medzinárodný deň žien - international women's day

so, today is international women's day, which is actually celebrated (though not hugely) here in slovakia. it is a day for women, which they consider females 18 or older. i received flowers this morning from my host dad, which was nice. actually celebrating the day (that i would have forgotten about if it weren't for the glance at my calendar yesterday) and wishing all the females i encountered (not just the grown-ups) all the best, got me thinking about the day.

i didn't even know that international women's day existed until i was in college. being a women's and gender studies (wgst) major does have its advantages. having learned through my wgst classes about the day, also means that i learned about it as not just a day to celebrate that i am a woman, but to think of other women in other situations around the world.

i also realized that in the united states, as many of you know, we still have huge discrepancies between men and women. pay is not equal. rape is far to prevalent. sexual and domestic abuse occurs way to much. women are still not represented in the upper echelons of many companies. women's body image issues infect all parts of our lives. women are underrepresented in government. women do not have full control over their own bodies. women are not allowed to follow their call to ministry in certain churches.

and this is just in the united states, just compared to men, without thinking specifically of things like race, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and just what i could think of. yet we pretend that there's equality and those who say there isn't are just "radical feminists." am i a feminist? yes. i believe that women and men should share in first class citizenship throughout the world. i believe that all deserve dignity and the opportunities to live fairly and equally. i am a feminist and i am proud of that.

so, as i prayed and gave thanks to god for this day, i also prayed for and remembered women around the world. i remembered and prayed for the women who are raped as a tactic of war. for the women who have mouths to feed and no food with which to feed them. for the women who cannot even provide clean water for their families. for the women who struggle every day to survive. for the women who still work to rebuild their lives from the earthquakes in haiti and chile.

for the women who are fired or paid less simply because they are women. for the women who are fired, paid less, or not hired in the first place because they are roma. or african american. or hispanic. or native american. for the wonderful women whose love is not recognized by the government, churches, friends, family. for the women who try to deal with the horrible migration laws and bureaucracy of the united states just so they can live with the one they love or make a better life for themselves and their families.

i pray for the women who mourn, rejoice, laugh, cry, yell, smile, hug, kiss, hurt, heal, share, give, love, lose, leave, conquer, suffer, survive.

i pray for you and i pray for me and i pray that one day we might truly live in a world where all can be treated fairly. where all know what it is to love and be loved, without fear.