dreams, but living realities.