Women’s History Deserves to be Celebrated
BY ARIANA TAVAKKOLI, GRADE 6
Amelia Earhart fought to be recognized as a female aviator and broke multiple records in flight.
Amelia Earhart. National Geographic
Marie Curie pioneered research on radioactivity and was the first female recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Marie Curie. Smithsonian Magazine
Gertrude Ederle was an exceptional swimmer, as well as the first woman to swim across the English Channel. She was also deaf.
Gertrude Ederle. History Extra
These women, along with every other, deserve to be celebrated. That is why we take March, National Women's History Month, to uplift women and focus on their accomplishments.
From a Week to a Month
Women didn’t get the month easily; Women’s History Week originally began as a celebration in Santa Rosa, California, planned and contrived by The Education Task Force of the Sonoma County (California) Commission on the Status of Women back in 1978. The celebration took place the week of March 8th to overlap with International Women’s Day. Talk of this new idea spread, and by the following year, communities across the country had started their own Women’s History Weeks.
In 1980, a set of women’s groups and historians protested for this celebration to be recognized nationally. In February of 1980, President Jimmy Carter sent out a Presidential Proclamation declaring the week of March 8, 1980 as National Women’s History Week.
President Jimmy Carter signs a President Proclamation promulgating the first Women’s History Week. NPR
The succeeding presidents continued to declare National Women’s History Week every March. In 1987, Congress passed a public law naming March as Women’s History Month.
Modern Day History Makers
You may know Michelle Obama as the first African-American First Lady of the United States, but did you also know she is an attorney and an author? She has launched many campaigns such as “Let Girls Learn,” a government initiative to help growing girls receive quality education which encourages them to always strive for their best.
Ibtihaj Muhammad is not only a fencing champion, but also the first Muslim-American woman to win an Olympic medal and represent the United States at the Olympics. She changed history by wearing her hijab (a religious
Ibtihaj Muhammad. Rolling Stone
headscarf) while competing. She earned a bronze medal, but how she changed history deserves a gold. Muhammad also runs a clothing line called “Louella by Ibtihaj.”
There are so many influential women around the globe, and a full month isn’t enough time to learn about them all. Others include Nasa astronaut Kalpana Chawla, the first Latina Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and Junko Tabei, the first woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
Despite all these achievements, women still face gender bias. Some examples are the gender wage gap, education in some countries, lack of gender representation in many workplaces, and gender based violence. That is why it’s important to use March as National Women’s History Month to honor all women globally.
