Today is International Women’s Day, which this year celebrates a 100th anniversary. From the IWD website: It is a global day celebrating the economic, political and social achievements of women past, present and future. In some places like China, Russia, Vietnam and Bulgaria, International Women’s Day is a national holiday.  Why? Suffragettes campaigned for women’s right to vote. The word ‘Suffragette’ is derived from the word “suffrage” meaning the right to vote. International Women’s Day honours the work of the Suffragettes, celebrates women’s success, and reminds of inequities still to be redressed.

I invite you to take a moment to look at the website: http://www.internationalwomensday.com/

Lot’s of great information there. One article that is particularly helpful is from the Huffington Post:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/international-womens-day-_7_b_832691.html

From there, link to other blogs by women about the day.  Two I liked: Eve Ensler’s with a poem “Refuser” and Marianne Schnal’s.

Next year, I hope we can promote the day by offering a public event of some kind with other collaborating groups that will celebrate strong women and encourage empowerment of women. Meanwhile, stop and think about women who have been an important part of your life and evelopment, and be thankful for them.

-Klara