I’m not a stranger to cultural shock. Over the last few months, I’ve realized that the world does not revolve around my own beliefs and experiences and that although we inhabit the same piece of land, the way we see the world depends on what our eyes have seen before, and not necessarily on what they are seeing in the present. Having said this, I can admit that I was surprised (not positively or negatively, but a secret third thing) that International Women’s Day is celebrated in the UK.
The first time someone told me that you’re not supposed to say “Happy Women’s Day”, I was quite shocked. It happened about six years ago, during an orchestra rehearsal, where I wished my teacher Gilda a happy Women’s Day, and she briefly explained to me that IWD is not meant to be a celebration, but a commemoration of the seemingly endless fight for equal rights for women all around the world.
Women’s Day was established in 1975 by the UN, commemorating early feminist protests that occurred on the 8 of March of 1857 in New York, from women working in the textile industry who protested against the deplorable work conditions they were given. Another important protest was held in 1908, also in New York, and on this occasion, 15,000 women marched, fighting for their work rights.
On March 25, 1911, a fire happened in the textile factory Triangle Shirtwaist, in the US, as a result of a minor accident and the terrible conditions in which the factory was maintained. Most of the employees of this factory were women. This incident cost the lives of 146 women who were unable to escape since the exit of the factory was blocked in an attempt to prevent theft during the sinister. After this dark incident, the protests continued, now with more intensity, fighting not only for work rights but also for better health and safety regulations.
Women’s Day was not established to be celebrated, but to continue fighting for our rights. One may ask: well, what do these old American protests have to do with me? What rights do we need to fight for? What does the past have to do with the present?
Every year, thousands of women in Mexico take to the streets and protest on the 8 of March, wearing purple and green clothes, to demand the government to provide us with some basic rights, such as body autonomy, reproductive rights, and the right to live.
In my beautiful Sunny Mexico, eleven women or girls are killed every single day, by either their sentimental partners or a man close to them. Every 18 seconds, a woman is raped, 90% of the time at their own home. 95% of the rapists in Mexico will never be prosecuted, and around 99% of rape cases are unreported to the authorities. Mexico has been listed by Forbes among the worst 20 countries to be a woman, and yet, we are still being told that we’re exaggerating and that protests are unnecessary. We live in a literal hell, and we are still being told: Happy Women’s Day.
It will be a happy day when we don’t have to wake up wondering if our girlfriends made it alive from their night out!
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So, yes: I was extremely shocked when I realized how common it is in other countries to congratulate, to celebrate, to buy flowers or to go out for dinner on Women’s Day. At first, I was angry: how is it possible to be so blind? How is it possible to lack so much empathy? How is it possible to ignore so much pain?, I thought. And I processed these thoughts trying to find an explanation, when it suddenly became obvious: it is impossible to grieve a death you don’t know of. It’s impossible and unfair to ask someone to fight a fight that is not theirs.
I remembered how, when I was out protesting with my friends, it was so common for men to discredit our efforts and say things such as: well, if you were a real feminist, you’d care about the women in Afghanistan who are in much more pain than you are! It was always that fallacy: “why are you fighting about your own issues, if there are people who have it much worse? You’re a hypocrite!”.
I realized by remembering this, that it would be unfair for me to ask people to fight for something they don’t know. You don’t need to suffer a pain that isn’t yours (but empathy is always appreciated). And then, I also thought: well, maybe in the UK there are no protests because here, women have rights?
Here, abortion is legal and provided by the government (while in Mexico it’s still illegal, for religious reasons). Women and girls’ lives are valued, and murderers and rapists are prosecuted. It is possible for women to walk at night without fearing for their life, and it is possible to live without fear, instead of just surviving.
I guess IWD can adapt, after all, to the circumstances. And I guess I should not get angry if they wish me a Happy Women’s Day here, because here, it is a good thing to be a woman.
The fight is not over yet, but maybe it doesn’t need to be a fight. There are still microaggressions to be eradicated, glass ceilings to be broken, female underrepresentation to be overcome… but these are things that we can fix together, by proving we are strong, intelligent, and capable of everything we set our minds to. These are things that we can fix with determination, optimism, and hope for the future.I concluded, from all these bittersweet thoughts, that when there is no violence, there can be optimism, and that’s what I’ve seen on Women’s Day in the UK. That is something that I aspire for my country to have one day.