It is funny how I never knew there was such a thing as “Women’s History Month” until a few years ago. Of course, I knew and celebrated Mother’s Day (or the mothers’ days *wink*) for as long as I can remember, but certainly not Women’s history month. This year for some reason (mostly work related) I got to take out time to learn a little more about Women’s History month and in my very limited research I found out a few things which I think are worth sharing.
March is recognised as Women’s History Month in many countries around the world. It is an annual celebration to recognize and honour the achievements and contributions of Women around the world and throughout history. It is also used to raise awareness on the ongoing struggle for gender equality. It began as a local celebration in Santa Rosa, California in 1978 and the week of March 8th, which is International Women’s Day, was declared Women’s History Week by the local school district.
The idea of a national Women’s History Week was proposed by the National Women’s History Project in 1980. The law to establish the week starting March 7, 1982, as Women’s History Week, was passed by congress in 1981 and the resolution was co-sponsored by Senator Orrin Hatch and Representative Barbara Mikulski. After the success of the first Women’s History Week, the creation of a national Women’s History Month was established in 1987. The month of March was chosen to coincide with International Women’s Day.
The theme for Women’s History Month changes every year to highlight different aspects of women’s contributions to history and society and activities include a global celebration of women’s social, political, economic achievements amongst other things. Celebrating Women cannot be overemphasized, and the importance of women cannot truly be enunciated but I will dare to talk about a few reasons why this month is so important.
Let’s begin from; their Contributions to society; Women have made significant contributions to every aspect of society, from politics and economics to science and engineering, culture, and the arts. I may not have the time to go into specifics now but a simple search on breakthrough and advancements in each of these fields will reveal several women at the forefront of discoveries that changed the course of history and are still changing the course of history. Diversity: The diversity of thought processes and ideas that women bring to all facets of life such as the workplace, politics and the social scene is simply electric and cannot be ignored. Finally, I think the most discussed and arguably one of the most important aspects of being a woman is being a Nurturer and caregiver: Often women provide the most emotional and physical support for their families, friends and loved ones and this has been proven time and time again to be essential for healthy development of children and the general wellbeing of their families and the society at large.
Although Historically women have been denied equal rights and opportunities, and a lot of women still face discrimination to this day, it has not deterred us. We continue to remain undaunted and thrive in the face of several difficulties and odds stacked against us. I would say having women’s history month is a start to recognising, valuing, and respecting Women for their many achievements and contributions to all aspects of their immediate society and the world.
