By Tomi Simmons
Girl power is taking the world in its grasp with the #metoo and #timesup movements. There has been much conversation about sexual assault, gender wage gaps, and reproductive rights within the past two years. This March marks Women’s History Month around the world. Many celebrate the past successes of women, many celebrate the present strong women in our lives, and others take it as a moment to demand more for women from our societies.
Initially before Women’s History Month in The United States, there was a week for it made in 1978 for the first time. Slowly states began to back up the idea for there to be an entire month dedicated to women’s success and history. By 1986, fourteen states made it official and the other states soon became inspired as well. Today the world preserves women’s history and educates its youth. In addition, there have been movements for girls to be encouraged to look up to the strong women of history. The company Barbie released the “Inspiring Women Series:” which includes the dolls of pilot Amelia Earhart, NASA Katherine Johnson, and artist Frida Kahlo. This creates an example for youth while also introducing women who come from different backgrounds. This year there has been a larger movement for inclusion of all women and races.
It’s been evident that intersectional feminism has left out women of color creating a divide and confusion about the goals of women’s rights. One of this year’s goals was to have inclusion and representation.
During the month there is International Women’s Day, which falls on March eighth every year. This is a time for people to celebrate women’s achievements and to demand more for who they are. There were a couple of different themes for this year’s day of women. The main one that International Women’s Day created was a “#press for progress,” which was to demand gender inclusion from one another. Their overall idea was to create conversation for how to make women more visible in education and workplace, while encouraging others to shut down gender stereotypes.
The United Nations Women section’s theme was the “Time is Now.” They acknowledged the momentum of the current feminist movements to better women’s lives, and they were encouraging women to keep working towards their full potential.
In addition to these, many communities encouraged the celebration of International Women’s Day, and reminded people that in November there will be midterm elections. Overall the month of March, encourages women to celebrate their progress and the more that will come to them if they refuse to stay silent when it comes to their values and rights. The importance of this time is to raise the women and children in communities to understand their worth and where they come from.