Empowering or Embarrassing? Int’l Women’s day ...
Tomorrow on March 8th, I will be celebrating not the fact that I am a woman, but that I am a smart, capable human being who is committed to efforts to empower women around the globe.
But my plate will be a bit full, as I’ll also be fighting indifference and a bit of ignorance. This “holiday” is a chance for all of humanity to celebrate the accomplishments of women throughout history, to be thankful for their accomplishments, and to empower a new generation of “world citizens” to believe in a society where “all (wo)men are equal.”
And even though I am thankful, I’m not satisfied. As long as I live in a country where I at times feel like a second-class citizen, I am not satisfied. As long as I know that I live in a country where equal work doesn’t mean equal pay, I am not satisfied. As long as I know there are women in the world who are denied education, who are denied reproductive education and choices, who live in abject poverty- as long as I know that women subsist in these conditions, I am not satisfied.
I am not satisfied because the fight is not over. While we Americans fuss about our busy schedules and homes with two working parents, we forget that not every woman has the luxury to jet away to her executive job, dropping the kids off at day-care (2 year waiting list!) on the way. Somewhere along the way, I think the idea of equality was replaced with the idea of “good enough.” So what if my university degree yields a lower salary than the exact degree held by a male peer, I can still get an education, can’t I? Or, True, very few women hold political office, but we get to vote, don’t we? It seems to me that we’ve become so accustomed to “good enough” that we’ve forgotten the passion with which many good men and women fought for our rights, freedom, and so-called equality today. But I digress…
The history of this holiday is amazing. It’s truly a story of women rising up together to change public policy- to show their strength and prove to labor organizations that they no longer would accept being underpaid and overworked!! (grrrrr!) I am, however, saddened that this holiday instead is used as an excuse for presents, flowers and time off of work to drink and party. This is the indifference and ignorance that I was speaking of earlier. If we believe in the power of people working together for social change, if we believe that women around the world have yet to achieve equality (but that they deserve it), if we believe that everyone’s quality of life will be raised once women receive education and are able to freely make their own reproductive choices, then I believe we own it to ourselves to CELEBRATE in the name of the accomplishments which we’ve attained thus far, and in the name of those which we *will* achieve.
Every day is a day in which we should strive towards equality. Every day is an opportunity to empower a child or make a difference in someone’s life. Every day is International Women’s Day.
Tomorrow on March 8th, I will be celebrating not the fact that I am a woman, but that I am a smart, capable human being who is committed to efforts to empower women around the globe. Yes, tomorrow I’ll celebrate humanity, its fighters, its successes- and I’ll also celebrate that I’m in this fight to the finish.
But my plate will be a bit full, as I’ll also be fighting indifference and a bit of ignorance. This “holiday” is a chance for all of humanity to celebrate the accomplishments of women throughout history, to be thankful for their accomplishments, and to empower a new generation of “world citizens” to believe in a society where “all (wo)men are equal.”
And even though I am thankful, I’m not satisfied. As long as I live in a country where I at times feel like a second-class citizen, I am not satisfied. As long as I know that I live in a country where equal work doesn’t mean equal pay, I am not satisfied. As long as I know there are women in the world who are denied education, who are denied reproductive education and choices, who live in abject poverty- as long as I know that women subsist in these conditions, I am not satisfied.
I am not satisfied because the fight is not over. While we Americans fuss about our busy schedules and homes with two working parents, we forget that not every woman has the luxury to jet away to her executive job, dropping the kids off at day-care (2 year waiting list!) on the way. Somewhere along the way, I think the idea of equality was replaced with the idea of “good enough.” So what if my university degree yields a lower salary than the exact degree held by a male peer, I can still get an education, can’t I? Or, True, very few women hold political office, but we get to vote, don’t we? It seems to me that we’ve become so accustomed to “good enough” that we’ve forgotten the passion with which many good men and women fought for our rights, freedom, and so-called equality today. But I digress…
The history of this holiday is amazing. It’s truly a story of women rising up together to change public policy- to show their strength and prove to labor organizations that they no longer would accept being underpaid and overworked!! (grrrrr!) I am, however, saddened that this holiday instead is used as an excuse for presents, flowers and time off of work to drink and party. This is the indifference and ignorance that I was speaking of earlier. If we believe in the power of people working together for social change, if we believe that women around the world have yet to achieve equality (but that they deserve it), if we believe that everyone’s quality of life will be raised once women receive education and are able to freely make their own reproductive choices, then I believe we own it to ourselves to CELEBRATE in the name of the accomplishments which we’ve attained thus far, and in the name of those which we *will* achieve.
Every day is a day in which we should strive towards equality. Every day is an opportunity to empower a child or make a difference in someone’s life. Every day is International Women’s Day.
Tomorrow on March 8th, I will be celebrating not the fact that I am a woman, but that I am a smart, capable human being who is committed to efforts to empower women around the globe. Yes, tomorrow I’ll celebrate humanity, its fighters, its successes- and I’ll also celebrate that I’m in this fight to the finish.
posted by T. Renee @ 6:32 PM
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