March means a lot of things to many people. For students, March signals the beginning of the end of classes. For office workers, March means summer is almost here. For others, especially those who have gone through painful and abusive experiences, March is for women.
The story of women's month began many years ago in New York City. It was March 1911 when over 140 girls, majority of whom were Jewish and Italian immigrants, were trapped inside the factory of Triangle Shirtwaist while the building was on fire.
As a result of the tragedy, women in the early 20th century began organizing themselves and came up with various activities for women. One of the resulting activities was the observance of International Women's Day every 8th day of March in commemoration of the tragic death of the factory workers.
In the Philippines, Women's Month began when former President Corazon Aquino signed several proclamations pertaining to March as a special month for women. Proclamation No. 224 officially recognized the first week of March every year as Women's Week. March 08 became known as Women's Rights and International Peace Day. Proclamation No. 227 officially began the observance of March as Women's Role in History Month. Finally, President Aquino also signed R.A. 6949 and declared March 08 of every year as National Women's Day.
Today, various organizations around the country and the world have actively participated in annual celebrations and observances of Women's Month. Popular playwright Eve Ensler came up with her own way of highlighting the importance of women when she put together the hugely celebrated Vagina Monologues. VM is a collection of women's painful, funny, heartbreaking, and joyful experiences told in interesting anecdotes and monologues. It is one of the most well attended events during Women's Month celebrations all over the world. Celebrities, personalities, students, and many young women from different backgrounds have joined and performed the monologues for free. Every VM show is a benefit performance for various women's groups/organizations.
The Vagina Monologues is actually part of Ensler's bigger Women's Month advocacy, the V-Day Movement. V-Day is a worldwide campaign aimed at ending violence and abuse against women and girls. Various activities like concerts, mardi gras, reading tours, and interschool contests take place throughout the V-Day celebration. Here in Cagayan de Oro, V-Day has been observed for years now and many women (and men) have been continuously campaigning its advocacy through a number of activities like school campaigns, monologue readings, workshops and seminars, and essay writing contests.
The plight of abused women and girls around the world cannot be fixed with just a sweep of a magic wand. It takes years, a lot of patience, and unfailing dedication and passion. For those who refuse to give in to the pain and the hurt, March is always the best time to speak up and be heard. But if we want to truly put an end to all the terrible beatings, we have the whole year and the rest of our lives to stand up for them. In our own humble ways, we can help. When all our little efforts are put together, we can do more and help the many women and girls silently suffering.
Three cheers for women around the world!
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