International Women's Day

Transcript

Since 1975 March 8th has been recognized by the United Nations as International Women's Day. Actually, women in many countries have celebrated a special day since early in the 20th century.

International Women's Day serves to remind people everywhere of serious problems that women face in many countries. Still there is a lot of violence against women, and women often suffer much more than men from poverty, crime, and HIV/AIDS. A special day provides opportunities to teach valuable lessons about sexism and discrimination.

Even though the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaim the equality of all people everywhere, women have a long way to go before they achieve political and economic equality with men. Even in so-called developed countries, many women are expected to fit into certain well-defined, restricted roles.

For more than thirty years I've been teaching full-time at a women's university. Over the years I've seen young women struggle with their roles as they've grown into adulthood. Each young person has her own unique aspirations and talents, and sometimes it saddens me to know that many people in adult society are not ready to accept people as they are.

I have mixed feelings about International Women's Day. March 8th is a good day to consider the needs of all people everywhere, but I hope a day will come when International Women's Day is no longer necessary.