This year’s theme is
“Inspiring Change”
By Heidi Trautmann
Looking at our Cultural
Events Calendar of this week the reader will notice that this very special day,
the 8th of March, to bring forward women’s equality or rather the
right to it, has been a reason in many places to invite women to show their art
in exhibitions. It is with a feeling of pride and solidarity and with the
knowledge that on this day the women of the world are standing up, meeting up,
discussing further steps and initiatives and making the world aware of still
existing problems.
However, this year’s theme
“Inspiring Change” gives rise to hope that doors have been opened which for so
long were kept closed to women.
The first International
Women’s Day was held in 1911 and in 1975 the Day was recognized by the United
Nations. The Day is also an opportunity to disclose the achievements of women
in economic, political and social fields and to strengthen organisations and
groups that have been founded all over the world to give women fighting for
their rights or even survival, a shelter
or the assurance that they are not alone: Together we can!
Although some achievements
were recorded there is still violence against women and girls by husbands,
family members and attacks in the open by strangers, by groups of men,
violating women, beating them to death, keeping them prisoners for years…..for
what reason? Using violence against a weaker person is an inferiority complex,
meaning the male, the leader, the higher authority is in their eyes not
recognized; like a dog that is ordered to ‘Heel’ and is punished when it
doesn’t. In my opinion the root of the evil is to be looked for in education:
the little boy is brought up in the belief that a man is stronger, better, and
the deciding head of the family. Especially mothers do that, a boy has rights,
a girl has duties, and the little boys are spoilt endlessly. That is blind love
and wrong education.
So we have come back to
education, my favourite theme. Education means freedom, education means
respect, the more educated people are the more they refrain from violence
because the brain takes over control, exceptions not counted. A couple working
together for one cause can be very powerful, although they should take care not
to overrun the other and cause rivalry. As one of my poet friends said: “It is
at the side of my man I want to walk, not ahead of him and not behind.” And
this short sentence says it all.