I'm on the run, as usual, and won't be back til later tonight. But just wanted to wish everyone here a very happy, blessed, joyous International Women's Day.

It's not a big deal here in America, but in Cuba (and probably other places) it's a HUGE holiday, almost bigger than Christmas. Parades in the streets, lights decorating the houses, big family meals, most women get half the day off work (including at the big resort that we usually go to). I love how they celebrate women.

So to that end, let's celebrate us (not just today, but everyday - but especially today!)

hay eagle thanks. Its celibrated heer as well. We are just back from a dance and a caberay it was great, educasional and fun.

cheek out the post under forum contest about the poetry for the day the woman writters done a selection of poems you get to vote as the poems are annonimise and exilent. HL the angel she is done a wonderfull web page photos and desplayed the poetry reallie well, she done us proud. Their was also a descusion about the IWD in current events. I know you dont get to roam about the board much so just hopeing you read this and get a chance to cheek it out.

So thank you my love and celibrate the life you have and the woman you are. Think your a preety fantastick one at that....

all the best celtic


So hope

All of you have awakened me to the fact that NABBW needs to do something about celebrating International Women's Day next year. I'm thinking along the liknes of Hannelore's writing contest. Maybe we should announce it in January and collect submissions until the week before, and announce the winner the day of. I'll get on that.

I'm a woman! What a privilege! I thank God for this blessing and pray that I can be an instrument of his love. Blessings to each of you, dear friends, as YOU are very special, and created with a great purpose in mind: To love and be loved!

great idea dotsie bet you get a great bunch of stories with some amaxing examples of life from some of the women heer . look forward to next year.

songbird it is great being female their is a lot of up points about our ways and nature. I greatfull for it too

celtic

Nice one Dotsie ...I am delighted at your idea, I think it is just fab. I too will look forward to submitting and reading other peeps entries.

Keep Sweet
Popea

IWD, How has the greater USA missed this holiday? It should be celebrated & how great to have a holday for women & not just Mother's. I find myself wanting to send Mother's day cards to women & relatives that aren't moms, cause they're fantastic women. What a prefect day for that. I bet congress dosen't know about this. Otherwise it would be a national holiday here in the US too, giving another reason for one of those declared Monday's off.
QBall

Every day is Women's Day for me as I live my life as a feminine, nurturing, creative, passionate female.

I don't need a special day to celebrate. Mother's day is a day my children set aside to recognize the special accomplishments and relationships we share.

I ask you to consider that a worldwide day set aside to celebrate women is a bit over the top. Its not just to celebrate the mom who works at Toys R Us or the executive mom who drives her Beamer to work, its not to celebrate the single black 16 yr. old mom or the Hispanic property of her machismo husband, it is a day specifically set aside to usher in the worship of and diefication of woman.

That's the way I see it and you can take or leave what you will from that belief. Every day I celebrate being wife and mother, grandmother, and woman with all God gave me. I don't need a day of dancing and wearing filmy outfits and chanting and poetry and goomba to be proud to be a strong woman.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910
At a Socialist International meeting in Copenhagen, an International Women's Day of no fixed date was proposed to honour the women's rights movement and to assist in achieving universal suffrage for women. Over 100 women from 17 countries unanimously agreed the proposal. 3 of these women were later elected the first women to the Finnish parliament.

1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honoured the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labour legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1914 further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.

1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.

1918 - 1999
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women’s Year' by the United Nations. Women's organisations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honour women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

2000 - 2007
IWD is now an official holiday in Armenia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. The tradition sees men honouring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate their achievements. While there are many large-scale initiatives, a rich and diverse fabric of local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google even changes its logo on its global search pages. Corporations like HSBC host the UK's largest and longest running IWD event delivered by women's company Aurora. Last year Nortel sponsored IWD activities in over 20 countries and thousands of women participated. Nortel continues to connect its global workforce though a coordinated program of high-level IWD activity, as does Accenture both virtually and offline. Accenture supports more than 2,000 of its employees to participate in its International Women's Day activities that include leadership development sessions, career workshops and corporate citizenship events held across six continents - in eight cities in the United States and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Spain, South Africa and the UK. Accenture also coordinated am IWD webcast featuring stories about Accenture women worldwide that ran uninterrupted for 30 hours across 11 time zones via Accenture's intranet. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally !! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

Taken from the official I.W.D web page



I.W.D is one day out of one year...as a woman, I get to remember the changes and honour those who lived and died to make my life easier. I get to think about those whose lives are in peril ‘ just ’ because they are female. I get to think how I could possibly make a small difference. I get to think beyond myself and my family and friends (whose lives are blessed in comparison).
I get to be in contact with other like minded souls who crave consistent change and challenge to bring into line the protection of my femininity and the elevation of my status on a power equal to that of(most) men who would have us kept down were ‘they’ think we should remain.


Popea...

Po, thank you for posting this info. I love IWD and I think celebrating who we are and what we hope to be, is a wonderful idea!