We’ve come a long way since International Women’s Day was established in 1910. Or have we? Looking back across history at what our sisters have endured in the long walk to equality, there’s plenty to celebrate. The right to vote, to work, to own property. The pill, and control over fertility. Legislative mandates for inclusion in workplaces, education and social enterprise.
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But the walk to equality is a long one, and the list of injustices still faced daily by women around the world is grim. Rape, assault, harassment. Sex trafficking, slavery, domestic violence. Female genital mutilation, education bans, child brides. Even in our own, relatively peaceful slice of the world, the gender pay gap is on track to close in around a century. Just this week the federal political narrative shifted, momentarily, to the fact that even in the year 2019, abortion is still illegal in some parts of Australia. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister has announced an extra $382 million of federal funding to improve prevention and response to family violence, ensuring the issue is on the agenda for the upcoming federal election.
These are the real reasons we mark International Women’s Day - to pause briefly in the process and gauge our progress in the long journey towards equality and fairness. It’s a sobering assessment, no matter where you stand.
And yet. The Canberra Times asked five different women and one young girl to tell us what’s on their mind this year. What concerns and worries them, what makes them happy and hopeful. Reading their words, it’s remarkable how outward-focused Canberra women are.
From sustainable housing and refugees, to school bullying and healthy bodies, the issues on our minds are as much about others as ourselves. If a six-year-old is worried about catching the bus to school on her own for the first time, it’s not just her safety she’s thinking about; it’s getting to her dance class on time and not letting down her teammates.
For Fiona du Toit, the woman behind the urban design of the much-anticipated light rail, her daughter’s wellbeing is every bit as important as her own, while 71-year Claudia Hyles relishes the company of her female friends. University student Tanvi Nangrani likes seeing her own culture - her parents are Indian migrants - reflected more in popular culture, while nutritionist Ashleigh Feltham worries that women are too hard on themselves, urging them to be the best they can be through caring for their bodies. Entrepreneur Maylee Thavat wants to see more discussion of health in the context of the Me Too movement, and of how women can progress in the innovation sector.
And, perhaps most poignantly, 10-year-old Laura Guershman is worried about cancer and climate change. She’s also worried about homework and clothes and friends, but it’s the weight of the outside world that comes to her far more naturally than it should.
Luckily, though, she’s hopeful, and is therefore a symbol of hope. All of these women are looking to the future and see something brighter than what’s come before. That’s what we should be celebrating today.
