Tired of being oppressed and the inequality they found their voices, hitched up their long heavy skirts, and marched through New York demanding equal pay, shorter hours and the right to vote.
The year was 1908.

In 1910 Clara Zetkin set in motion an idea for one day a year for women to press for their demands. Women across the world agreed and out of this came, International Women’s Day.

Here we over 120 years later and as a woman I am extremely grateful for the freedom I have thanks to women like these. I decide what I wear, what I do and who I want to be. My life is my own. I belong to no one. I find myself surrounded by incredible women who inspire me every day. Women seem to possess this ability to embody every facet of their being. We embrace our passions, free fall into emotions and are able to make wonderful connections with multiple people to curate beautiful lives.

This isn’t about men vs women, just to be clear. Far from it. Its about being on the same team. Today is a great time to talk about the reasons why women are still shouting up. Its about telling our story. Its telling the world how it is. Explaining what’s going on and creating awareness. It’s about celebrating how far we’ve come while still demanding equality.

You know that quote “A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit“? Well, women are planting them too. For our daughters, nieces and all those who come after.

 It’s hard to believe that there is still work to be done when it comes to equality. Since the tragic loss of Sarah Everard there has sadly been another 350 women killed by men violently over the last 3 years.  MP Jess Phillips read out the name of every woman who died at the hands of their male attacker once again for this past year in the House of Commons. This is her ninth year doing so. It just goes to show that harmful attitudes and inequality are still putting women and girls in harm’s way. When a politician responds to such shocking stats with a sad face saying “lessons will be learned” we know they won’t. It’s a basic human right to feel safe. Yet we still message our friend when we get in from a night out, ‘have it coming’ if we wear something deemed revealing, and we are still getting touched up in busy bars by anonymous hands.

In fact, there hasn’t been a lot of change in other places either. Men still outweigh women in politics and business. The reality remains that women’s education, health and violence is worse than that of men. We are still sacrificing our own needs, wants, dreams and fighting the patriarchy that hangs around like a bad smell all these years on. I can’t help but wonder if a female Prime Minister who had 8 children by 3 different fathers would actually ever hold office and be accepted with a good old pat on the back.

I find it interesting that I see eyes roll or awkward looks of embarrassment as the talk of perimenopause and menopause gets louder and louder these days too. I’m not even pointing a fingers at men here either. There are older generations of women who too still live in a time where such matters should not be discussed. I mean its not very lady like is it? Now its my time to roll my eyes.

 The women I know of my generation are just so tired of talking in whispers and feeling the weight of shame against their door when it comes to wanting quality of life. After all, half the population are guaranteed to go through the menopause since err, forever. It’s a given. Yet, I have too many friends prescribed anti-depressants only to find out they aren’t losing the plot it’s actually a hormone imbalance which is quite simple to solve. I can’t believe the information isn’t out there readily so we can make an informed choice for ourselves, and why chatting about it openly with friends and family is taboo. Why are we still feeling small. Why is it so hard?

I see women fighting for answers while raising families, with full time jobs. They are buying all the presents, writing the cards, deciding what’s for tea, organising the party. They are making sure the uniform is washed, making a shopping list and organising the family calendar. They’re watching their weight and fitting in exercise and trying to hide the stress that starts showing up on their beautiful faces with expensive creams. They’re freezing time with Botox and plumping out the fine lines with filler. We are made to feel like we are making a fuss as old school narratives echo so loud. The sad part is the people who have the power to help us aren’t listening to half the population. Even after all this time.

Today is a reminder of how far women have come but yet how much more the scales still need to shift. I think the film Barbie was one of the greatest movies to articulate what a women’s role in society looks like now. We know the job description of a women in 1908 still exists but its wrapped under this sophisticated cloak of invisibility and because now we can apparently “have it all” its like a trade off.

Having said all this, I know many wonderful men sitting up and taking note. They see it, they hear us and are dumbfounded this is the reality now in 2024 for many women. These guys are the ones happily curating life with their partners so they both get to live in a way where everyone thrives. The best part about this is that their children are now growing up with new equal social norms. Open dialogue with no shame. Men and women can and should learn from the past. We just don’t need to live in it. Women will continue to change the world for the better with our presence. I see it happening, its on the way and I am hopeful when my son says “that’s not fair” if his friend isn’t allowed to play because she’s a girl. We all have the power to nurture and create a fair world which will never be deemed unreasonable to the children who are educated in equality today.

“I raise up my voice—not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard…We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.”
Malala Yousafzai