Women around the globe celebrated the annual recognition of International Women’s Day. The day was marked with demonstrations and marches.
The theme, “Investing in Women and Girls,” is appropriate considering that educating women is not recognized as an important issue in some developing countries. The day is devoted to acknowledging and highlighting the struggles that have been won and the impediments women still face.
Often when a nation industrializes, investment in technology will frequently beat out the need for human capital – more specifically, educated human capital.
In the early 1900s, an industrial boom in America resulted in a need for cheap labor. The cheap labor pool resulted in women choosing between self-reliance or family dependence.
As most college students know, without an education, one can’t be too picky. The lack of education and desire for upward social mobility led to exploitation of women in inhumane factories for minimal wages. Workers found voice and solidarity through labor unions.
It has been almost 100 years since nations outside the U.S. first began recognizing International Women’s Day, but the messages of progress and equality are just as relevant today, if not more so.
Don’t get me wrong, women’s rights are not one size fits all. Women’s rights at home are not always embraced abroad and can be less important, depending on the nation.
In Saudi Arabia, for example, one woman activist celebrated the day by driving around the capital Riyadh. Driving, while a daily occurrence for Western women, is outlawed for Saudi women and strictly enforced in more urban areas.
In North Korea, women are urged to keep a traditional dress code and reject Western fashions, reported The China Post.
Unfortunately, International Women’s Day has not become as important to the land from which it traces its roots. This is probably because the material exploitation of such a day could be considered inappropriate elsewhere. If the banks aren’t closed and we are not passing out chocolate animals, we want no part of it.
Or maybe because in the U.S., there is the belief that women’s rights and social positions are equal to men’s. Sure, the 19th Amendment secured a woman’s right to vote, making women’s suffrage a key element to their empowerment. However, the number of women in government is not proportional to the society it reflects.
This may be a shock to many, but it has taken more than 200 years to have a viable female presidential candidate. The same can be said for an African-American candidate. I suppose good things take time, but to better serve a marginalized group of constituents, equitable representation in government is crucial.
To be honest, I was hard-pressed to find much, if any, recognition of International Women’s Day in the U.S. Our mother’s feminism is different from that of today. The valuation of humans as equals is something we should all strive to accomplish. But hey, if we can’t even make it to the parade, how are we going to change public policy?
And for all the men getting excited about a new wave of feminism, consider this: You can still buy dinner on account of your dollar to my 75 cents earning ratio.
I may like equality, but I’m not stupid.
Erin McKenzie is a junior journalism major and an assistant opinions editor for the Daily Forty-Niner.
