WOMEN AND INEQUALITY

I, as an older woman, have long witnessed the upsurge of women demanding equality in all phases of their lives. For centuries forces of power have created unfair and inhumane practices toward women around the world. Some headway has been made but it has been slow. There is much work yet to be done. 

Yesterday, in Congress,  the Violence Against Women Act was reauthorized that included new provisions giving protections for gay, lesbian, transgender and Native American women of domestic violence. Here is an informative short article from the LA Times about the reauthorization.

As March is Women's History Month I am including a fine letter wrote by Ela Bhatt, member of the Elders. a group of independent voices not bound by any nation, government or institution. 

"Dear friends,

Many years ago, Mahatma Gandhi said: “Of all the evils for which man has made himself responsible, none is so degrading, so shocking or so brutal as his abuse of the better half of humanity; the female sex.”

Even in 2013, Gandhiji’s words ring too true. On 8 March we mark International Women’s Day, a day to remind our communities that women and girls still face so many obstacles: violence, discrimination, traditions that hold us back. Yet it is also a day of celebration, of recognition that if we can break down these obstacles, women can – and will – transform our societies.

I am inspired by the women peacebuilders from Sudan and South Sudan, with whom my fellow Elder Mary Robinson spent time last month. Even though they were separated by conflict and excluded from formal negotiations, they refused to be silenced. For years, they worked together to bring their communities’ concerns to their political leaders. And when their two countries have been mired in disagreements and hostilities, it is the women who have shown what peace looks like on the ground.

Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace is a condition enjoyed by a fair society; a condition which renders war useless. In my experience, in India and elsewhere, it is women who are essential to building this kind of peace. As I have said before, focus on women and you get a provider, an educator, a networker, a forger of bonds. Involve women, and you get the strong, equal, sustainable communities that give people an incentive to plan for the future and maintain a stable society.

We all want to live in a world that is freer, healthier, more prosperous and sustainable. As International Women’s Day approaches, let us ask how our sisters and our daughters can build it, from the ground up.

With best wishes,

Ela Bhatt"

View video below to find out more about THE ELDERS 

BACK-COUNTRY WOMEN REMEMBERED

Thinking of March and the fact that it would soon be Women's History Month, my thoughts floated to an old hilltop cemetery I was passing along a country road. It was very small and one that meant driving up an incline to a pocket of woods. 

Once there I viewed an undisturbed landscape with a small pond off to the west. A very serene and quiet area. So many of the small cemeteries I visit in the back-country have this quietude that settles within you.

Old gravestones among the weeds. Many of the stones illegible.

My intent was to visit the women who were buried here. To pause a moment to give thanks for their commitment to their families. The gravestones were very historic -- so many of these old stones were weathered with indistinguishable names.

My thoughts were to meditate on the women buried here who worked hard and difficult jobs that were thankless. Let me be frank -- men are almost always the ones who are honored in our history books. Women who grew kitchen gardens, canned,  prepared and served food,  made soap and churned butter, tended children and the sick, milked the cows, wove cotton and wool, made scrap bed-covers,  scoured the dishes, floors and windows with water from streams and wells -- and more --  go unappreciated by most of our historians.  

So I began reading the legible stones for women's names.

Sarah

Here we have Sarah -- her dates tell us she lived until she was seventy-two. A fancy stone compared to  the others that stood nearby. A half circle appears with her name --  its meaning lost.  She might have had a fancier stone than the rest but she was still in the same boat as the other women in the cemetery -- they never had the right to vote.

"Gone Home," reads the epitaph of Sallie E.
( not to scrub floors I hope)

A name illegible from weathering -- hand-carved long ago -- a name and face lost -- perhaps forever. 

Even today I feel that women, for the most part, go unrecognized for their contributions to their families and community. The spoken word is still weighted in favor of men.

But positive change is slowly happening!

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH -- OLDER WOMEN BLOGGERS

For Women's History Month I am highlighting older women bloggers. It appears to me that there is a growing trend among older folks to produce their own personal blogs on a myriad of subjects.


Highlighted below are three women bloggers that between them cover just about every subject under the sun. The things they have in common are; they are witty, wise, and write professional posts on  informative subjects. Their ages range from near seventy into the eighties.

June
Photo taken from Big 7-0 & more

Living on Cape Cod, June's posts share her artistic pursuits through music and art such as quilting. Also she has a deep grasp of literature and is constantly digging up excellent authors for review --  some known and some not that well known. Her ruminations on thought provoking subjects are all part of her reportoire. Click here for a visit to Big 
7-0 and More

Darlene at 86

Photo taken from Darlene's Hodgepodge

Darlene tells it like it is when it comes to important issues. She writes on national politics in a witty yet pointedly firm way. She stays on top of what is going on in our nation. On occasion she mixes in a bit of family and daily events. Always something of interest is running through Darlene's posts. Click here to enjoy Darlene's Hodgepodge blog.

Ronni Bennett

Photo taken from Times Go By

Ronni Bennett serves up a daily menu of information about living wisely as an older person. She has been posting Time Goes By since 2003. I consider her an online pioneer in addressing the subject of growing older in a positive light. Her subjects cover the whole spectrum of aging  -- social issues, retirement, health and much more. It is refreshing to read a blog that highlights aging as a privilege to be enjoyed. Click here to read her posts.

