Celebrating our women

Happy international women day 2022. International Women Day (IWD) is a global day celebrated annually on March 8. First marked in 1911, the day was founded by the Socialist Party of America and its Suffrage Department. The day is also a celebration of women's economic, political and social achievements. It is typically marked through celebratory events and is often coupled with a call for gender equality.

It's been 38 years since the first international women's day. As a woman, how do I feel about women's day? On the eve of the first international women's day, My mum told me her mother asked her, then she was a fifth-year college student, "How was your day?" She said, "I don't know." I thought she was being indifferent or sarcastic. She explained, "I was too busy to think about it." I was struck by her answer and realized that she was not alone; even I did not have time to stop and consider how I feel about the progress that we have made in these last 38 years.

Womanhood is a set of stages in women?s lives that relate to their experiences as mothers, daughters, partners, and professionals. Without this definition of the stages of womanhood, it is difficult to understand and help women overcome the many challenges they face from adolescence, through motherhood and into the waning years of life. The challenge for women and girls is not that they are disabled or disempowered or from different cultures or races; it is that we define them by their disability, by their race or by their culture rather than as full and capable human beings.

Womanhood is defined as the time of life when a woman becomes capable of bearing children or assuming other responsibilities. I have just celebrated a birthday and to my surprise it meant that I am already half way through my womanhood. In the past years, I have had my share of challenges and successes in life. Mostly challenges because I was born into a family whose values were different from mine.

When I was growing up, my mother’s attitude towards marriage and careers were different from mine. She had her girls and instructed us to be good wives and mothers. In contrast, I dreamed of having a successful career and being married. As a result, I didn’t enjoy my womanhood.

Living in my own home with my husband and son, I no longer need to struggle to do the things that I want to do. I’m blessed in that sense, but the expectations of others still play a role in the choices I make in my life today.

wishing @Jane, @bmjc98 , @Princessbusayo , @LadyTee , @The.Ada , @tired_momma , @Eylz2021 , @FarmGirl , @JonicaBradley , @QueenRaay , @fantagira and every other wonderful women Happy international women's day 2022