By Nikita Patel
Yesterday was International Women’s Day! A day for every woman and girl in the world, or the ladies like us that are in between. It is a day women are celebrated all over the world, and even if we still have to go to work or school, we should take some time to thank all the women who inspire us everyday because one day we are going to be the women who inspire others.
So I think it’s time that we aspire to inspire. Ourselves. Each other. The world.
There are thousands of global issues that involve women that we can all get involved in. Even in the “Western World” of the United States of America, there are issues that we will experience in our careers if we don’t take action.
Academy Award Winner Patricia Arquette brought attention to the continuing trend of unequal pay for women. She said, “to every woman who gave birth to every taxpayer and citizen of this nation, we have fought for everybody else’s equal rights. It’s our time to have wage equality once and for all and equal rights for women in the United States of America.” She is, of course, correct. We are the women of tomorrow; we deserve equal pay for our hard work. The glass ceiling that exists in parts of the professional world needs to shatter, and needs to shatter now.
Across the world, people are avoiding the very serious issue of #IndiasDaughter.
India’s Daughter, a BBC documentary that highlights the cultural issues going on in India that make it okay for a woman to be raped because she is wearing jeans or out too late. This mind opening documentary was banned in India, and BBC took it off its Youtube channel two days ago, asking Google to do the same. All forms of the documentary may be being stripped from public eye, but the issue is still there, and should no longer be ignored.
In Africa, a War on rape took place in Congo. A war, not only using guns, but something else as a weapon, targeting women. Let’s not forget the serious issue of human trafficking all over the world, or how in some places, women are not allowed to be educated.
Now that is not to belittle many of the other issues out there, but as the women of tomorrow, I believe it is important we all find a cause that resonates with us. Something we are passionate about and will partake in to make our own future brighter, for ourselves.
Women like Malala Yousafzai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize at age 17, did so by fighting for women’s rights to education all over the world. She is a symbol of hope and she risks her life everyday, speaking out against the Taliban.
We are the millennial generation, the generation all job employers and politicians around the world are trying to figure out. This is our chance to show who we are through our actions and empower each other to make a positive impact on our own future.