AWC Going Dutch March 2020

International Women’s Day
by Mary Adams
International Women’s Day (IWD) is celebrated
globally on March 8 every year in
honor of women’s contributions to society.
The day also commemorates the inspiring role
of women around the world to secure women’s
rights and build more equitable societies.
The first National Woman’s Day was celebrated
in 1909 in America to honor the women
who protested against working conditions in
the garment industry by organizing a workers’
strike in 1908. Over the next 66 years, different
countries honored women’s social efforts, but
it wasn’t a global event until 1975 when the
United Nations made March 8 the official date.
Today, IWD belongs to all women. It is not
organization, group or country specific.
My first celebration of IWD was at the biennial
FAWCO meeting in Bern in 2013. We
started the morning with an inspirational address
from Betty E. King, US Ambassador
to the UN in Geneva. Ambassador King then
joined us in standing on the bridge over the
Aare River in support of Women for Women
International’s Join Me on the Bridge campaign.
This global act of solidarity was created
to bring awareness to violence against
women in war-torn countries. When I stood
on the bridge, I really felt connected to the
women in the club as well as women standing
on bridges all over the world. In that
moment, we were united and strong, bridging
the geographical gap with pure feminine
energy.
In 2020, the IWD theme is An Equal World
is an Enabled World - #EachforEqual. The
IWD 2020 campaign theme is drawn from
a notion of collective individualism. We
are all parts of a whole. Our individual actions,
conversations, behaviors and mindsets
can have an impact on our larger society.
Collectively, women can make change
happen. Collectively, we can each help to
create a gender equal world. So put out your
arms and strike the #EachforEqual POSE to
motivate others and to make International
Women’s Day YOUR day. Do what you can
to truly make a positive difference for women
everywhere; not just on March 8, but every
day.
A women’s march is scheduled in Amsterdam
on Sunday, March 8 at 12:30 p.m. If
you would like to “strike a pose” for equality
and march with AWC The Hague, please
check eNews and our Facebook Group for
more information.
30 GOING DUTCH
MARCH 2019 31