International Women's Day

On my college campus, International Women’s Day was highlighted, but it came and went like any other day of recognition without much hype. In Brainerd, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as International Women’s Day. Ironically, I moved to a country with grave gender inequalities and a heavy machismo culture where International Women’s Day is not only recognized, but truly celebrated.

On Friday teachers attended a meeting about International Women’s Day and the importance of women in the workforce as well as having good female role models in the classroom. On Saturday morning my day began with a text from a teacher saying “Happy International Women’s Day, it’s a very special day.” There was a march in town to celebrate and most surprisingly, nearly everyone from the general population knows that it’s International Women’s Day. That is something I cannot say of the U.S. today.

Like I have mentioned, Nicaragua has a ways to go in terms of gender equality and that does not change by simply celebrating International Women’s Day and hearing messages about women’s accomplishments and contributions to society. However, it definitely makes me question our commitment to women’s rights in the U.S. Even progressive college students surprised me in their views on women’s issues. “We are past those issues…” they would say. “Women are already being educated and have equal rights…” With all of the health reforms attempting to strip us of many rights you would think that we would put more of an emphasis on fighting toward equality instead of failing to recognize these stark inequalities.

Do I think Nicaraguans have a good appreciation for what International Women’s Day is really about? No. But at least leaders are beginning to put an emphasis on inequality in Nicaragua and focusing on these issues. At the end of the day you can compare the rates of education, the economic status, and other statistics between the countries, but we don’t have it all figured out in the U.S. Even with a larger educated population in the U.S. than in Nicaragua, I guarantee that few people could tell you when International Women’s Day is celebrated and why it is so important to celebrate it.

Happy International Women’s Day to all. Let’s all put an effort into creating a world of true gender equality instead of ignoring the issues in our own backyard.