"Women's day holds special significance to me. Over the last few years, my community has always helped me in rejoicing over womanhood and the character that we as women lend to our society. The celebration of women's day was surely a big deal, the women dressed in bright, beautiful sarees, ornate with jewellery, sparkling gems and smiles, to celebrate the gift of womanhood in a community that ironically has one of the highest rates of female infanticide.
Sadly, I have known quite a number of women who have refrained from this celebration because they wanted to ensure that they were not viewed upon as radical feminist, or because they did not need one day to celebrate womanhood. Well, my women comrades, we celebrate woman's day on March 8th - a common day for acknowledging and appreciating the extra ordinary, loving, and self-less efforts of women in making this world a better place. Though I celebrate life every single day of my life, I celebrate my birthday on one single day. There are several days that have been set aside by society for communal celebrations and March 8 is one of them. The same goes with Father's day, and Mother's day.
Most of the women who explicitly denounce the need for a day of celebration for women, do so because they feel that this could be one reason for accepting that women are indeed the weaker sex, and that we are craving for acceptance, and recognition. My apologies, I do not concur, women's day is not a day where men acknowledge women's contribution to society, it is a day where the whole of humanity celebrates this incredible gift of women - who show the world what sharing,caring, and loving is all about. Period.
It is a not an expression of frail eagerness and frantic desperation for acknowledgment, acceptance, recognition, and a craving for approval. It is a celebration, hope it remains that way, and perceived in its true sense.
It will be so much easier for us to just celebrate and cherish women, womenhood, and their gift to society putting aside all other extraneous, and unwarranted plausible arguments of rigid feminism. Well, Today is not the day for sure.
To all my fellow women comrades, the world over, HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY.
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I'm so happy that you celebrate the women's day too! I have sustained endless argument with people who for some strange reason are opposed to this celebration. I don't feel that observing this holiday detracts from my feminism in any way. :-) I would also be happy to observe a holiday celebrating men. Why not?
ReplyDeleteIs this holiday celebrated in India?
@Clarrisa, same here. I am in totally in favor of Men's day - if they want to celebrate manhood.
ReplyDeleteYes, Women's day celebrations are big in my city and I have always been a part of it. The description I gave above is the celebration we used to have in India. I hope they are still doing it.
Celebrating women's day is not a betrayal of the efforts towards women's suffrage, and feminisim itself - may be they need to realize that is a celebration of womanhood, and not a commemoration of the confines of womanhood.
May be we should have a celebration in the department.
Hope you are having a good holiday !
I would definitely have organized a celebration at our department had March 8th not coincided with the Spring Break. My husband and I celebrated on the beach, though. :-)
ReplyDeleteThe holiday was great, thank you! But now I'm back home which is also very nice. :-) And back to work on Tuesday.