International Women’s
Day is officially March 8th. You may
have seen or heard about women’s marches in cities around the world this past
weekend. The events in the United States
have spurred women’s marches around the world in the past year or so. If you listen to mainstream media, you might think that this was the first time that women had marched. But not so..
I was curious about the history of International Women’s Day,
so I looked it up. This day was started
by the Suffragettes who marched for years to get the vote for women. In Britain they achieved this goal in
1911 and created the IWD to mark this event. On the International Women’s Day website it says: “International Women’s Day (March 8) is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. The day also marks a call to action for accelerating gender parity. International Women’s Day has occurred for well over a century, with the first March 8 IWD gathering supported by over a million people n Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. Prior to this the Socialist Party of America, United Kingdom’s Suffragists and Suffragettes, and further groups campaigned for women’s equality. Today, IWD belongs to all groups collectively everywhere. IWD is not country, group or organization specific." You can hear girls from around the world talk about their reality in this video:
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I wondered when Canadian women got the vote and discovered
that it varied over the provinces. Women
in the western provinces were given the vote in 1916. In Ontario it was 1917. For Nova Scotian women it was 1918. New Brunswick followed in 1919, with Prince
Edward Island in 1922. Quebec did not
allow women to vote provincially until 1940 and Indigenous women and men did
not get this right until 1960.
Federally, the vote for women began in a limited way in
1917. However, women only became people
under the law in Canada in 1929. So we
have not even been people under the law for a hundred years. No wonder, the law has been slow to catch up
with protecting our rights. No wonder
women are not still represented in legislatures in proportion to their presence
in the population.
It bears remembering that the right to vote was not granted
out of kindness, fairness or justice. It
was fought for, marched for, petitioned for by courageous women. That is why I always vote even if I am not
happy with the choices. I know that this
right was hard won. There is no doubt
that other rights have been fought for and achieved by courageous women who
were often mocked and reviled by the powers that be. People in power hardly ever willing share that
power it seems.
The theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Press
for Progress”. That is the twitter name
as well and women are posting pictures of themselves with arms stretched
forward, palms up as though pressing on something ahead. This year’s theme is about pressing for
progress in gender parity. It is
important to remember that even if some women in the richer countries can make
the same amount of money as a man for the same job, that this is not true
around the world. It is important to remember
that until there is gender parity around the world, peace will be elusive. More and more it is obvious that we are a
global community that creates and suffers from climate change, threats of war
and the flow of goods.
How will you celebrate International Women’s Day? Will you march, sign a petiton, donate so
that girls can get an education, support the Murdered and Missing Indigenous
Women’s families, support a woman in Africa on WorldPulse.com, support
Grandmothers to Grandmothers, donate to TreeSisters so that women in the tropics
can plant trees, help a neighbour, be a positive role model or empower your daughter? There are millions of us and millions of
actions to be taken.
Press for Progress and know that there are millions of women behind
you and millions of girls yet to come before you as you take your part in this
vibrant circle. The world needs the voices,
wisdom and courage of women. So speak
your truth, share your wisdom and take heart.
We are all in this together.
Or you could get some of your friends and dance like these young women. Check it out:
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