International Women's Day

I'm not typically one to jump on the "I am a woman; hear me roar" bandwagon. But let's be honest, women have come a long way.  And though I am a middle class, educated, white female living in one of the wealthiest counties in the United States, women's empowerment has to be important to me.

For me, International Women's Day is all about women's empowerment... however you define it. Some friends and I attended an International Women's Day tea on Saturday afternoon at the local library. Dr. Maisah Sobaihi spoke of women's empowerment in Saudi Arabia and it was incredibly fascinating. Dr. Maisah Sobaihi is with the Saudi Arabian mission to the UN and is also an associate professor at King Abdul-Aziz in Jeddah. Above all, she is well-known as a contemporary voice for women, especially young Saudi women. The main idea that I took away from her presentation is that women in Saudi Arabia are experiencing an incredible progression in women's rights and while many rural regions greatly lack respect for women's rights, there is new progress everyday. And more than our Western society viewing the veil as the antithesis of women's empowerment, empowerment for women is having the choice to wear or not wear the veil and then freely choosing for one self (obviously, the veil is just an example).

So I raise my glass to women - everywhere. We've come a long way and there is still a long way to go. May individuals, organizations, governments and all public and private institutions recognize the significant role that women play in the economy, as well as respect the freedom for women to choose freely their place in that economy.