My International Women's Day Salute!
Hello everyone and Happy International Women's Day! A day that is not on most calendars unless you've written it in yourself, and a day that is largely forgotten, overlooked, not celebrated. Well, I'm celebrating from the purple folding chair which sits in front of my red desk in Bugolobi, my new home in Kampala, Uganda. I'm feeling quite liberated sitting atop my purple, plastic throne. In fact, as I was scrolling through my massive list of email contacts, I kept coming across names of Women who absolutely amaze me, which to me is the point of International Women's Day. It is a time to think about my life as a Woman, the life of the Women in my life, those I admire across the globe fighting for their rights in their context, those from the past who sacrificed everything, even their lives, to get me as a Woman where I am today.
My mother is a feminist. Always has been. She's an inspiration to me, a take-no-shit (pardon my French) kind of woman. A woman who does for herself. I feel I have taken after her in that kind of way, though it's been much easier for me. Being a Woman and wanting to move from Kansas to Uganda would have been unheard of when she was my age. In fact, I try to remind myself as often as possible of her story of dreaming of being a marine biologist but her father would not let her go to college in an area where that was possible so she went to Stephen's College in nearby Columbia, Missouri, a private all-Women's college at that time fighting to break the image of being a "finishing school". This is where I spent my disappointment of a freshman year of college.While I was home for the holidays my mom told me a new story. One I hadn't heard before. In high school while meeting with the guidance counselor to determine what she would study in her bachelor’s degree, my mother was informed that biology was not a "girls" field. Biology, mathematics, all that stuff that really requires the brain (ha!) was for men. My mother should study sociology. So that's what she did at Stephen's College, and after college she taught sociology at a small town school in Kansas. Thankfully my mother had enough and, at least as I imagine, informed my dad that she would go to the University of Kansas and get her Masters in Biology and that she did. She also stopped cooking his breakfast every morning. And my dad accepted that and supported her. My father is a feminist too. You would have to be to stay married to my mother for what 40 years? Whoa.
So today things are better for Women in America, and really for Women around the world. Revolutions take different amounts of time, different shapes, but they happen.
I consider myself to be very lucky. I am surrounded by, in American and in Uganda, such strong Women. It amazes me when I really sit back and think about it. I'm surrounded by Women who respect themselves, stand up for themselves, have expectations, dreams, wants that they make happen, etc. It's a great thing to be surrounded by.
I watched the film "Milk" last night. Amazing film. Everyone involved in the film did an exquisite job and it told a story that absolutely needed to be told. It also made me wake up a little bit. While the story of Harvey Milk is directly about gay rights in America, it is broadly about human rights in America. It is a beautifully tragic story, and it made me think about human rights across the globe. In America, I feel that most groups have become quite complacent. They've come "this far" and "this far" is comfortable enough so we'll just stay here. I'm Black and can walk down the street (usually) without being harassed so we're good; I'm gay and they can't put me in prison for that so I'm just going to live my life; I'm a Woman and can work outside of the house so I'm not going to rock the boat. Never mind the fact that 97% of those in prison (and in the projects which are essentially prison) are Black and Latino, never mind the fact that you can work for a company for 50-years and when you die your 401k can't go to your partner and never mind the fact that you get paid a fraction of the salary of a man for doing the same job. Bottom line, in my opinion of course, is that across the board all human rights boats in America and across the globe need to be rocked. People are fighting harder in developing countries than they do in the West. The West has become lazy, satisfied enough. I don't like that.
In Uganda, International Women's Day is a public holiday where banks, state offices, etc. are closed (this year they lucked out and it's on a Sunday so businesses are closed anyway). It's not in the U.S. Maybe that could be a starting point.
You get the gist. I don't need to ramble on and on anymore.
Today, please take time and appreciate yourself and the Women in your life. Yes, this should be done every day but you know, sometimes people just need a day to remind them.
Cheers-
Kate
"Every time we liberate a woman, we liberate a man."
-Margaret Mead
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