Sunday Collection: International Women’s Day

Photograph by Babasteve

Because yesterday was International Women’s Day, it was easy for me to decide on the theme of today’s collection.

Those of you around my vintage will remember the second-wave feminist movement that began in the 1960s. We read classic polemics such as Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique and Greer’s The Female Eunuch, we attended consciousness-raising groups, discovering sometimes for the first time that women were natural allies. We were not alone, and we were not enemies.

But International Women’s Day is much older than that. In 1908 15,000 American women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights. In 1909 the first National Women’s Day was observed in the United States. In 1910, an International Women’s Day was proposed and agreed at a Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen, and the following year, the first ever IWD was held on 19 March 1911, observed initially in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland.

You can read much more about the history at the official IWD site here, and watch some webcasts.

In blogging land, I very much enjoyed Kate Iredale’s Potpourri for IWD. Take a look and follow the interesting links she has posted. I was especially delighted to see that one of my favourite writers, Karen Armstrong, has won a TED award. The award recipient is allowed a wish. This is Karen’s:

I wish that you would help with the creation, launch and propagation of a Charter for Compassion, crafted by a group of leading inspirational thinkers from the three Abrahamic traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam and based on the fundamental principles of universal justice and respect

If you, too, believe this is a worthy wish, you can take part here, by nominating candidates to help make it happen.

And one of my own favourite bloggers, Melanie at Bean Sprouts, has been chosen by Amnesty as one of their favourite female bloggers. I’m pleased to see they share my good taste – well done Mel! Check out some of the other blogs written by women that Amnesty have chosen.

In 2008, women (and men) all over the world still face poverty, violence and hunger. The Catholic church still refuses even to discuss the question of women priests. Working women still earn less for the same roles. Career equality seems to mean selling ourselves to the corporate world and working longer and longer hours at jobs that have little meaning. We still have a long way to go.

To end, here is an interesting contemporary video featuring the voices of women answering the simple question “What is liberation for women today?”

Have a blessed week, everyone.

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