International Women’s Day is recognized worldwide on March 8 every year. Women across the world celebrate this day differently, many of whom organize different types of protest or marches to fight for equality.
This day is significant for many countries because they use marches to advocate for their loved ones that have gone missing, kidnapped or killed due to feminicide. According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, femicide is the gender-based murder of a woman or a girl by a man.
This is one of the many reasons why a group of women decide to march and advocate for other women. Northwestern State University of Louisiana’s Iota Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. led a march on March 7 in honor of International Women’s Day.
“Women’s History Month is something important to me because of the organization I’m a part of and by being a woman, this is something important,” Mckenzie Guilbeau, a junior nursing major, said.
Guilbeau serves as the social action and political chair for Delta Sigma Theta and was the main organizer for this march. “Being able to voice my opinion along with others voicing theirs, also, the males voicing their opinions, speaking up for their moms, family members, was something that was really important to me,” Guilbeau said.
Jasmine Wise, assistant professor and coordinator of Black studies and the Gail Metoyer Jones Center, shared how important it is to shine a light on women’s movements.
“Women’s History Month, I think, serves as a way to highlight in a very patriarchal society, where women have changed the world because we are overlooked, but this is a moment to stop for 31 days and say, let’s highlight what women have done,” Wise said.
This month is not only used to protest for women’s rights but also to celebrate womanhood and what it means to be a woman.
“I love being a woman. I just love how I am not threatened by being both feminine and strong. We get to occupy these sorts of spaces. I think there’s a strength that comes along with being a woman that men don’t have,” Wise said.
March marks unison for all women, the famous protest sign, “I am all girls,” has been circulating around marches to symbolize womanhood.
“I think personally it is important because I have two daughters, a wife and I also have a mother who did a fabulous job raising me. I think it’s important to remember that you need to fight for your rights. Although we have made strides in the past to achieve equal rights between men and women, we are still not there,” Benjamin Forkner, associate professor of French and Spanish, said.
Forkner, along with the Gail Metoyer Jones Center, made sure the NSU campus knew about how important International Women’s Day is through a variety of different events partnered with other organizations.
