To be honest, before this afternoon, I never even knew there was such a thing as International Women's Day. International Women's Day is a global celebration of the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some countries including China, Afghanistan, Cuba, Uganda, Russia, Vietnam, and Bulgaria, it is a national holiday. Men customarily give the women in their lives (wives, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, etc.) some flowers and chocolates. It's kind of like Valentine's Day, Part II. In Italy, women traditionally receive yellow mimosa flowers for the occasion. I only found out about the holiday today because my music and art professor is originally from Italy, and so she brought in little yellow mimosas for the girls in the class.

My professor gave out little yellow mimosas to the girls in our class.

Interestingly enough, today (March 8, 2011) is the 100th anniversary of the first International Women's Day. This is a holiday that directly honors half of the world's population, so why is it not a big deal here in the U.S.? If we, as a nation, consider ourselves leaders in promoting women's rights, why isn't this holiday better known in our country? It has been celebrated in other countries for the past century, so we can't say that it is just a new or passing trend. Neither can we say that we don't like holidays that honor particular groups of people, as evinced by Black History Month, Mother's Day and Father's Day. Why then, has this holiday been largely ignored in America? Why isn't more done to promote it? Do we consider ourselves so far along the road to gender equality that we can't be bothered to trifle with holidays such as this because we like to think that women are honored every day in our country? Is it a holiday only for "other countries" where women have historically enjoyed fewer rights than their counterparts in the U.S.?

I personally applaud this global endeavor to recognize and honor the contributions of women. Regardless of how far a country thinks it has come in advancing women's rights, I think it only fitting to join this global effort of promoting greater equality. Perhaps some suspect chauvinistic undercurrents at the root of this holiday. Perhaps the whole idea of men giving women presents for the mere fact that they are women is offensive to some. I happen to look at it as a great opportunity for us to honor women, on both the individual and state level. I think it's about time that governments begin to recognize officially the contributions of women to their families, to their communities, and to their nation. I'm also a proponent of measures that encourage men to express personal gratitude to their girlfriends, wives, mothers, and daughters. What I think is shameful is to treat these sweet and honorable gestures like attacks on womanhood. It's like holding the door open for someone who's walking behind you. You do it to be nice. You do it as a mark of respect and courtesy-- not as a malicious or condescending way to make people feel inferior.

If you have any ideas, thoughts, or other objections, please feel free to comment! In the meantime, happy International Women's Day!

UPDATE:
The priest who said Mass for us tonight was born and raised in Communist Poland. He recalls how everyone celebrated International Women's Day when he was growing up. The government would make it a point to emphasize that women have equal footing with men under the regime. He said they were told that women could have 'men's' jobs: pilots, truck drivers, police officers, etc. The priest also said that, on the individual level, men resisted this idea of equality because they were against everything the Communist government stood for and promoted-- even if it was a just cause. He said that men would refuse to help out around the house and stoop to do 'women's work.' In this sense, an unjust government promoting a just cause [regardless of the government's motives] resulted in individual instances of injustice. Interesting food for thought...