Today marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and Ms. Keys took to her blog to share her sentiments about this day. Check it out after the jump.
Today is the 100th anniversary of Women’s International Day! Loving this! Although to me, EVERYDAY is Women’s Day! So let’s celebrate how incredible we are!
International Women’s Day (March 8th) is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday. I’m actually surprised, and disappointed, it’s not a national holiday in the U.S. since it was initially founded in our country. However, in the United States, March is considered “Women’s History Month.”
I like the reminders of these special moments in history and the dates created to celebrate them, but I’m never comfortable that they are boxed into one day or one month, after the years and years of struggle for progress.
So what happened to bring us to this day? Women’s inequality and oppression was spurring women to campaign for change. In 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1909, the first National Women’s Day was observed but it changed to a more international day a few years later. In1910, a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. Clara Zetkin (Leader of the ‘Women’s Office’ for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) brought up the idea of an International Women’s Day. She proposed that every year, in every country, there should be a celebration on the same day – a Women’s Day – to press for their demands. In 1911, the first International Women’s Day was born.
I love learning things like this. It fires me up and reminds me of all the ways that we can appreciate how far we’ve come and continue to push forward to –greater heights.
I’d like to continue to press for the image of women, so that we’re seen more than just an object of possession or for our sexuality. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the amount of images that are thrown at us to make us feel like our beauty or our body- just as we are- is – inadequate. I love the strength and intelligence of a woman’s mind and I am constantly inspired by the endless ways we contribute to the world. Today and every day I am celebrating our brilliance!
What would u want to see more of for women?
Love to you, your mama, your mama’s mama and every woman before you! Let us revel in the glory! 😉
