Monday 8 March 2010

In Celebration of Women

Today is International Women's Day. It's a day to celebrate  women's economic, political and social achievements and started back in the early 1900s. In some countries it's an official holiday where men honour the women in their lives by giving flowers and small gifts. Events are held all around the world today, bringing attention to women's progress and their accomplishments. Although IWD  initially represented women's fight for better pay, voting rights and an end to discrimination, today it focuses more on inspiring women worldwide and celebrating their achievements.

A fitting example of a great female success story is last night's Oscar award for best Director going to Kathryn Bigelow for the film, The Hurt Locker. Kathryn has made history as the first woman to win the award - an impressive achievement!

On a less glamourous scale, the United Nations (who now sponsor the annual 8 March IWD), highlighted in their statement for this year's IWD, the commendable attitude and efforts of the women in Haiti. They have done so much to aid the recovery efforts by helping look after communities and neighbourhoods, caring for children and sharing what little they do have with those around them. The United Nations Development Fund for Women Executive Director also expresses how the female President of Chile has tried to learn from the examples of those women in Haiti:
Two weeks ago the President of Chile, Michele Bachelet, travelled to Haiti to express solidarity with these women struggling to rebuild their lives and communities — and this week she is inspiring her own country to come back stronger from another devastating earthquake. This is the kind of leadership, from the community to the highest level, that women have demonstrated in all places seeking to come back from conflict and crisis. But unlike in Chile, women are rarely part of the decision-making process on relief or resources, or on how to plan for the next time disaster strikes.

I think International Women's Day is a great reminder of the many inspirational, admirable women in the world and their achivements both big and small that impact others on all kinds of different levels. We can all probably think of a female who's demonstrated something significant and worthy of celebration today. Let's take a moment to applaud and learn from these women.

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1 comment:

  1. Very true...shame the other 364 days are men's days....!

    ReplyDelete

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