International Women’s Day — What do Pancakes have to do with it?
Today, March 8th is International Women’s Day. Isn’t it great that there is an entire day out of the year dedicated to the women of this planet, roughly 50% of the human species? So what is all the fuss about?
The International Women’s Day is all about empowerment, celebrating the achievements of women, “without regard to divisions”, as eloquently stated on the UN’s website. It concerns the topic of gender equality and is a step closer to fulfilling the core values set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The very first National Woman’s Day, as it was initially known as, manifested as a result of unfair working conditions for women and occurred in 1909 in New York, USA.
Subsequently, The Socialist International, in Copenhagen, created the International Women’s Day in order to fascilitate and gather support for the purpose of achieving universal suffrage for women.
Since then, this day has been celebrated in many countries across the globe and has been strengthened over time by four worldwide United Nation women’s conferences that aim towards building support for gender equality and women’s right to participate in economic and political venues.
As an avid supporter of human rights and gender equality, I think it is amazing that there is a day for the celebration of the incredible feats of women of the past. It is not only important to remember history so that we can understand and appreciate the blessings we can enjoy in the present, it is also of imperative value that we recognize and appreciate the women of today.
I believe that the International Women’s Day is about more than just looking back. It is a great opportunity to encourage your family, friends and coworkers to achieve their dreams and goals, and to build confidence in the workplace. This day offers a splendid opportunity to work on lessening gender gaps (such as difference in wages, etc), discuss pivotal women figures of the past and present; perhaps Eleanor Roosevelt and her work with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as an example.
Fundamentally, anything that can shed light on the fact that there still exists gender inequality, but that many great strides have been taken to remedy the situation, and the things you yourself can do at a grassroots level to help out, even if it is just about changing someone’s mindset. In essence, all of this is what I believe the International Women’s Day should be about.
Sadly, I am not too sure that this is reality yet. Today, I happily proclaimed “Happy International Women’s Day” to my my friends and fellow coworkers. Granted, I was rather exuberant in my demeanor, but nonetheless attempting to shed light on the beauty that is this day. However, none of the people I spoke to were aware of the significance of March 8th.
Everyone that is, except for my brother. My brother Kevin happens to be rather well-versed in regard to the importance of this very day. It just so happens to be his birthday, and since ever my family has celebrated his birthday with the occasional nod to the International Women’s Day; much to his delight, especially in his teenage years when striving to be as manly as possible was of the utmost importance.
The few people who actually knew that there was something significant about March 8th thought it was because of Pancake Day, and a few others shared their negative connotations with me. What surprised me the most was that it was the women I spoke to that associated this day with indifference, and I am not sure why. Having pondered a little, I am starting to think that perhaps it has to do with the way our society still functions. Despite the fact that there has been incredible work done concerning both human rights and gender equality, there is still a lot of uncertainty about what is going to happen in the future concerning these topics, and when we are actually going to reach the goals set out. A lot of unfairness and attitudes still exist that a lot of women have to deal with on a daily basis.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was created in 1948, and in 1979, The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women was established. Its purpose is to define what constitutes discrimination against women and has an agenda for which to end all sorts of discrimination. Many countries have signed the treaty which means that they are attempting to abide with the regulations set forth, which is a great step in the right direction. However, many countries still have not signed the treaty which sadly complicates the lives of millions of women worldwide.
The reason I decided to write about the International Women’s Day is because I believe that it is important for people to be aware of the achievements of great women of the past, but also to highlight the achievements of female rolemodels in the present, and to help share the wonderful work they are doing. I also feel it is important to be kind, supportive and a source of encouragement to all of the intelligent, motivated and brave women out there; whether it be at your workplace, at home or wherever, in order to help design a brighter tomorrow.
The ideal is a society where there is no longer a need for an International Women’s Day, where equality prevails through all facets of life.
Until then, I think it is of the utmost importance that more people know that March 8th is the International Women’s Day, and not Pancake Day.
Also, happy birthday Kevin! You are an amazing brother, a great source of inspiration, and you happen to have the coolest birthday anyone could wish for.
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