Location: Hungary
March 8,2010
Adventure #6
Each March 8th, women in Hungary and in many parts of the world receive the lovely greeting of "Happy International Women's Day." I knew of the holiday when I lived in the United States, mainly because of my work at my university's Women's Resource Center, but here it's a well-recognized day in which men customarily give women flowers. In a country that never had a large-scale feminist movement and has a lot of work to do in terms of gender equality, it's nice to see these hard-working Hungarian women getting some recognition - even if it comes in stereotypical packages like flowers or discounted manicures and pedicures, as offered by my gym.
After doing some research, I learned this is actually the 99th International Women's Day. Its mission is to celebrate the economic, political and social achievements of women in the past, present and future, according to www.internationalwomensday.com. I was surprised to learn that the first National Women's Day was observed in the USA in 1909, was declared by the Socialist Party of America and continued being celebrated until 1913. The idea spread internationally in 1911, after a woman named Clara Zetkin proposed the idea at an International Conference on Working Women because she wanted a day women could press for their demands. Since then, the day has gone global, with myriad international events that highlight the triumphs and struggles of women.
Days like this make me question and deliberate on what connects all women and whether or not there are inherent qualities that bind half of the world's population. If so, I hope what women collectively embody are the same qualities behind this holiday: a drive to make the world more just and a desire to celebrate those who have.
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I appreciate this posting - I too, having been questioning the same thing lately. Which always reminds me of the Girl Effect and what I can personally do to change perceptions of women both in this country and other countries.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure you have seen the video, but it is worth reposting - http://www.girleffect.org. Essentially, for every dollar a woman earns she invests 80 cents of that into her family - men only 30 cents. To generalize for a minute, I think it is the nature of a woman to feel compelled to put others first and provide for her family before herself. Including making sure they have food, an education and even their well-being before her own. Which then pushes me to question whether the same reason we want to invest in our women is the same reason why women are often thought of last and have the fewest resources...because they are so giving and providing. Are we giving away everything that we have worked so hard to earn? Does that make any sense? I'd love your thoughts!
Anywho, I think it is that same nature that appreciates flowers on days like these. We (generalizing again...sorry) are able to appreciate the short-lived beauty and all of the hard work that it took to grow such a precious flower...that as soon as it is cut, essentially giving itself for other's happiness it too will die.
Miss you! - Kathleen