Today is the day of every woman in the world, whether she is our wife, mom, daughter, sister, neighbor, grandmother, colleague, or friend.
Today is our day! I wore my beautiful dress, made breakfast, had a beauty treatment and even though I can’t go to the salon I got an incredible hairstyle to make me feel more feminine than ever. In addition to my grooming, the day calls for a gift. so as an independent woman, I bought my flower shop, (just to make my house more beautiful). I am a woman, which means, among other things, the fair sex.
Under other circumstances today I would have gone out with my friends to celebrate the freedom and respect that is now given to us. Does it really exist, or am I just on the “right” side of the world and some other women still live in dictatorial regimes and all that we celebrate is an unknown concept for them?
On March 8, 1857, in New York City, working women dressed in white went on strike, demanding equal pay with men.
The gathering was something pioneering and revolutionary for the time and as a result the city was filled with blood. Eventually, however, the road to equal rights for both sexes was opened and at least in the Western world things changed for the better. In 1910 in Copenhagen, during the 2nd International Conference of Socialist Women, it was proposed by the German Clara Chetkin that this day should be International Women’s Day, thus establishing it as a day of commitment for women’s rights.
The position of women in Greek society was upgraded, institutionally at least, in 1952 when, by law, Greek women acquired the right to “vote and be elected”. That is, they could now vote in elections, municipal and parliamentary, but also run for election. After this law, several others followed, showing that men and women are equal and have the same rights. A law on rural pensions was passed in 1982, rape was prosecuted in 1984 and abortion was legalised in 1986.
Anyway, equality between the sexes is not brought about by laws, but by people. It all starts if we ourselves respect our colleague and acknowledge her efforts, if we do not think that housework is solely the responsibility of our wife and if we say thank you to our mother from time to time for what she has done for us. Men and women have equal rights, but we should not confuse ourselves by creating in our minds the feeling that they are the same.
For years, Women’s Day has been celebrated around the world to remind us that women are not inferior beings and that they have rights. In Greece, a woman may have almost equal rights with a man and we may not be particularly aware of the power of the day, but many women and underage girls around the world continue to face problems of discrimination and violence that prevent them from living a normal life based on fundamental human rights.
Happy birthday and may the next few years be a celebration for all women and not a day of struggle.
