Day 7: Celebrate International Women's Day!

March 8th is International Women's Day! Women's rights and empowerment around the world is something I feel very passionate about. Warning: I'm going to get on my soapbox for a moment here. It is a proven fact that when women are given the opportunity and resources, they can make a huge impact on their community. Empowering women in society, government, communities, business, politics, and every other aspect of life has the power to change the world for the better. Just think about it. In many countries, women are not allowed to become educated or contribute to society. What a huge opportunity the world has to empower them to become the best they can be. How can the world be expected to move forward without half of the population reaching their full potential? Women are an opportunity, a huge resource! When women are educated, they tend to marry later in life, have fewer children, are able to support their families, help their children become educated, and are more engaged in their communities. They share their knowledge and skills with others. Educating women and girls is one of the best ways to fight poverty and terrorism. I could go on and on and on.

There are many issues we need to overcome for women's rights all around the world, including here in the United States. We have a ways to go, but we are making progress, there are amazing women and men out there fighting to make the world a better place for women. I want to thank them and encourage everyone to learn more about these issues. Just being aware can make a difference in how the world works.

One of my favorite quotes comes from one of my favorite organizations, Women for Women International. "One woman can change anything. Many women can change everything."

Okay, so International Women's Day is important to me! On this day, I decided to make sure the women in my life know how much they mean to me. I made cards for many of the women who work at my library and passed them out. I also made cards for my two supervisors at my practicum site. AND, the women librarians from Kyrgyzstan that I met yesterday just happened to also be at my practicum site today! So I gave all of them cards and flowers :) It was so much fun! I got my picture taken with them. I also sent out facebook messages to the women I love who are not within physical card-giving distance.

So, Happy International Women's Day to everyone! Tell the women in your life how much you love them. Stay aware of what's going on in the world and do whatever it is you can do to make it a better place!

If this subject interests you, I highly recommend the book Half the Sky, by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. It is excellent and I try to pass it on to as many people as possible. Here is a video of Sheryl giving a talk about the basic principles of Half the Sky.