You must have something special, something out of the ordinary, to leave an imperishable imprint on the history of humanity. Chance, that we cannot avoid, caused a baby to be born in Kosovo in 1991. She was named Majlinda, of the Kelmendi family.
A poor bit proud region, that achieved independence. A country had to be built in an area that came out of a dreadful war, with thousands of dead, many more refugees, destruction, misery and much rancour. Whomever says new country, says politics, economy, education, health, security, infrastructure. The list is extremely long and of course must include sport.
Kelmendi chose judo and its values. With determination as a road map, she learned and built a great career.
Double World champion in the -52kg category, Kelmendi is the face of Kosovo. The summer of 2016 catapulted the Kosovar into history books. Majlinda Kelmendi won the first gold medal in the young history of her country. There are few, only the chosen ones, who can boast of treasuring the two supreme titles of judo.
However, there was still work to be done, perhaps the most Herculean of all, the fairest too, which is the fight for the equality of women in an eminently masculine society.
In the first conference on gender equity, organised by the International Judo Federation, Kelmendi was one of many guests, all standing out in their respective trajectories. She was also the most anticipated for her curriculum vitae and for coming from a region and a country where women do not enjoy respect or even normal deference, on the part of men.
For those who write these lines, her speech became a cemented memory; a lesson of class and style, of dignity and intelligence. Behind her titles and medals, there was a woman with an iron will wrapped in a cloak of elegance. "Many men only look at my muscles, women too," Kelmendi said. "They don't look at my femininity, nor my inner beauty." Majlinda is, in short, a woman who wants to be looked at for what she is and for the intrinsic value of her work, her ideas and desires, for her right to be and to give her opinion, like any man. A free woman and proud to be.
There is, from today, a statue that bares her name, in the country that she represents with honour and a charismatic patriotism and away from apologies and proselytising.
It is a tribute to women around the world, like those whom already exist in other cities on the planet. There are millions of women who deserve their own statues and to be celebrated for their contributions and the tireless struggle for a better world, where equality between men and women reigns. Majlinda is one of them; a little, big woman.