Honoring Women's Day, through the History to the Present
IBA is an institution that honors women. We strive every day to put women back into the workplace by giving them support and education, providing programs for single mothers who are looking for a job and offering day care for their children as part of our College and Workforce Development options.
The truth is, women have always been a part of history. This is not a recent development, they’ve been scientists, poets, mothers... since the beginning; even when it was much harder and frowned upon to deviate from the traditional path.
But, this same principle does not apply to women’s rights. The women’s movement that started with the suffragettes fighting for their right to vote and evolved into first, second, and the more inclusive waves of feminism today have made important strides towards equality. These pioneer women made their life purpose to give the rest the power of choice. The power to choose to stay at home and raise their children, the power to choose to pursue a high powered career, the power to choose both.
These are the things that we think about when celebrating International Women’s Day. We think about the women that came before, and the women that are making their mark on history today. They are everywhere: in the arts, in the media, writing books, making screenplays, and shaping our society in every single way.
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Emily Dickinson (Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]
We think about the women from history that still impact us today. Thanks to Marie Curie all scientists changed the way they think about matter and energy. She also changed the course of medicine, leaving us with a valuable legacy. Emily Dickinson dedicated her time to writing and left the world one of America’s greatest collections of literature at her death. Frida Kahlo was a Mexican revolutionary artist. She traveled across the world dressed in traditional Mexican clothing to showcase her heritage and left a powerful imprint in the art world with her surrealist paintings. Indira Gandhi was India’s third prime minister, during her three terms she fought against corruption in the government and on bringing relief to India’s impoverished citizens.
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Indira Gandhi (Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]
We admire the women that are making their mark on the world today. Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed to the U.S Supreme Court, started working at a law firm for free and without an office, just because she was a woman. Ellen Ochoa, a former astronaut and current director of the Johnson Space Center, was the first Latina woman to go to space. Malala Yousafzai is a 17-year-old Pakistani activist who has risked her life vocalizing women’s rights to education and has started an international movement. J.K Rowling is the author of the best selling book series in history, selling more than 400 million copies of the popular Harry Potter.
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Ellen Ochoa (source Wikimedia Commons)[/caption]
Other remarkable women today are Marissa Mayer the president and CEO of Yahoo, Angela Merkel the Chancellor of Germany, Marina Abramovic a Serbian and Yugoslavian artist, Isabel Allende a prominent South American writer, among countless others.
These are only a handful of women who have shaped history, but the truth is every single woman shapes history every day. Some of them are raising the future of our country, others are helping those who need it the most, others are furthering their education and spreading knowledge, others are doing all of these things and more.
This International Women’s Day think about all the women that shaped your history, and how you can keep on building the road those who came before so excellently started.
IBA will be holding a gallery opening this International Women’s Day, Sunday March 8th at 6:00 PM in La Galeria, exhibiting: MUJERES, the work of two Latina artists: Silvia Lopez Chavez and Nora Valdez. Come and join us in this celebration.
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