Yesterday marked the 99th International Women’s Day, a holiday that celebrates the achievements across the globe by ambitious, successful women in a variety of fields. Since gender disparities are a hot topic amongst international cultures, I really support this holiday and believe it is important to recognize.
Since forming early in the 20th century, International Women’s Day has gained more and more recognition. Though women have obviously gained more equality in some countries compared to others, I think the achievements of women worldwide are worth recognizing. Doing this encourages other women to have hope and to have encouragement to succeed socially, economically and politically.
I have always been interested in the significance the Torah and Judaism in general gives toward women. For the most part, men and women are treated equally in Jewish text. One of the particular texts that I think embodies this notion best is in the Ten Commandments. We are told to honor both our mother and our father. Learning this as a child, when fighting occurs between the child and the parents, I think it is necessary to be recognized.
Further, I believe Judaism tries even harder to treat men and women equally because they switch up the order in which they address men and women or women and men together. I think this instills good values in young Jews who are being shaped by the messages of these texts.
While there are more specific issues regarding the role of gender in other forms of Judaism, I was raised in a Reform congregation and had a very liberal, egalitarian attitude on this. In fact, my congregation had two female rabbis and one male rabbi. While the male rabbi (Doug Sagal) was the head, I felt admiration looking up to this solid trio of rabbis. Since I was raised in a suburban town where many of the mothers were housewives (mine works full-time), it was another reassurance from my community that plenty of women in the real world go out and pursue great careers like these rabbis. Further, when I was in high school one of the female rabbis (Leah Doberne-Schor) had her first child, which reinforced the idea that it is possible for a woman to have a strong, important and influential career while also raising a family.
Though I was lucky enough to have role models like these figures in my life to demonstrate women’s empowerment, there are many other societies that do not get this opportunity. I would like to recommend a book —
Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide —by the power couple Nicholas Kristof and Cheryl WuDunn. This follows their adventure through societies such as Ethiopia’s and Cambodia’s where women are extremely oppressed and seen as inferior to men. In particular, this book discusses the prevalence of forced-prostitution and childbirth injuries. This past fall Kristof actually gave a lecture on this subject at my college, which made me even more aware of the benefits I have had in my life. Beware: this book is definitely a tear-jerker, but I feel like its awakening message alerts its audience to a critical issue that is often forgotten about in day-to-day media coverage.
Anyway, I hope you all had a lovely International Women’s Day! But of course, I must end this entry with encouragement to appreciate the women in your life, and their achievements, on a daily basis.
