In response to the United Nation’s call for female rights, Taiwan celebrates “Taiwan Girls’ Day” every October 11th. The 1087 forest conservators (mountain patrollers) of the Forestry Bureau are responsible for patrolling and protecting the national forests of Taiwan. Of this number, 89 of them are women, and together with their male comrades, they act as the guardians of Taiwan’s mountains and forests. On the day before Taiwan Girls’ Day, the Forestry Bureau joined hands with online social media network “Womany” to host “Forestry Bureau x Womany - Bye Bye, Stereotypes! I’m a Taiwan Girl and I'm One of a Kind,” a panel where three extraordinary female forest rangers were invited to speak about how they broke the unspoken rules set by patriarchy in the workplace. In sharing their experiences, their courage to realize their full potentials and challenge physical limitations helped their audience understand what it was like to work as a female forest ranger and what it took for them to get to where they were. Responsibilities of a forest conservator include surveying forests, reforestation, investigating illegal logging, and suppressing wildfires. During the panel, the three female rangers shared their stories about work as well as how they got into mountain and forest conservation. Through video clips of female rangers made especially for the panel and interactions with the audience, they shed light upon their unique line of work in addition to their own life stories, all in hopes of tearing down the labels forced upon us according to gender and profession so that the true colors of Taiwan Girls can shine through. Chen Yu-ru of the Hsinchu Forestry Administration Zone said her most memorable experience as a ranger was when she was sent on a five-day deep mountain patrol. Because there was a typhoon approaching Taiwan at increasing speeds, her task force was forced to cut their mission short and head down the mountain early. They had to remain alert at all times as they trudged through the night in order to escape the perils of river flooding. On the other hand, Dai Yu-qi from the Pingtung Forestry Administration Zone shared how she had to learn how to ride a motorbike for her patrols, something she had no experience with prior to her work as a ranger. Forest patrolling also entailed dealing with people, requiring a whole different skill set altogether. In the face of misunderstandings with the public, she needed to be able to think from their perspectives, but she also had to remain firm to the standpoints of Forestry Bureau and educate the people on their commitments. These experiences have taught her many lessons in the art of patience and communication. Last but not least was Lai Xiu-fen from the Dongshi Forestry Administration Zone. After graduating from university with a degree in Forestry, she aspired to apply her studies to her work, which lead her to join the ranks of forest conservators as Taiwan’s only female wildland fire captain. During the Basianshan National Forest Recreation Area wildfire, she worked tirelessly to suppress the fire and went three days and two nights without sleep. Forestry Bureau Director General Lin Hwa-ching started off the panel with the following words: “In recent years, we have ensured that personnel training is the same difficulty regardless of gender. This training includes wilderness survival skills such as difficult terrain crossing, search and rescue, and rock climbing as well as professional knowledge in plant and animal identification and surveying. Our rangers do not have the authority of judicial police, nor are they given hazard pay. Thus, when it comes to investigating illegal loggers, the Forestry Bureau asks rangers to gather as much evidence as possible instead of attacking them head on, thus lowering the risk of physical danger. This is where our women can really shine, as their eye for detail makes it easier for them to detect abnormalities and collect evidence.” Lin also emphasized that for this collaborative event between the Bureau and Womany, it was important for the panel to be held just before Taiwan Girls’ Day in hopes of portraying the exceptional talents of Taiwan Girls through the experiences of female forest conservators; what’s more, it is important for society to understand that girls can break free from gender norms as long as they put their minds to it. Women are just as important to the narrative as the men, their outstanding performances in mountain and forest conservation serving as a role model for Taiwan girl power, gender equality and diversity.
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