Happy International Women’s Day 2023

WC Desk:

 

Team Women Chapter wishes our readers, writers and volunteers(former and present) a very Happy International Women’s Day.

While the world continues to challenge women in many ways, be it in East or West, let us pause for a moment and take a breath and celebrate our own resilience in a world dominated by patriarchy.

Let us remember Maya Angelou’s words:

You may write me down in history
With your bitter, twisted lies,
You may trod me in the very dirt
But still, like dust, I’ll rise.
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
’Cause I walk like I’ve got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I’ll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops,
Weakened by my soulful cries?
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don’t you take it awful hard
’Cause I laugh like I’ve got gold mines
Diggin’ in my own backyard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I’ll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I’ve got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
The fight for equality is a far cry.  In many countries, the right to education and work is still a tough battle for women. Women from marginalized ethnic and religious groups, women of color refugee women, women who are not heterosexual, women who don’t wish to become a mother, women who do not want to abide by societal rules, women who just want to realize their potential in a conservative society-  the list is long. Women worldwide face challenges for their identities, whether they have chosen them or not. The right to choose is a dream for many.  The fight for the right to exist, the battle for the right continues. It must go on. An inclusive and intersectional feminist approach will pave the way for solidarity and unity in our fight for equality and freedom. Let us stay strong and uplift each other in our shared struggles!
Once again, Happy International Women’s Day!
References:
Maya Angelou, “Still I Rise” from And Still I Rise: A Book of Poems.  Copyright © 1978 by Maya Angelou.  
Photo Source: Shutterstock/AtlasbyAtlas Studio
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