These women are setting fine examples for older bloggers. Their dedication to this form of "spreading their words," tells us that activism at any age is profound. 

WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH -- VANDANA SHIVA

A couple of years ago I was sitting in a crowd of people listening  to a speaker from India by the name of  Vandana Shiva. I was familiar with her environmental writings and was anxious to have the opportunity to hear her speak.  That night she deeply impressed me with her environmental knowledge and need for activism globally. Ms Shiva is and has been active in many environmental issues for the past 20 years. That night she concentrated mostly on saving our global seeds from being owned by corporate companies such as Monsanto.  

Vandana Shiva -- Wikipedia

After the lecture I was able to talk with her for a short period. As I started our mini-conversation I shook her hand. Instead of letting go, she held my hand warmly as we talked. I swear I felt a sense of inter-being emanating from her hand. 


March is Women's History Month.  A time to recognize women in general and some specifically. I have many women that I would like to acknowledge -- and today I will start with Vandana Shiva. During this month I will highlight a couple more. Of course, I feel that there are so many women that should be applauded besides the few that I will mention.

Vandana Shiva was born 1952 in India. She began her career as a physicist. Eventually, she became a philosopher and an environmental activist. She is active with the International Forum on Globalization and has received in 1993 the Right Livelihood Award.

Below is a video of her stance on saving our global natural seed stock:

Stay tuned during March for a few more mentions of women that  I feel have contributed their time and energies to our way of life. 

WOMEN TAKE OVER THE FARM WORK

MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

FEMALE FARM WORKER WEARING THE OFFICIAL KHAKI UNIFORM
PROVIDED BY THE WOMAN'S LAND ARMY  MOVEMENT -- 1918
Library of Congress

Many young men in 1914 to 1918 left the farm to fight in WWI. These young males were recruited from farms where an estimated 38 percent of our population worked at that time. 

Folks in the states began to question how our country would fill the labor gap to produce our food. They were worried that it would probably result in food scarcity and rising food prices. 

Well,  the woman associated with the women's suffrage movement had an idea. Leaders from this movement stepped forward with a plan to recruit woman to fill the gaps on the farms. It would show the strength and discipline of women. 

WOMAN'S LAND ARMY RECRUITING POSTER -- 1918
Library of Congress

Farmers and politicians  were scornful of the idea. They characterized women as too weak to do the work. Eventually they came around to the idea. The women who worked the farms were dubbed the "farmerettes." The whole movement was called, The Woman's Land Army.

WOMAN'S LAND ARMY TRAINING ANNOUNCEMENT POSTER -- 1918
Library of congress

Leaders of the Woman's Land Army were from all walks of life --  the suffrage movement, labor movement, garden clubs, universities -- all helping  raise money to recruit volunteers. They bargained with farmers and won an 8 hour day with pay for the volunteer farmerettes. Thousand of women from all walks of economic lifestyles volunteered to work on the farms.


This movement displayed the strength, courage, and creativity of women. It also set the pattern that women could step in and fill the male labor gap. In WWII  woman workers performed male tasks in manufacturing plants. Their nickname was, "Rosie the Riveter."

 Below is a fine video about Women's History Month -- produced by the National Women's History Museum. 

Below are some resources that provide more information on the Woman's Land Army and Women's History Month.

BOOK RESOURCE

RESOURCE ORGANIZATION

National Women's History Museum

http://www.nwhm.org/

GET A JOB -- MARCH IS WOMEN'S HISTORY MONTH

PATRIOTIC POSTER PRINTED BY GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE FOR WWII
US MANPOWER COMMISSION
Source: US National Archives

WWII which began for the U.S. in 1941 and ended in 1945 needed women to fill traditional jobs heretofore held by men -- men that now were serving overseas in this huge war effort. The government's position was as follows:

These jobs will have to be glorified as a patriotic service if American woman are to be persuaded to take them and stick to them. Their importance to a nation engaged in total war must be convincingly presented. (Source, US National Archives)

So an all out national campaign began to persuade woman to fill men's vacated traditional jobs usually in factories. Factories that were being retooled to produce war machinery rather than items such as cars and appliances.

WOMAN RIVETER AT LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT, BURBANK CA
Source: US National Archives

White women gained employment in factory jobs easier that black women. In 1943 automotive plants had not hired any black women workers but were hiring black men. Corporations, under pressure from the government reluctantly hired black women.

VOCATIONAL SCHOOL IN CENTRAL FLORIDA
Photo: Howard R. Hallem
Source: US National Archives

Vocational schools were set up to train women in jobs important to the cause. Secretaries, housewives, and waitresses trained at these vocational schools for future war work.

WOMEN WAR WORKERS, WELDERS, SHIPBUILDING CORP., PASCAGOULA, MS, 1943
Photo: Spencer Beebe,
Source: US National Archives

During the peak of using women, 1943 to 1945, women only held 4.4 percent of traditional jobs in factories.

But this effort by women changed woman's role in our society. Dress habits of wearing slacks became more prevalent in woman's everyday wear. Women had shown their worth in traditional jobs that men usually held -- they proved they could handle most jobs presented to them. This work performance was the catalyst that slowly moved through our nation resulting in the woman's movement of the 1970s and -- the rest is history.