March 2024 has arrived.
March brings the vernal equinox, Daylight Savings Time, St. Patrick’s Day, Good Friday, and Easter. Baseball, golf and track seasons begin for students. Gardens are cultivated and daffodils poke through the ground.
March also brings Women’s History Month, a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society that has been observed in the United States since 1987. The National Women’s History Month’s theme for 2024 is “Women who advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion”.
Women’s History Month brings recall of Iowan Carrie Chapman Catt, a suffragist and political leader. She played a pivotal role in securing women’s right to vote and the passage of the 19th Amendment. Other Iowa women who broke glass ceilings included Edna Griffin, an African American civil rights activist, and Peggy Whitson, an astronaut and biochemist. Lt General Michelle Johnson from Spencer led the United States Air Force Academy as Superintendent from 2013-2017.
March 8 is International Women’s Day, a global celebration of the economic, political, and social achievements of women. This was recognized for the first time on March 8, 1910, as a protest of child labor, sweatshop working conditions, and as a demand for women’s suffrage. Sponsored and recognized by the United Nations in 1975, the resolution stated, “To recognize the fact that securing peace and social progress and the full enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms require the active participation, equality, and development of women; and to acknowledge the contribution of women to the strengthening of international peace and security”.
When thinking about International Women’s Day, I recall my 10-day mission trip to Nigeria for the Methodist Church many years ago. As a nurse I was fortunate to be selected to aid in promoting health for Nigeria’s females. We took baby layette packs made by the various women’s church groups from across the conference. A cloth diaper, a soft flannel receiving blanket, and two safety pins. Providing these to new mother’s was like Christmas morning in a house full of those who had been waiting for Santa Claus. The strong young woman, Precious, who was our guide, arranged for visits to several outlying birthing centers/clinics. She had a vision for the women of Nigeria. She expressed a desire for them to have fewer children through birth control measures, and to become an equal financial partner in their family.
This past week when I learned of Iowa Senate Bill 2096 passing out of the Senate it felt like a major backslide for women of Iowa. The bill will nullify what was enacted in 1987. The bill repeals gender balance requirements for appointive bodies. The bill seems very unnecessary, as if after searching for three months and gender balance is not ascertained, a male may be appointed to the vacancy.
This bill was promoted by Governor Reynold’s in her State of the State message, and now goes on to the House.
The VIEW FROM MY WINDOW is this bill should not pass the House, as gender balance on appointed boards brings diversity, thoughts, and views that would otherwise be lacking.
Mary Weaver writes VIEW FROM MY WINDOW from her residence in rural Rippey.
