Today is International Women’s Day (IWD), a day celebrating the achievements of women past, future and present:
“On March 8th, the world will celebrate 100 years of progress towards gender equality. International Women’s Day, however, is both a day to celebrate and a day to draw attention to the challenges that remains before gender equality is truly realised… For the women of the world, the symbolism of International Women’s Day has a wider meaning. It is an occasion to review how far women have come in their struggle for equality, peace and development. It is also an opportunity to unite, network and mobilise for meaningful change.” (source: International Women’s Day)
“UN Women Australia, together with the six National Women’s Alliances, are coordinating a range of activities, events and campaigns on diverse issues pertaining gender equality. From issues ranging from positive body image to honouring the contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island women, activities and awareness raising campaigns are being organised all across Australia. To find out more the exciting plans of the six National Women’s Alliances, please click here.” (source: International Women’s Day)
Connect – Some interesting social resources for International Women’s Day:
- UN Women Australia Twitter Stream
- UN Women Australia Facebook Page
- To join in the conversation, check out all the Tweets for #InternationalWomensDay and make sure to use the hashtag so your Tweets
Resources from the Library’s Collection: The Library has heaps of resources covering all sorts of issues relevant to women – here are just a few resources you might like to check out:
Sacred cycles : the spiral of women’s well-being by Sara Wickham (Book) – “Have you ever thought about how you would like to be born, wondered why tampon adverts always use blue liquid or dreamed of living in a society with Government-funded luxury hotels for women who needed space? Have you ever wondered why so many women living in the West still believe their bodies are inferior to men’s and that others hold responsibility for their health and well being? By comparing the things we have been taught about our bodies, to real women’s experiences, women-centred research and common sense wisdom, this book explores women’s reproductive health and well being through the eyes of women themselves, examining myths and opinions and questioning whether the things we learn from the media and through education systems are serving us well.” Check Availability
The vagina monologues by Eve Ensler (Book) – “The Vagina Monologues is a celebration of female sexuality in all its complexity and mystery.” Check Availability
The strength from within : Sista Girl Yarnz (Book) – “For eight weeks, 12 Aboriginal women met every Friday to learn about different styles of writing. They used writing as a means to express their experiences with domestic violence … each workshop would focus on one key style of writing including poetry, prose, letter writing, diary writing, autobiography, death notice and procedure. … The writing in this book is comprised of each woman’s courageous journey to document how they personally found the spirit from within to break from from domestic violence.” Check Availability
Women of the sun : twenty five years later (DVD) – Women of the sun is a remarkable drama series that told the Aboriginal story through the eyes of Aboriginal women in their own language. Now, 25 years later Bob Weis, the producer of the original film sets out to find out the impact of the film on five of the women who played major roles in the original series. Check Availability (the original documentary is also available here)
Hard knocks : domestic violence and the psychology of storytelling (eBook) – This book draws on interviews carried out over a period of eight years, as well as novels, films, and domestic violence literature, to explain the role of storytelling in the history of the battered women’s movement. Check Availability
** If you’d like to see more resources, you can do a search on the catalogue for “women”. Just change the drop-down menu to ‘subject begins with…’ or ‘subject keywords’ and press ‘Go’ to see what books, dvds and other resources we have in our collection.