International Women's Day

March 8, 2015, is International Women's Day.  It is  day to celebrate women all over the world and recognize their achievements and growth.  No matter how small or how large our growth is, it is a step to recreating and bettering ourselves each and every day.  But how did this great day come to be?  I did a little research and found how it was started in this country:

International Women's Day first emerged from the activities of the labor movements at the turn of the twentieth century in North America and Europe.  In 1909, the first national Woman's Day was observed in the U.S.  This day was designated in honor of the 1908 garment workers strike in New York, where women protested against the working conditions.  Now most of us, if not all of us, cannot imagine working in hot, filthy conditions for pennies on the hour with no personal respect from our bosses and higher up personnel.  We should acknowledge the women of the past that helped provide us with some of the political freedoms and personal luxuries that we have today that they were never able to fully experience.

I just wanted to point out a few great women who helped pave the way;

In the U.S. in 1851, Stanton began working with Susan B. Anthony, a well-known abolitionist.  The two women worked together. Anthony handled the business affairs of the women's rights movement and Stanton did most of the writing.  Together, they edited and published a woman's newspaper called The Revolution beginning in 1868.

In Africa, the African Women's Development aims to enable women to understand and participate in public affairs and also hold those in public office accountable for their decisions and actions.

In Europe, even Joan of Arc was able to convince a whole army of men to follow her and successfully led the French army to victory.

This is just a small example of how powerful women all around the world can be.  We hold the power within ourselves to make great things happen.