Celebrating 100 Years of International Women's Day

Happy International Women's Day! Today we celebrate 100 years of International Women's Day (IWD). The theme for International Women's Day 2011 is Girls' Rights Matter. Yasir Naqvi, MPP for Ottawa Centre, issued a public statement suggesting that "[t]his theme encourages us to reflect on the situation of girls in Canada, and to look beyond our domestic opportunities to the international context. Far too many girls and women around the world do not have access to education, health care or employment. They face severe challenges to achieving equality or maintaining security." Here in Ottawa, local events celebrating this theme are happening all day.

Early this morning, I had the pleasure of heading to Parliament Hill to hear my friend and colleague, Erin Williams, Executive Director of the Ottawa Coalition to End Violence Against Women, speak along with other notable women, including Nobel Laureate Jody Williams.

Erin's talk was exactly what I needed to hear. She reflected that many people, whether they call themselves feminist or not, are working toward equality in their everyday actions. Her own grandmother raised six children as a single mother; she taught her kids -- three boys and three girls -- to put themselves out there, to be brave about building the kind of world they want to live in, where everyone is treated with the respect that is their inherent right. (Erin's grandmother might not call herself a feminist, but her values speak for themselves.)

Erin admitted that, when prepping her speech, she began to have doubts. She asked herself, "What do I really have to say about International Women's Day, about women's rights? Who am I to speak when I am only one woman with one perspective?" She decided that she would put those feelings out there.

This reminded me of a Marianne Williamson quote that encourages us to embrace what we have to offer the world, because it is more than enough: "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? ... [W]hen we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Erin bravely shared her ideas about women's rights with us, letting her light shine. From this, I recognized the huge value in sharing the diverse experiences and perspectives that individual women bring forward in their work for equality. These voices overlap and blend together to create "the women's movement" today. We might not realize it, but every time we make a decision, say something, do something to challenge inequality, we build on the foundation that previous generations of women and men laid out. We've come a long way -- the work's been happening for way more than a hundred years -- but we've also got a long way to go.

Erin closed with a take on the Broadway musical Rent's popular song Seasons of Love, which measures a year in minutes (525,600 to be precise). This time, Erin catalogued 52,560,000 minutes -- one hundred years for women's rights:

Fifty-two million, five hundred and sixty thousand minutes
Fifty-two million, five hundred and sixty thousand moments so clear

Fifty-two million, five hundred and sixty thousand minutes
How do you measure, measure one hundred years?

In protests, in rallies, in marches, in lack of day cares
In speeches, in access, in laughter, in strife

In petitions, in caravans, in unions, in lack of housing
In choices, in glass ceilings, in moments of rage

In fifty-two million, five hundred and sixty thousand minutes
How do you measure a hundred years for women's rights?

In affidavits, in exclusion, in education, in cuts to funding
In violence, in poverty, in reproductive rights

In inclusion, in exclusion, in education, in cuts to research
In civil, political, and economic say

Fifty-two million, five hundred and sixty thousand minutes
How do you measure, measure women's rights?

How about diversity? How about pay equity? How about no patriarchy?
Measure in equality

She couldn't have said it better. So, I'm sending out this Shad video as a cheers to all the work you do to end violence against women and make a safer, more equitable world where we, and future generations of women, can thrive. -- KEEP SHINING! 

Other links to check out:

International Women's Day Website
http://www.internationalwomensday.com/
 

International Women's Day, Status of Women Canada
http://www.swc-cfc.gc.ca/dates/iwd-jif/index-eng.html
 

Ottawa Marks International Women's Day - Ottawa Citizen, March 8, 2011
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Ottawa+marks+International+Women/4398808/story.html