Every March Women’s History Month is celebrated and honored by people mostly in the United States. It’s a month to recognize and celebrate women that impact history, but it has not always been that way.
How It Started
It began as a local celebration in 1978 in Santa Rosa, California. The organizers chose the week of March 8 to honor and celebrate the women who have made an impact on the world and have forever changed history. From Harriet Tubman to Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Michelle Obama, Joan of Arc, Sojourner Truth, Abigail Addams, Princess Diana, Cleopatra, Anne Frank, Malala, Shirley Chisholm, Anarcha Westcott, Nancy Wake, Kamala Harris, and many more. The timeline of women’s history milestones and accomplishments stretches back before the first presidential election.
The week-long event officially became a month-long one in 1987 when Congress passed a resolution designating March as Women’s History Month. Since then, the United States has been celebrating every March.
Why Women Fight for What They Believe
Women make up 50% of the world’s population. Every woman that has ever done anything to make someone’s life even a little bit better deserves to be honored and most certainly deserve the same rights as others.
This seems like it should be common sense, but it is not always. Historically, women weren’t allowed to vote until 1920. Women weren’t allowed to play in sports until 1964. Women couldn’t divorce men by choice until 1969. Women weren’t allowed to go to an Ivy League school until 1970. Women weren’t allowed to make their own medical decisions until 1973. Women couldn’t open a bank account until 1974. Women weren’t allowed to get credit cards or loans until 1975. Women weren’t included in any medical research until 1993. Women may lose their rights and being degraded because of something they can’t control.
To put things into perspective, women’s rights have only made significant progress in the last 50 years with equal rights on paper.
Women Are the Biggest Oppressed Group in the World.
According to National Geographic, 1 in 3 women experience a form of assault and/or harassment. 90% of people are biased against women. 1 in 4 women have experienced domestic violence. 1 in 6 women have been stalked in their lifetime. 2.4 billion women do not have equal economic opportunities. Keep in mind, these statistics are only the ones that are actually reported, so the numbers are realistically much higher.
Women have fought and are still fighting for what they believe, and what should be equal rights. Women get attacked and harassed every day by people because these same people don’t think that what they’re doing is wrong. Women have made huge impacts on the world that some don’t even recognize
Women Who Have Made a Forever Impact on the World
When thinking of women who have made a difference in the world most think of Queen Victoria, Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Malala Yousafzai, Amelia Earhart, Marie Curie, Jane Goodall, Eleanor Roosevelt, Anne Frank, and many more. All these women have changed the way women, girls, Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, disabled, non-disabled people are and were treated.
When asked about what influential feminists come to mind during Women’s History Month, freshman at BBHHS Madeline DeJulius says, “I personally view Marilyn Monroe as an influential and historical figure. While being very present in the media she advocated for racial equality. Monroe also supported the LGBTQ+ community avidly despite the hatred at the time.”
Junior at BBHHS Caelyn Benco explains, “One woman in society I really look up to is Malala Yousafzai. Malala has had a huge impact on society because she stands up for girls’ education around the world.”
These two girls name famous women from the world, and both stood up and supported such different things. They both came from totally opposite backgrounds, but still fought for what’s right and what they believe.
Some women are not famous or even really recognized for their impacts on our lives. Think about the women in the education field, or the women who work day and night in hospitals saving and helping people’s lives, and the women that are lawyers and judges that work hard to help others. These women often go unnoticed, but without them society wouldn’t function well.
There are women who are never really recognized. For example, have people ever heard of Eunice Foote? She was the first scientist to theorize and demonstrate the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. In addition, Rosalind Franklin was a chemist whose X-ray diffraction images were essential to understanding the double helix structure of DNA. There is also Claudette Colvin, who at age 15, was the first person arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a segregated bus in Montgomery Alabama, 9 months before Rosa Parks.
All of these women were looked down upon by society regardless of if what they did or said was right, and completely valid.
Women have to fight for rights that are basic life necessities and overall basic human rights. Women’s voices are silenced at times that they are desperately needed. Women are strong, fearless, resilient, confident, empowering, and natural leaders. They deserve to be respected by anyone and everyone.
“My mission in life I’d not merely to survive, but to thrive and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style.” – Maya Angelou
