International Women’s Day 2017

Happy International Women’s Day! I’m sure that you know today is day to celebrate women and I’m so pleased to see amazing messages of positivity all over Twitter, Instagram and traditional media. I really hope that you haven’t been able to escape the much needed celebration of women and the overarching message that women are important. While today is a lovely day and gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling whenever I log onto Twitter and Instagram, the fact that we must continue to stand up for women’s rights and equality shouldn’t be forgotten. 

International Women’s Day celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women as well as to highlight gender inequality across the world. The aim is to accelerate gender parity, sadly IWD has been fighting this fight for over 100 years. IWD has been celebrated globally since the early 1900s – no one organiser, government, charity or network ‘owns’ IWD, it’s a global movement. As Gloria Steinem put it; “The story of a women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single feminist nor to any one organisation but to the collective efforts of all those who care about human rights”. I think this is a very key point, feminism is about equality and giving women the same human rights as men. The word feminist is somehow misunderstood and misconstrued, but it’s essentially fighting for women to have the same rights as men. 

The concept of women being seen as lesser than men is so foreign to me. I’m surrounded by so many strong, independent, sassy women who inspire me everyday to be fearless and grab life by the balls. The women I know are so driven, determined and ambitious and a constant source of help and support, I don’t know where I would be without these women, so thank you. All of you. 

I’ve only ever known women to be strong and powerful, coming from a matriarchal family that’s the energy I was surrounded with from birth. My grandmother and mother raised my brother and I with no differences between us, we were raised as equals and treated the same. I was never weaker or lesser than my brother just because I was a girl. I climbed the same trees, jumped off the same roofs and had matching cuts and bruises to show me that we were the same. I’ve carried this grounding with me through my life and I credit my mother for teaching me that I can be as good as, if not better than, any man. 

But this is my little bubble and I’m wrapped in my own privilege. I know the reality and understand the importance of celebrating IWD and celebrating women today and everyday. In the words of the brilliant Dr Maya Angelou “Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women”. We all, men included, owe it to each other to celebrate women and work towards a world of gender parity, which simply seeks justice for both genders. To find out more about how to get involved, visit the IWD website. 

* Not a sponsored post, just a huge advocate of equality 🙂