Today is International Women’s day. This day was in recognition of the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women and the work that remained to be done by the United Nations in 1975. This recognition started a year of celebration of women, now celebrated on a single day, March 8.
This recognition follows generations of the fight for equality of women and their rights to occupy all areas of political, economic, social and cultural position around the world.
During these generations women have made huge movements in the areas mentioned above.
This has not been without resistance from the powers that have occupied these positions – resistance to the “fairer” sex taking positions, complaints of lesser intellectual ability and accountability during our monthly biological cycles and pregnancy, complaints of women in competition for position competing with their male counterparts, mocked as silliness, maligned as dangerous with predictions of disaster. Religion was thrust in our faces. Inequity was seen as the will of God who apparently made Eve from a man’s rib.
Violence entered the fray and remains to this day more open, dogmatic and deadly with minority women enduring and dying at faster rates.
The latest is the aggression is towards those seen as “woke” personalities, often female, with no limits of aggression against women in positions as leaders in their chosen fields.
This day is a celebration and we cannot be mired with fear or hesitation as we move on with our accomplishments as young women such as environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai, an education activist and the youngest to receive a Nobel Peace prize for her work face threats.
Yet our stories need to be told. In the ‘70s, the world celebrated the landing on the moon. Did we hear of the women mathematicians, including Black women, who worked with NASA? They were not washing floors but calculating thrust, angle, speed to ensure the safety of the astronauts leaving Earth, landing on the Moon and returning safely.
We will look towards further milestones in gender equality and wage equity. An RBC report released recently indicates while women have made great advances, they have yet to be equal in numbers of corporate decision-making and wage parity.
Yet, through the decades of struggle, we are not man-haters. We love our men and our boys. We, of course need both genders for human survival, but our care for our men and boys involves their insights deals with a move from toxic attitudes towards women held by some, to shared opportunities without being denied position because of archaic beliefs in our strength and abilities, just as women have to shed our own toxic attitudes and beliefs we may have towards men.
We love the strength of men, their insights and world-views that have matured as ours have.
We love their looks and physical assets. We love the crooked smile and “aw shucks” response to compliments. We love their courage and strength.
Men and boys face violence as well and need actions to ensure a safe upbringing at home, at schools, on the streets and in workplaces. Parents, at times, overlook the need for boys and young men to have open, unabashed talks on life, sexuality and work, without embarrassment and shame.
Such parenting and social care leads to positive change for all of us.
May we find and experience love with each other, if that is our choosing.
As we feel that first brush of the hand on hand, we look forward to the first in-depth and long talk of ourselves and our dreams.
We all need mutual encouragement and support for the challenges life brings us.
We need equality in our relationships with partners. There will be no “what’s yours is mine, what is mine is still mine.”
Just read this FB post:
“Feminist (sic) have to emasculate men in order to feel capable. It’s sad.
Can’t you just stick to what you are biologically good at? Women’s purpose is not to be men. You’re trying to unravel the basic fabric of society. Cut it out.
Take nature for example. If a sailfish judges its intelligence by its ability to climb a tree, it will go its whole life thinking it’s stupid. It does not matter how much it “puts its mind to it”.
But put it in the ocean and it’s one of the fastest, fiercest species on the planet.
P.S. Thirsting over by body is not going to win you the argument, calling men fragile while you perform an Oscar Winning meltdown of Facebook is the epitome of irony!”
Women are not thirsting over your body that contains such a brain!
Who is having the meltdown?
Does he work for No. 45?
Apparently, we have a way to go yet!
Take care. Be happy.
