One measly day for women
Sarada Peri
Issue date: 3/7/07 Section: Op-Ed
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March 8th is International Women's Day. One day out of the 365 de facto "men's days" to celebrate the majority of the global population and reflect on why, in the words of Ani DiFranco, we "still answer to the other half of the race."
Oddly enough, the day was born within the context of early 20th century socialism, when the Socialist Party put forward the idea in conjunction with its protests of labor conditions for women. The day has since been untangled from its roots and propelled into the mainstream largely by international NGOs, delicately blotting out its past ties with a political movement that makes many Americans queasy. (IWD is still celebrated in some countries as a social holiday to give women tokens of appreciation, much like Mother's Day.
There is of course something troubling about beating your wife one day and giving her flowers the next, but we'll leave it at that.)
The official website provides the following explanation: "Celebrated on 8 March, International Women's Day (IWD) is the global day connecting all women around the world and inspiring them to achieve their full potential. IWD celebrates the collective power of women past, present and future."
Collective power seems to be, well, an optimistic choice of words - only ten of the Fortune 500 companies are run by women, only 25 women are officially "heads of state and government," (and that includes royalty and heads of small, obscure islands); women make up the majority of the one billion people living in poverty; every day, at least three wmen die in America as a result of domestic violence; every year hundreds of thousands of women and girls are trafficked into the global sex trade; who knows how many women are raped every day.
Sure, there's been progress, remarkable progress. Women in developed countries have it particularly good. But let's not kid ourselves - too many women in the world have it lousy, and they have it lousy in a fundamental and intractable sense. For example, some recent news articles have been lauding the resurgence of the diaphragm as a form of birth control that can be used by women who are in vulnerable sexual positions and can only use protection without their partner's awareness. The Gates Foundation is now funding a randomized control trial with women in two African nations to test the product's effectiveness against HIV.
Oddly enough, the day was born within the context of early 20th century socialism, when the Socialist Party put forward the idea in conjunction with its protests of labor conditions for women. The day has since been untangled from its roots and propelled into the mainstream largely by international NGOs, delicately blotting out its past ties with a political movement that makes many Americans queasy. (IWD is still celebrated in some countries as a social holiday to give women tokens of appreciation, much like Mother's Day.
There is of course something troubling about beating your wife one day and giving her flowers the next, but we'll leave it at that.)
The official website provides the following explanation: "Celebrated on 8 March, International Women's Day (IWD) is the global day connecting all women around the world and inspiring them to achieve their full potential. IWD celebrates the collective power of women past, present and future."
Collective power seems to be, well, an optimistic choice of words - only ten of the Fortune 500 companies are run by women, only 25 women are officially "heads of state and government," (and that includes royalty and heads of small, obscure islands); women make up the majority of the one billion people living in poverty; every day, at least three wmen die in America as a result of domestic violence; every year hundreds of thousands of women and girls are trafficked into the global sex trade; who knows how many women are raped every day.
Sure, there's been progress, remarkable progress. Women in developed countries have it particularly good. But let's not kid ourselves - too many women in the world have it lousy, and they have it lousy in a fundamental and intractable sense. For example, some recent news articles have been lauding the resurgence of the diaphragm as a form of birth control that can be used by women who are in vulnerable sexual positions and can only use protection without their partner's awareness. The Gates Foundation is now funding a randomized control trial with women in two African nations to test the product's effectiveness against HIV.
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