While March’s Women’s History Month honors the advancements and achievements of women throughout history, it also highlights the struggles that women still face today.
Women’s History Month began as a week-long celebration, and over time the entire month was dedicated to recognizing women and their work.
“The actual celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society organized by the school district of Sonoma, California, in 1978,” History.com Editors said.
Women such as Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, Susan B. Anthony and Marie Curie are often recognized throughout March for their work that paved the way for women, and all people, today.
Thanks to those women, and many more, there have been significant strides made towards women’s equality and rights.
“In the 150 years since that first, landmark Women’s Rights Convention, women have made clear progress in the areas addressed by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in her revolutionary Declaration of Sentiments.
“Not only have women won the right to vote; we are being elected to public office at all levels of government,” National Women’s History Alliance said.
While these improvements have been seen and recognized, there is still a long way to go in giving women an equal footing in many aspects of society.
According to Amnesty International, women “across the globe” face challenges, many of which go unnoticed.
“Gender inequality underpins many problems which disproportionately affect women and girls, such as domestic and sexual violence, lower pay, lack of access to education and inadequate healthcare,” Amnesty International said.
Domestic and sexual violence is an example of inequality that remains extremely prevalent, seen through issues like the new Taliban penal code.
According to journalist Beatriz Lecumberri, gender-based violence in Afghanistan has been legalized “since 2021.” In certain instances, animals are valued above women in the court of law.
“An Afghan man can spend 15 days in jail for breaking his wife’s arm, or five months if he mistreats a camel. This is the law that judges in Afghanistan have been required to apply since the beginning of the year, under a new penal code approved quietly, without political debate or public announcements,” Lecumberri said.
If women can be treated and valued less than a camel, or any animal, how can we stay disconcerned about issues such as these.
For some, this example may seem far away and only relevant to some women, however, women in the United States also face discrimination.
The gender pay gap is one example of this.
“Women working full time in the U.S. are still paid just 81 cents to every dollar earned by men, and the consequences of this gap affect women throughout their lives,” the American Association of University Women said. “The pay gap even follows women into retirement. As a result of lower lifetime earnings, women receive less in Social Security and pensions, having saved just 70% retirement income when compared to men.”
Women are expected to prove themselves in all work fields, as they are still seen as inferior to men, while not being paid their worth, or an equal amount to our male counterparts. This continues to instill and back up wrong ideals.
Overall, while Women’s History Month is a great time to celebrate and remember women throughout history who have shaped our world into what it is today, it is still important to remember the progress that remains to be made.
