(I just checked my timeline and I realized the last post was in January lols! I genuinely blame my poor time management skill but to be fair I had 3 IAs due in the same week so at least I'm alive all are good *silently cries)
Since I skipped March altogether due to the unhealthy imbalance between school work and other commitments, I would like to rewind time and talk about the significance of this month. Personally, March is a month filled with hope; hope for progress in extending the appreciation society has for women, hope for growth as an individual, and hope for peace in mind upon pondering on the true meaning of Easter. There were many things that clouded my mind in this hectic period as I was literally running on 4-5h of sleep for weeks for the sake of finishing all the proof-reads and draft edits of my IAs that I was terribly scared of not finishing them well. With that, I have gone astray from the usual 'buffer' time I had for myself where I lowkey 'contemplate' about my day or week HAHAHA yes *surprise surprise* this soul is more sentimental and reflective than what you think. So, here is a post to address critical observations and opinions I feel worthy of sharing. On to the most important one: I am one month late in celebrating International Women's Day which was on 8 March. Lol what's new from a Maretta yet again.
It may be weird for some of you to read this post dedicated to commemorating Women's Day as I may not be the most active advocate for the cause of appreciating works by women of the world and or on gender equality, but I do want to start small. To be honest, I feel that I do not have enough knowledge and understanding of the issues at hand to be an activist; I normally only give critical opinions on happenings in both my community and the mainstream media that touch on gender equality issues. Therefore, I often felt discouraged to voice out my thoughts on the appalling reality that many women are not appreciated yet for their works, or even worse, they themselves do not see the jarring difference communities treat and appreciate their mere existence as a key player in society. But after many rounds of thinking in circles on whether I should do it or not, I just get tired of only passively giving opinions. If I am here observing all the 'injustice' and choose to be ignorant about it, am I not another silent contributor to the reason why society progresses at such a slow pace in commemorating women? I may not be right on all the things I am going to discuss, and I definitely need more knowledge on this issue, but here are some of my observations and efforts to better the situation.
Firstly, I have to admit that I grow up in a moderately 'fair' society where girls are encouraged to pursue their passions and are not treated differently when it comes to education, but this encouragement has not been extended fully to all the other communities. Given this fortunate circumstance I am put in, it is so easy to take the whole celebration of women on this International Women's Day mere Instagram-posts-on-women-frenzy for a day where people's timelines are suddenly flooded with women appreciation without contemplating deeply about each person's story. Posting about it is definitely a great reminder for everyone that it is a day to celebrate women, but what is more important is the unseen women who are undergoing sufferings and women who are not out there making great changes to society simply because their own circumstances pain them from making changes to themselves.
I was blinded by this whole idea of celebrating women's greatest achievements instead of looking into the microscopic, smaller ones that many are doing, often in our own society. But upon looking at the posts of those who have made it big, it struck me that I do not have any story to tell simply because I have not been a part of the revolution people like Maya Angelou have fought so hard for. So does that mean that I am celebrating the works of women who are so impactful to others but not to me because there have not been one that enriched my life? Absolutely not. Then I started looking for smaller, more tangible efforts women around me have done that have impacted me positively, and I was grateful for them. The biggest, most unappreciated impact a woman have made in my life has to be my maid's teachings and caring for me since I was 3 years old. She played mother to me, she taught me my first multiplication table, and she was often the first person who helped me rationalize Mother's arguments every time we quarrel. Therefore, I want to dedicate this post to her, and to others put in worse situations.
I was lucky enough to have a few friends who embarked on a project to help alleviate the sufferings of the often forgotten women in our society, the migrant workers, by conducting singing and dancing lessons followed by sharing sessions weekly in a shelter home for abused female migrant workers. It is a small initiative, but over time, we have grown close to them, getting to know little bits and pieces about their families, their favorite food, and hobbies. Many came from rural areas, many are underaged workers of our age, and many left in desperation for a better job--but all are under the same roof with a common story to share: they are abused by their employers. With this situation, it is certainly hard for them to understand their values and worth, of their importance as key educators and helpers to many families in societies, hence leading them to not only be oblivious to the notion of celebrating women's works but also their own achievements. Looking at their situation, I was saddened by the uneven distribution of women's progress in society even in such a small nation, as there are vast differences between appreciation towards them and others working in professional fields.
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| -It is blurred and in B&W as it is the shelter's policy to protect the workers- |
It was again, I who was left dumbfounded after realizing yet another bubble I have broke in this small perspective of mind of the world around me. International women's day is indeed a day to celebrate each other, not only those who have made it big and bring major changes. For it is easy to take small achievements for granted and it is harder to evaluate yourself than others, I hope we can all take a step back and reflect on how we have appreciated the works of women in our society. These migrant workers have helped me understand the intangible efforts many fail to recognize simply because they are too minute in our checklists of 'mainstream achievement', but this should never be the metric for them to quantify the contributions they make to themselves and to their loved ones, for everyone, especially women, have fought in some ways or another to get to where they are today, doing what they are doing on their own accord. We have historically been at a disadvantage that not realizing our own potential in this time now alludes to ignorance to our own efforts of being strong individuals with big contributions to make to our own societies.
In short, celebrate the small things, and encourage others to do so too. Happy (belated) International Women's Day to all those brave, inspiring women out there! Keep doing you and never lose faith! :)
p.s I am still working on the project on generation gap as I
hugs and kisses always,
Maretta Simon
