International Women's Day
Today is International Women’s Day, a United Nations designated day that many pay attention to annually, with programmes and special events focused women’s development and achievements. In fact, the whole of March has blossomed into Women’s Month in some countries.
I must confess I woke up this morning feeling quite ‘blah’ about the day. I’m working on a number of issues at the moment that made it feel that I’d have to enter a parallel universe in order to write about the day, let alone celebrate it. I’m all for my sisters in power, but, guilt-free, I thought I’d leave it to those who have the wherewithall to do it justice.
I had other things to do.
Then a patch of hazy blue broke through the dense morning cloud. The sun made a weak appearance too!. That welcomed brightness in winter made me think of my Acacia dealbata tree, an evergreen survivor of recent criminal vandalism on my plots at the allotments that saw most of the deciduous trees that I had planted, killed. This wonderful tree flowers in March, and beautiful, acid yellow, fragrant puff-ball flowers have already started to make an appearance. Acacia dealbata, also known as Mimosa of the Silver Wattle, was first introduced into Europe from south-eastern Australia in 1820.
The colours of International Women's Day are purple, green and white, signifying justice and dignity. In Italy, you can add bright yellow Acacia dealbata blossoms to the symbolism of the day. There, women are celebrated by all, including other women, by the giving and receiving of fragrant Acacia flowers. While the origin of the tradition is unclear, there is documentary evidence that men in Rome gave Acacia flowers to their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters as a sign of love and appreciation on 08 March 1946.
Marvelling at my Acacia dealbata made me marvel at the resilience of all nature, including humanity. I thought of some women who made an impact on me since the last International Women’s Day. For a start, my mother celebrated her 83rd birthday and is fighting fit! She’s taken the Pfizer vaccine too. Kamala Harris made history by becoming the first woman of colour to become the Vice President of the USA. In 2020 I learned for the first time of the pioneering and inspirational, late US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (the Notorious RBG). I thought of my heroine English gardener Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) whose designs and approaches continue to impact gardening today.
I give special mention to the inspirational Madam Ajoke Mohammed, the wife of the assassinated former military ruler of Nigeria. Madam Mohammed. She had dedicated her life to saving endangered native palm trees and other indigenous plants. It is my dream to be able to speak to her about her work for Kinimori readers one day.
In these times of Covid, women have paid a high price economically, and in just about every other way. We’ve come a long way, baby, but we clearly have a ways to go. Pioneering is not a word that’s been used to describe me. That’s not what matters to me. What matters is that I make the best I can of this journey I am on, and in doing so, fill in my piece of the potentially wonderous and beautiful puzzle of our lives.
There’s an important online conversation happening today called Athena40 Global Conversation 2021, taking place right now. This link should get you there:
Athena40 Global Conversation 2021 - YouTube
Happy International Women’s Day!
