INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
By: Maria Garcia Manzano, AEIC of The Quill
International Women's Day is a global day that celebrates women's political, economic, and social achievements in the past, present, and future. At Brandon University, the Status of Women Review Committee recognizes exceptional self-identifying female student leaders who make outstanding contributions to their community. On behalf of the Quill, we would like to congratulate all recognized students. A display of the nominees' accomplishments will run on the BU homepage from March 7 – 12, 2022. Past recipients of the awards can be viewed here: https://www.brandonu.ca/womens-week/
For more than a century, March 8th has been marked as a special day to celebrate women. This year on Tuesday, March 8th, Brandon University will host a virtual ceremony where fourteen exceptional female students of the BU community will be recognized. Brandon University has recognized outstanding women for International Women's Day for the past twelve years. Many will be wondering, but what is this day for? Why March 8th? Is it a celebration or a protest? Is there an equivalent International Men's Day?
HOW DID IT START?
International Women's Day grew out of the labour movement to become an annual event recognized by the United Nations. Clara Zetkin, a communist activist, and advocate for women's rights, first suggested creating an international day. She put her idea to an International Conference of Working Women in Copenhagen in 1910 - and the 100 women there, from 17 countries, agreed to it unanimously. It was first celebrated in 1911 in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland. By 1975 the celebratory day became official, and the rest of the United Nations began to celebrate the day. International Women's Day has become a date to celebrate how far women have come in society, politics, and economics. The political roots of the day mean strikes and protests are organized to raise awareness of continued inequality.
WHY MARCH 8TH?
Clara's idea for International Women's Day had no fixed date. It was not formalized until a wartime strike in 1917 when Russian women demanded "bread and peace." Four days into the strike, the Russian Tzar was forced to abdicate, and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The strike began on March 8th, which became the date that International Women's Day is celebrated.
IS THERE AN INTERNATIONAL MEN'S DAY?
Yes, on November 19th. However, it has only been marked since the 1990s, and the UN does not recognize it. People celebrate it in more than 80 countries worldwide, including Canada. According to the organizers, the day celebrates "the positive value men bring to the world, their families and communities" and aims to highlight positive role models, raise awareness of men's well-being, and improve gender relations.
WHY DO WE NEED IT?
There are plenty of reasons why we need an international women's day. Nevertheless, a significant part of why it is needed is to force conversations about women's achievement and global gender inequality into the mainstream. Below are ten reasons why it is needed.
Taken from: https://ifnotnowdigital.co.uk/2020/03/06/10-reasons-why-we-need-international-womens-day-if-not-now/
Nine out of 10 people were biased against women.
Women are twice as likely to be victims of domestic or sexual abuse compared to men.
Women are three times as likely to be a victim of stalking than men.
A gender pay gap persists across the globe.
Women are still not present in equal numbers in business or politics.
Men are still allowed to make life-threatening decisions about women's bodies by banning abortions.
Women worldwide spend on average more than twice as many hours as men doing unpaid work.
Figures also show that globally, women's education, health, and violence towards women are still worse than men's.
Disasters such as floods, storms and drought kill more women than men due to the unequal division of power and resources between women and men.
More than 12 million underage girls are married off each year. That is roughly 30,000 every single day.
But let us not forget that women exist the other 364 days of the year. People should celebrate and stand up for women throughout the year, not just for one day.
If you would like to join the BU community in celebrating this year’s winners please find the zoom link attached to the poster below:
