As we approach the closure of March, I thought it would be interesting to provide some background knowledge on Women’s History Day. The entirety of the month of March is dedicated to the past, current, and future fights for Women’s rights, however March 8th is the specific date that was chosen to celebrate it.
Now, how did that even begin? In short, Clara Zetkin, a German communist activist, proposed that we have an international day to celebrate the fight for women’s rights, although she did not have an exact date in mind. The actual date was not conceptualized until 1908 during a strike in Lower East side of New York City, where women demanded better wages and working conditions. Four days within the walkout, the government finally allowed women to vote. As the march started March 8th, it was decided that that would be the day recognized as International Women’s Day annually.
Still, women around the world continue to fight for their rights; the return of Taliban in August of last year created several setbacks in Afghanistan, as girls were forbidden from receiving a secondary education and a lot of women were advised against continuing to go to work. Additionally, with the emergence of Covid-19 in the prior two years, nearly 50% of women have reported experiencing any type of violence during the pandemic according to a study by the United Nations Women.
Until equality is set in stone, women around the globe will continue to fight for their rights and voice their opinions, whether that be by attending city-wide marches or simply by signing petitions. The point is, every individual has their own way of celebrating IWD, however we all have the same intention of truly making a positive difference for the future of women. Three colours that highlight this day are purple, green, and white; purple for justice and dignity, green symbolizing hope, and white representing purity.
To top it off, International Women’s Day has set goals that are aimed to be achieved each year. First and foremost, it is a call to action; there is an annual campaign theme (this year being #BreakTheBias), there are resources made available, and events are led by activists in the community. Second, it promotes philanthropy, by raising awareness and fundraising for different organizations around the world. Third, it encourages collaboration; it gathers our community together, no matter your gender, race, or ethnicity, as we all have the same intent to impact the women’s rights movement. Lastly, IWD simply intends to uplift women and celebrate their strength and resiliency.
Why does IWD remain so important? Well, in part because we will most likely not see gender parity in our lifetimes, and so won’t our children. However, the work we are pursuing right now is a huge contributing factor to the future of women, in hopes that in a relatively short time span, women will be able to live in a society where they are treated as men’s equals. May we continue to empower and lift each other up, no matter our identity.
Event Recap
On March 21st, Girl Up Queen’s partnered up with Queen’s Feminist Collective to host a unique panel discussing gender-based violence in a global framework. Our first guest speaker was Yara Hussein, an extremely involved and passionate third-year student, studying Biochemistry with a minor in Global Development here at Queen’s. Our second speaker was Indira Naidoo-Harris, a leader, journalist, human rights advocate, and on top of all of this, the Associate Vice-President of Diversity and Human Rights at the University of Guelph. Our third speaker was Karen Lawford, another successful woman who is currently an Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at Queen’s and received a B.Sc. in sciences and a Bachelor in Health Sciences with specialization in midwifery at Trent University. Lastly, we were pleased to welcome Kim Graham, the Director of Program Development at the Sexual Assault Centre Kingston, to speak at our panel and provide some of her valuable knowledge.
Contributor: Charlotte Swane