Editor's Note....On International Women's Day

Today is International Women’s Day (IWD). Making online research about the origins of this event, I am surprised to discover that IWD is observed as a public holiday in several countries – which is not such a big deal, but the bigger deal is that IWD is official holiday FOR WOMEN ONLY (yes, you read it right, for women only) in countries such us China, Macedonia, Madagascar and Nepal.

I am thinking (for my own selfish reasons, I suppose) that Nigeria should take a hint from these four countries and declare the next IWD as Public Holiday – for women only! In politics, I guess, if someone is running for the post of a President, the fastest way to get the women voters is to promise to declare, if elected, March 8 as a Public Holiday for women only. Do you think women voters in Nigeria will fall for it? And should any aspiring-to-be-President politician even try?

Here are some trivia about IWD:

• Thousands of events related to women, their causes, their welfare, their jobs, safety, and role in development, etc. occur around the world not just on this day but all throughout the month of March.
• The United Nations has a theme each year. The theme for IWD 2013 is “A promise is a promise: Time for action to end violence against women.” Many groups around the world choose a theme of their own for their events and celebrations.
• According to Wikipedia: “International Women’s Day 2017 will be the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Revolution, which was sparked on March 8, 1917 by women protesting against bread shortages in St. Petersburg. These events culminated in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II on March 15. Worldwide celebrations and re-enactments are scheduled to begin on March 8, 2017. Among the organisers is the Ukrainian women's direct action group FEMEN, which aims "to shake women in Ukraine, making them socially active; to organize in 2017 a women's revolution." Adds Wikipedia: “On this day a global women's strike including a sex strike is planned, called by, among others, the International Union of Sex Workers.”
• While many countries, organisations, and individuals continue to view IWD in the context of human rights and political angles, others have seen IWD simply as an occasion for men to express their love and respect for women similar to Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day.

In Abuja, an art exhibition (opened yesterday and will run up to March 17) has been organised by the Embassy of France, Embassy of Spain, and the Female Artists Association of Nigeria. Click here to read more about the exhibition called PLIGHTS OF WOMEN II.

Meanwhile, here on INSIDE TRACK, we have two articles to mark this day in our own little way. One is an interview (above) with MRS. DOHA SARIEDDINE, President of the Abuja International Women’s Club, and the other (below) is a list of 5 remarkable women who had done something no other women had done before them.