Liz Kay calls for people to start respecting International Women’s Day.
Today (8 March) is International Women’s Day.
And I am getting heartily fed up with hearing some men say things along the lines of: ‘When are we getting an International Men’s Day?’
‘Us poor men need a day more then the women do’ etc.
On the day that more men are killed by women than by disease, on the day that more men than women are trafficked into forced labour, on the day that one in three men worldwide experience abuse at home, on the day that more men die at the hands of women than from war and disease, and on the day that men – even highly educated and trained ones – are systematically paid less for the same work as women, I promise you guys, us women will be marching on the streets on your behalf, demanding fairness for you.
Support
So, maybe, just maybe, you could be careful about what you say you wish for and find it in your heart to support International Women’s Day.
Because, if the facts above really were true for men, as they are today, right now, for women, then you would definitely need, and deserve, a day dedicated to encouraging and supporting and celebrating you.
And women would be supporting you and cheering you on.
But happily, for you, that is not the case.
So perhaps you could find it in your hearts to stop complaining that it’s not fair you don’t have a day, and think instead how many things are not unfair for men, as they are for women, and be glad that there is not an International Men’s Day to remind people of their predicament and their goodness.
