Do YOU know about International Women’s Day? Month? !

March 8 is declared International Women’s Day and us W-O-M-E-N have a whole month (MARCH!) to highlight our roles and accomplishments, speak of our injustices, and just be ourselves. I am confident and hopeful that these festivities, celebrations, recognition and fight taken on by many women on this sole day around the globe will continue this whole year of 2009 and beyond.

“International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's,” explains the timeline on the official website www.internationalwomensday.com, an internet site sponsored by Aurora and powered by Thomas Reuters. The site continues, “ [International Women’s Day occurred during] A time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.”

With this quote fresh in my mind, I woke up one Sunday morning, got dressed up in my feminine bright and sassy clothes, and strutted down Harvard Square to the Brattle Theatre. Once inside the theater, I began to educate myself on women’s issues not only as an active participant, but as an observant audience member. I proudly paid $10 to sit inside an old theatre on a beautiful 60 degree day to attend the 2pm presentation of Women in Film and TV International Short Film Showcase.

Boston is one of about a dozen cities (Dallas, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, etc) that held the 4th annual Women of International Women’s Day Film Festival, sponsored locally by Hostelling International, Women of Film & Video of New England and United Nations Association of Greater Boston.

I had one friend/coworker attend the Women’s Day Film Festival with me, but had to struggle with finding attendees interested in this empowering event. I also had a hard time making my girlfriends around that US aware of not only this event, but also about the existence of the International Women’s Day on March 8. I text messaged at least 20 of my girlfriends around states to express my enthusiasm of International Women’s Day and happily shared,

“Happy International Women’s Day. Enjoy the day & be proud to be a W-O-M-A-N!” I then thumbed the letters on my cell phone. “Stay strong & keep speaking your voice.”

I only got one response. My friend Heidi shared my enthusiasm, but only knew the day existed due to a cartoon strip, Stone Soup , she had read earlier in the week. Sad, huh?? Although many may not share my passion for women’s rights, nor make think it essential to get women’s events and celebrations on the calendar and news, I will not stop sharing and being proud of feminity . I realize that I would be doing a disservice to my gender, not to mention my female coworkers, and women friends by not educating them about this day. Further, I would not true to myself if I failed to enlighten others about my passions, likes and dislikes. I also realize that no one has to match my interest level or pretend to care; rather, they should simply take note.

In keeping with my promise to inform others, I am happy to report President Obama created a White House panel for women’s issues this week. It is called The White House Council on Women and Girls, and it has named Obama’s his close friend and senior advisor Valerie Jarret, to chair this very important group. Obama explains his reasons as follows: "My Administration has already made important progress toward that goal. I am proud that the first bill I signed into law was the Lilly Ledbetter , Vmeasure of whether we are truly fulfilling the promise of our democracy for all our people. “

This is a monumental step toward not only gender equality, but in putting women’s issues on the pedestal it deserves. Every day, many women, girls and their families hurt from domestic abuse, rape, unequal pay and treatment, yet have no voice or path to justice. Nonetheless, it is important to note that although we have a male president, he recognizes the struggles, injustices, and presence women have in our society. It’s now our duty to alert others of this new Council’s policies and to make sure we have access and accountability for its orders.

“So now it's up to us to carry that work forward, to ensure that our daughters and granddaughters have no limits on their dreams, no obstacles to their achievements -- and that they have opportunities their mothers and grandmothers and great grandmothers never dreamed of. That's the purpose of this Council. Those are the priorities of my presidency. And I look forward to working with all of you to fulfill them in the months and years to come.”