International Women's Day

I must admit I have mixed feelings about International Women's Day (which is supported by the UN): information on how it came to be varies enormously, clearly putting its current commercial value in front of its historical one, which concerns the development of women rights and gender equality.

And, talking of gender equality, International Men's Day (again supported by the UN) was started in 1999 but is celebrated merely in a bunch of far away countries and on different days of the year.

The 1911 fire of the the Triangle Shirts Factory in NYC killing 140 women, although some claim it was the 1909 fire in the Cotton factory in Chicago burning to death 129 women workers, about a century later has turned into a global commercial activity and in Italy into a huge sale of Silver Wattle. Why Silver Wattle, I do not know. What I do know is that on 8th March women tend to be "celebrated" a lot more in those countries where gender equality still has a long way to go. I'll call it a compromise.

So do we really need a day to celebrate women? Yes. And we also need a day to celebrate men. However we do not need flowers, dinners out and what not - just leave equality and respect for both genders.

Did you know...?

Women win the right to vote:
- 1893: New Zealand
- 1902: Australia
- 1920: USA, Austria
- 1929: UK
- 1930: Turkey
- 1946: Italy
- 1971: Switzerland (1990: kanton Appenzell Innerhorden)
- 1984: Liechtenstein
- 2003: Afghanistan


Divorce becomes legal:
- under Henry VIII: England (only if initiated by husbands)
- late 17th cent.: USA (after English laws)
- 1875: Germany (for civil marriages)
- 1954: India
- 1970: Italy (against the Vatican's will)
- 1977: Austria
- 2003/2004: Chile
- not permitted: Malta, Philippines (annulment is permitted), Jordan (men are permitted to divorce their wives)