March marks the beginning of Women’s History Month, and this year’s theme is “weaving the stories of women’s lives.” But, before we talk about what that means, let me give you a bit of background on how this celebration came to be.
Women’s History Month is celebrated in the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia. March is specifically picked because International Women’s Day is on March 8. For the United States, the first time March was highlighted to honor women was in 1911 when the first International Women’s Day occurred.
Slowly, over the decades, people began to have weeklong celebrations around the day with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter making it official when he declared week of March 8, 1980, National Women’s History Week.
In 1987, after a push from the National Women’s History Project, the U.S. Congress made March Women’s History Month. Across the nation, schools in various states celebrate this month by learning about the importance of women and how they’ve impacted our world.
I myself am a strong supporter of this. I, in fact, never realized March was Women’s History Month until a couple years ago. It was never strongly advertised in my classrooms, and not much publicity surrounds the month. More people may know about National Doughnut Day then they may know about Women’s History Month.
As much as I enjoy doughnuts, it’s a shame that we don’t acknowledge the importance of this month. Society needs to understand not only what women do for the world, but how we can learn to appreciate them more.
The thing I enjoy about Women’s History Month is that it’s inclusive of women everywhere, no matter what race or gender you may be. I hope that the future themes of Women’s History Month will come to also encompass all women, including those who are transgender.
As a side note, LGBT History Month for the United States is every October, coinciding with National Coming Out Day on Oct. 11.
Now, back to the theme of this year’s Women’s History Month. Every year since 1987, there has been a theme given out by the National Women’s History Project. In past years, the themes have ranged from focusing on education to art to saving the planet.
This year’s theme is about the stories of women’s lives, whether it be sharing them or listening to them. The goal here is to share how women have made choices that have shaped history. It is a chance for us to be exposed to the struggles and sacrifices women deal with and how they are rarely ever acknowledged for them.
By encouraging the telling of these stories, we allow women to honor those who have given us a better future, enduring all the hardships along the way. This is also a fantastic way for men to be exposed to a different side of history they may not have known. Men dominate history, taking front and center on the stage. Women usually are kept in the dark, running the show with no credit.
Now, men get the chance to hear the stories of women. I hope that this inspires them to include us in history and help us to fight for the recognition we deserve.
As for me, I’ve heard stories of women’s lives for as long as I can remember. I used to sit on my grandmother’s lap as she told me tales of her life as a girl from China. One of the best stories I’ve heard from the women in my family involves such bravery that I cannot help but be amazed every time I think about it.
My great grandmother first told me this story with my grandma and mom filling the holes in the story later on. I was 8 years old when I first heard the story of how my great-grandma and grandma escaped World War II. Their farm in China had been attacked, burned to the ground, and my great grandma ran from the soldiers with a child on her back and two more in each hand.
She somehow managed to get herself and the kids to Hong Kong without a scratch. There, they fought to stay alive, rebuilding their lives little by little. Like my great grandmother, my grandma was a woman who wasn’t afraid to take on challenges. She left an arranged marriage she didn’t want to be a part of and after having four kids with a man she loved, she immigrated to the United States. Here, she worked endless hours as a seamstress, working and raising four kids at once.
My mother went to school in the ghetto and worked her way to getting a nursing degree. She raised me as a single parent and has hands down always been my number one supporter.
The stories of these important women in my life have shaped who I am and who I’m becoming. So, take some time out of your day to really listen to the stories of women. You may be surprised by what you find out.
