(Credit: ITV.com)
In celebration of International Women’s Day, here’s short story about an entire country who made HERstory.
October 24, 1975: The women of Iceland went on strike. It was reported that about 90% of the women participated in this strike! Just as we’re still fighting today, 42 years later, these women wanted to demonstrate the importance of their contribution to society. They left their paid work, left their home duties, and left their families to go on strike to make their statement that women deserve the equality that all human beings deserve. Something that should be a simple concept is what they fought against then and crazily is something we’re still fighting today.
The pretty cool thing was that everything really did halt, and women made their point. Considering that the majority of the women in the country participated, how could it not be noticed and understood that women are needed for a society to function properly? Just like today, they made speeches, they chanted, and they sang songs while holding up signs. It was an important day in history where women’s voices were heard and were understood, something that is hard to do in a world filled with bigots and sexist jerks.
Since that day, Iceland grew to be one of the best places for women to exist as equals. Five years after the strike, Iceland elected for their first women president. As time went on, more women were becoming a part of the government, and eventually making Iceland the most gender equal place on earth.
It seems that Iceland is obviously doing something right, but for a country smaller than the U.S., it’ll be quite a while until we can get everyone on board here in the United States. There are still quite a number of women here that still believe in the old wives’ tale that women shouldn’t belong in the work place. Absurd, but that mentality still exists. Once we change their minds, then maybe we could work as a whole to get everyone else to see that as well.
January 21, 2017 was the Women’s March. March 8, 2017 was the Day Without A Women. No doubt will there be another event to follow our strike. We could only hope that we’re making positive change every day that passes. Let’s strive for the general understanding that Iceland has come to realize: that women are just as important as men and no one should ever make a woman feel small just because “she’s a woman”. That needs to stop.
Thank you Iceland for setting the precedent. To the rest of the world: resist, persist, and keep fighting. ✊
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