7 Ways to Celebrate Women
Every year on the 9th of August we celebrate Women’s Day in South Africa. The entire month of August is dubbed women’s month and therefore a question persists, besides gift giving, how else can we show our admiration and love for women? Here is a short list I compiled of 7 ways to celebrate women.
1. Advocate for women
Women are often discriminated against in the workplace, in the courts and even everyday society. If you do not identify as a woman, you can celebrate women by using your voice in our favour. Speaking up against social ills, prejudice behaviour and unfair treatment. Use your voice to amplify the voices of women.
2. Spend money of women
Spend your Rand on women owned businesses. Contract female suppliers. Refer women-owned companies to your clients. Help your partner start that interior designing company she’s been talking about. Buy your fruits and vegetables from female vendors. Cash is king and putting it in the hands of women makes it go a long way.
3. Affirm the women in your life
Words of affirmation is a love language because not only does it help someone build their self-image but it also allows someone to see themselves through your eyes. We can all affirm one another more and as women, our voices matter most to each other. A compliment from a woman really goes the distance and when we learn to speak life into each other's lives more often, we create spaces of love, connection and community.
4. Read books by women
Here is a list of books written by women you can sink your teeth into:
Foreign Soil by Maxine Beneba Clarke. Winner of the Debut Fiction Indie Award and the Literary Fiction Book of the Year in Australia.
The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah. An albino woman languished on death row in Zimbabwe’s Chikurubi prison.
Difficult Women by Roxane Gay. A short story collection about the challenges facing women in modern America.
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. A novel set in 1930s Korea and Japan, detailing the struggles of a family in poverty.
This Too Shall Pass by Milena Busquets. Set in the coastal Spanish town Cadaques, a woman comes to terms with her mother’s death.
Everfair by Nisi Shawl. An alternate history / science fiction / steampunk novelset in the Belgian Congo. An especially enjoyable read in a genre traditionally dominated by men.
5. Donate money to girl’s orphanage
If you want to empower women, start when they’re still young girls. If you are able to donate money to helping protect and raise young girls who are homeless or parentless, please do. And if you’re worried about your money not going to the right place, invest some time doing your research and in selecting the right foster home. Speak to the young girls and make it matter.
6. Mentor a young girl
The task of raising a girl child to be brave and confident in a world that is built off making her feel small and inferior is on going. A young girl will have many contributors to her growth and a strong mentor can go the distance. By mentoring a girl, you can really help shape her worldview and most importantly, help open doors for her that she didn’t believe she could walk through.
7. Understand women’s issues
If you don’t understand feminism, Chimamanda's TED Talk is here to fill in the gaps. To get more insight into women’s issues, here is a list of other TED Talks of great value. The bottom line is, you can’t celebrate women while ignoring our challenges.
We should all be feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
Unlock the intelligence, passion, greatness of girls by Leymah Gbowee
Color blind or color brave? By Mellody Hobson
The dangerous ways ads see women by Jean Kilbourne
The price of shame by Monica Lewinsky
The above list is not exhaustive but it is a great start. You can really find so many ways to celebrate women and empower them. And celebrating women is not a man’s job, it’s ours too. We are responsible for encouraging, loving and caring for one another. We must continue to fight for our rights but remember to take time to celebrate all the progress we’ve made. Remember, we are living our ancestors wildest dreams.
Written by Phemelo Segoe
You can connect with Phemelo on instagram @phemisegoe