It’s been a while since my last post, as things have been a bit chaotic. International Women’s Day Week holds a great deal of meaning for me on a personal level, which I won’t get into today. But to commemorate the occasion, here’s a Thursday Thirteen about International Women’s Day which is March 8th.
Thirteen Reasons and Things about International Women’s Day
1. This year is the 30th Anniversary of International Women’s Day. How did it all begin? Established in 1977 by the United Nations, IWD came out of decades of struggling by women, celebrating IWD on their own, and fighting for equality.
2. In Canada, IWD is being marked this year by the Status of Women Canada’s theme: Action for Real Results. I suspect this is a throw-back to Minister of Status of Women Bev Oda’s comments that funding will now only be given to organizations that provide “real results”. What I interpret it to mean, in actuality, is that we need to take action for real results to restore and hold strong our Status of Women Canada in light of all the federal cuts, office closures, and disabling of doing “advocacy” work and “equality” work.
3. International Women’s Day is a time of celebration! Who are the strong women in your life? Your mother? Aunt? Grandmother? Teacher? Professor? Old babysitter? Daughter? Celebrate the strong amazing women in your life and let them know how much they have meant in your life.
4. International Women’s Day is a time for diversity - its got “international” in the title. We’re a global sisterhood, and that means that we’re all in this together. Feminism has had its struggles and fights, and at times is threatned to fall apart from feminist in-fighting. But come on, we’re in this together.
5. IWD is a time to remember our sisters of the past: International Women’s Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women’s rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic ‘Triangle Fire’ in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women’s Day events.
6. March 8th is a time to look to the future of women: strength, adversity, diversity, courage, beauty, clarity, ingenuity. Where will these things take us? What do we need to do to keep the feminist movement strong?
7. International Women’s Day is time of self-reflection. I use it to look back on my own life and where I’ve come from, where I’ve been, and how I got here. Much of it is thanks to the amazing women in my life. But what do I want to do with my own life? What do I need to do for myself? Self-reflections means self-care. Celebrate the wonderful amazing fabulous woman that you are.
8. IWD is a time to see what needs to still be worked on and advocated for. The United Nations has set its 2007 International Women’s Day theme as “Ending Impunity for Violence Against Women And Girls”.
9. International Women’s Day is a time for peace. End the war, end the violence, end the fighting, bring us equality.
10. International Women’s Day is a time of celebration! And because I am running of numbers for Thursday Thirteens I will leave you with some IWD songs to check out…
11. Sing it loud and proud with “Bread and Roses”.
12. “Whole People”
13. “A Woman’s Work is Never Done”
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
Other TT13’s who visited One Woman Army:
Amy, PJ, Raggedy, Janet, Metamorphasis of Gabrielle, Scooper, Rashenbo, Gattina, Liz, Jen, Jennifer, Rose, …
Recent Comments