International Women's Day

What do Elizabeth Blackwell, Aphra Behn, and Victoria Woodhull have in common with Hilary Clinton, Rosa Parks, and Frida Kahlo? Simple. All are strong women in history whose achievements have helped establish the rights and freedoms of all women today. Albeit some are more celebrated than others, the month of March commemorates International Women’s Day, and gives these amazing women, along with many more that have made their mark in time, the praise and adulation they deserve.
The world celebrated International Women’s Day on Mar. 8 with a ceremony that highlighted the economic, political, and social accomplishments of women throughout history. The United Nations said, “International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men.” In acknowledgement of the celebration, Women for Women International sponsored 70 peace demonstrations on bridges in different locations to “honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world and push for peace instead of armed conflict,” the group has said.
Although the day celebrates the progress women have helped make in the world, it is also a time to recognize the struggle that millions of women continue to endure day after day around the world. Sarah Brown, wife of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said at London’s Millenium Bridge’s ceremony, “There are still too many women suffering in pregnancy, childbirth, suffering from violence, suffering in all kinds of ways. I think women all around the world feel a greater sense of solidarity for campaigning for better human rights.”
In India, a move for gender equality was met with great protests and halted progress on the bill to reserve one-third of the legislature seats for women. Despite India’s president, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, being female, and the first one in history, only 11% of members of the lower house Indian Parliament are women. Additionally, half of the Indian female population cannot read or write, leaving thousands with a disadvantage that can affect their futures.
International Women’s Day was celebrated in Iran with female activists being honored by Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi. Rahnavard declared the opposition movement was still alive and would not forget the sacrifices by women who were jailed, beaten or killed in last year’s post-election protests. "Iranian women are not only battling gender discrimination” said Nadya Khalife, a gender equality researcher for Human Rights Watch in Beirut, Lebanon, “they are also battling heightened political tensions."

INSERT PARAGRAPH OR ARCADIA STUDENT PERSPECTIVES: What they know about Women’s History, what they think the significance of this celebration is, etc.

The future holds promise for gender equality as today’s generation of strong young women, with even stronger senses of self-esteem and pride, march on to make the lives of all women better, and maybe even earn a mention in next year’s Women’s Day celebration as a woman who made a difference.
STILL NEED QUOTES, HOPEFULLY GETTING SOME FROM CORDERO AND TEACHER FROM WOMEN’S HEALTH AND ISSUES WHAT’S HER NAME AGAIN?

What do Elizabeth Blackwell, Aphra Behn, and Victoria Woodhull have in common with Hilary Clinton, Rosa Parks, and Frida Kahlo? Simple. All are strong women in history whose achievements have helped establish the rights and freedoms of all women today. Albeit some are more celebrated than others, the month of March commemorates International Women’s Day, and gives these amazing women, along with many more that have made their mark in time, the praise and adulation they deserve.
The world celebrated International Women’s Day on Mar. 8 with a ceremony that highlighted the economic, political, and social accomplishments of women throughout history. The United Nations said, “International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on an equal footing with men.” In acknowledgement [acknowledgment] of the celebration, Women for Women International sponsored 70 peace demonstrations on bridges in different locations to “honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around the world and push for peace instead of armed conflict,” the group has said.
Although the day celebrates the progress women have helped make in the world, it is also a time to recognize the struggle that millions of women continue to endure day after day around the world. Sarah Brown, wife of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said at London’s Millenium Bridge’s [Bridge] ceremony, “There are still too many women suffering in pregnancy, childbirth, suffering from violence, suffering in all kinds of ways. I think women all around the world feel a greater sense of solidarity for campaigning for better human rights.”
In India, a move for gender equality was met with great protests and halted progress on the bill to reserve one-third of the legislature seats for women. Despite India’s president, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, being female, and the first one in history, only 11% of members of the lower house Indian Parliament are women. Additionally, half of the Indian female population cannot read or write, leaving thousands with a disadvantage that can affect their futures.
International Women’s Day was celebrated in Iran with female activists being honored by Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi. Rahnavard declared the opposition movement was still alive and would not forget the sacrifices by women who were jailed, beaten or killed in last year’s post-election protests. "Iranian women are not only battling gender discrimination” said Nadya Khalife, a gender equality researcher for Human Rights Watch in Beirut, Lebanon, “they are also battling heightened political tensions."

INSERT PARAGRAPH OR ARCADIA STUDENT PERSPECTIVES: What they know about Women’s History, what they think the significance of this celebration is, etc.

The future holds promise for gender equality as today’s generation of strong young women, with even stronger senses of self-esteem and pride, march on to make the lives of all women better, and maybe even earn a mention in next year’s Women’s Day celebration as a woman who made a difference.
STILL NEED QUOTES, HOPEFULLY GETTING SOME FROM CORDERO AND TEACHER FROM WOMEN’S HEALTH AND ISSUES WHAT’S HER NAME AGAIN?

What do Elizabeth Blackwell, Aphra Behn, and Victoria Woodhull have in common with Hilary Clinton, Rosa Parks, and Frida Kahlo? Simple. All are strong women in history whose achievements have helped establish the rights of all women today. Albeit some more celebrated than others, the month of March commemorates International Women’s Day, and gives these amazing women, along with many more, the praise and adulation they deserve.
The world celebrated International Women’s Day on Mar. 8 with a ceremony that highlighted economic, political, and social accomplishments of women through history. The United Nations said, “International Women's Day is the story of ordinary women as makers of history; it is the centuries-old struggle of women to participate in society on equal footing with men.” In acknowledgment of the celebration, Women for Women International sponsored 70 peace demonstrations on bridges around the world to “honor the resilience of millions of women survivors of war around and push for peace instead of armed conflict.”
Although the day celebrates the progress women have helped make in the world, it is also a time to recognize the struggle that millions of women continue to endure day after day around the world. Sarah Brown, wife of the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said at London’s Millenium Bridge ceremony, “There are still too many women suffering in pregnancy, childbirth, suffering from violence, suffering in all kinds of ways. I think women all around the world feel a greater sense of solidarity for campaigning for better human rights.”
In India, a move for gender equality was met with great protests and halted progress on the bill to reserve one-third of the legislature seats for women. Despite India’s president, Pratibha Devisingh Patil, being female, and the first one in history, only 11% of members of the lower house Indian Parliament are women. Additionally, half of the Indian female population cannot read or write, leaving thousands with a disadvantage that can affect their futures.
International Women’s Day was celebrated in Iran with female activists being honored by Zahra Rahnavard, the wife of Iranian opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi. Rahnavard declared the opposition movement was still alive and would not forget the sacrifices by women who were jailed, beaten or killed in last year’s post-election protests. "Iranian women are not only battling gender discrimination” said Nadya Khalife, a gender equality researcher for Human Rights Watch in Beirut, Lebanon, “they are also battling heightened political tensions."
For some students at AHS, International Women’s Day isn’t enough. Junior Stephanie Youssef said, “Women aren’t nearly as celebrated as much as they should be. Without their contributions in the past, none of us would be where we are today, and few of us recognize and appreciate that as much as we should.”
English teacher Ms. Charmaine Cordero said, “Women are treated as a minority even though in many areas they are the actual majority in terms of population numbers. Because of the history of the mistreatment of women, it's important to recognize not only past contributions but the importance of women right now at this moment in history.”
The future holds promise for gender equality as today’s generation of strong young women, with even stronger senses of self-esteem and pride, march on to make the lives of all women better, and maybe even earn a mention in next year’s Women’s Day celebration as a woman who made a difference.