March 8, International Women's Day, is a historic day of struggle, reflection and celebration. We have achieved a lot, but we still have a long way to go.
March 8 is officially International Women's Day, proclaimed by the UN. The date is celebrated in hundreds of countries.
To summarize the story, it all started in 1909, in New York, with demonstrations for women's suffrage and equal civil rights. In 1917, on March 8, in Russia, a large march took over the streets, with women and workers who joined later.
Among the topics for the protest were living conditions, unemployment and famine. This great demonstration precipitated the Revolution of 1917. From then on, the date was defined by the Soviet bloc countries as Women's Day.
Finally, in 1975, March 8 was established internationally by the United Nations.
Even though we have a long way to go, several rights, such as voting, were achieved by those who came before us.
So, it is a day to be celebrated, despite some controversies about the celebrations.
However, before celebrating, it is worth reflecting on what is still needed to achieve equity in a structure that still prioritizes the male figure at the top.
For example, when we think about leadership, what comes to mind? Rarely would a woman come. And when we think of a black woman?
In other words, we need, above all, to make the cut so that the debate can evolve.
Now, let's go further. Let's talk about freedom.
Many countries don't even celebrate this day, because the patriarchal structure is so strong and violent that women are considered inferior and subservient.
But we don't need to go far from our home to think about structures like this.
According to the Brazilian Public Security Forum, in 2021, on average, a woman was a victim of femicide every 7 hours.
Furthermore, according to UN reports, more than 81 thousand women were killed simply because they were women. Of this number, 56% - more than half - were killed by their husband, partner or family member.
Impressive, isn't it?!
Now, how many more suffer other types of violence on a daily basis, which are not even seen as statistics?
All! In addition to being a company that works towards equity, we are official supporters of the project Hidden Beauty, a non-profit Brazilian Social Organization that works to reduce violence against women.
Including our founder, Penelope White, is a project advisor. She is also co-author of the book Roses and Thorns, where 5 women tell their stories with the courage to look at suffering and rediscover self-love.
Both the project and the book aim to show that everyone deserves a fresh start.
On Women's Day, people often ask what to do, as it's getting harder to talk about these days every day. I don't have all the answers. But a good start would be for all of us to commit to being part of the solution.
Educate yourself, dialogue, support.
We can, indeed, change realities. But it's not an individual fight. Our fight is ours, it belongs to all of us. It's from all over the world.
Let's go together?
