| Image credit: @Art21 |
8th March = International Women's Day
This Sunday (08/03/2015), you may have woken up to find your social media feeds cluttered full of #PaintItPurple hashtags and horrifically detailed infographics depicting global social inequalities blazoned across your screens.
If it's left you shaking your head about political correctness or wondering what on earth students will come up with next as an excuse to celebrate then here's a bitesize guide to what today is really all about and what you can do to be a part of it.
What is International Women’s Day?
| Image credit: @ForeignClass_ |
Since the early 1900s, International Women’s Day has been a cause for celebration and union. Originally it began due to the oppression and inequality of women leading them to becoming more vocal and active in campaigning for change.
Today International Women's Day is largely seen as a worldwide event that ‘celebrates women’s accomplishments and promotes global equality’ (Independent: 'Happy International Women's Day: Google Doodle Celebrates Female Achievements Around the Globe').
An important part of this simple definition is often overlooked by a patriarchal society over-concerned about the wave of radical feminists (what the internet likes to call ‘feminazis’) calling for female supremacy, is the idea that feminism ‘promotes global equality’.
That is to say, it’s incredibly important to recognise the day for its true meaning which is a form of egalitarianism NOT this other ridiculous notion that feminists want women to rule the world and/or to in anyway, harm other groups.
Definition: Egalitarianism
"Believing in or based on the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities"
Definition: Feminism"The advocacy of women’s rights on the ground of the equality of the sexes."
Feminism is about equality, not making a right from two wrongs by suppressing men or encouraging the superiority of one gender/race/religion over another.
Feminism is about equal rights and opportunities to all and recognising social ignorance on sensitive issues to promote change instead of prejudice.
| Image credit: @MsMariaVicente |
There is the view that celebrating International Women's Day actually encourages gender separation due to it not celebrating men in equal measure. However, there has been an influx of statistical evidence in recent years demonstrating the vast inequality still being faced by women all over the world. Much of this pinpoints the exact reason why it is still vitally important to recognise events that encourage unity and raise awareness to the present social issues globally faced.
Why do we still need International Women’s Day?
There is a plethora of reasons why we still need to recognise and celebrate International Women’s Day, one hundred of which Miranda Nelson writes about in ’100 Reasons We Need International Women’s Day’ which, while being heavily focused on the experience of an American woman, is still a very informative and unfortunately, eye-opening piece. The Independent has a similar yet much less tedious to read article, ‘International Women’s Day2015: The Shameful Secrets That Show Why it is Still Important’. The Huffington Post also has a feature which can be found HERE shows some of the challenges women, particularly low-wage immigrant women and women of colour, continue to experience at the hands of employers’.
| Image credit: @divergentddl |
What can I do to celebrate IWD?
The theme for 2015 is ‘Make It Happen’ and with the internet increasingly allowing people from across the world to be more engaged and interactive in their community experience than ever before, now is the ideal time to get involved.
It doesn’t matter how you decide to join in, whether that be using a hashtag on social media or adorning something purple for this year’s #PaintItPurple theme or even going so far as to host your event to raise awareness for gender equality.
On the official website for International Women’s Day, you can get all the information you need to get involved and support the event in whatever way you can by going to this article.
On the official website for International Women’s Day, you can get all the information you need to get involved and support the event in whatever way you can by going to this article.
Links for Further Interest:
- The (official) History of International Women’s Day
- 10 Countries Where Gender Equality is Closer to Reality (mashable.com)
- Four Areas Where Women Have Made Progress Since 1995 (time.com)
- What Does International Women’s Day Mean to You? (www.isis.aust.com) - a selection of quotes from women surveyed in 1997, Adelaide
- Newcastle’s #ThisGirlCan Exercise Campaign to Encourage Women to get More Active (www.chroniclelive.co.uk)
- Why Female Achievement Across The Globe has been Celebrated with a Google Doodle (www.independent.co.uk)
- 10 Great Quotes From Women Writers (interestingliterature.com)
- Viral Domestic Violence Advertisement that is Raising Awareness (mic.com)
- Inspirational Feminist Quotes From Icons (www.independent.co.uk)
- Pioneering 19th Century Astronomer Maria Mitchell on Education and Women in Science (www.brainpickings.org)
- 10 Lesser- Known Inspirational Women From History (English-heritage.org.uk)
- Is Football Sexist? (www.bbc.co.uk)
| Image credit: @UCOWomen |
