#BeBoldForChange 16 Effective Ways In Which You Can Celebrate International Women’s Day This Year

by Riya Roy · March 8, 2017

The history of all times and of today especially teaches that women will be forgotten if they forget to think about themselves.

– Louise Otto

This 8^th of March, celebrate the women around you, because appreciation helps accelerate the process of change. Let these suggestions help you celebrate International Women’s Day effectively this year!

1. Be a hero-ine

This International Women’s Day sign The Girl Declaration online and extend your support to the girls around the globe. This declaration demands for women to have access to education, safety, economic security, health care and citizenship. You can also make a donation to the Global Fund for Women to help women assert their rights.

2. Watch TED talks by remarkable women

“The problem with gender is that it prescribes how we should be rather than recognizing how we are. Imagine how much happier we would be, how much freer to be our true individual selves, if we didn’t have the weight of gender expectations.”

– Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

I just googled top five most-watched Ted talks, and three of those five were by women! Shouldn’t we celebrate that?! After watching these TED talks, we suggest you watch the top 10 moments for women in TED. It will automatically bring a proud smile to your face.

3. Invite your girlfriends to a movie night

Watch five feminist movies with your girlfriends this International Women’s Day. If you need help to choose which movies to screen at your place, we are at your rescue! Our top 5 would include Suffragette, Frida, The Hours, Mona Lisa Smile, and Erin Brockovich.

4. Use your Wi-Fi!

“I’m a sworn enemy of convention. I despise the conventional in anything, even the arts. I paint canvasses on the floor and drove one art teacher out of his mind. But that’s just the way I paint best.”

– Hedy Lamarr

Yes, you read that right! This 8^th of March use your Wi-Fi because it is a result of Hedy beauty-with-brains Lamarr’s efforts. Lamarr was an Austrian actress who co-invented wireless communication called “spread-spectrum” that helped everyday people with average resources, inexpensive access to airwaves. It is on this system of wireless communication that modern day technologies like Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS are based. So go ahead and use your Wi-Fi to read our articles! 😉

5. Create a feminist reading list

Draw yourself an epic feminist reading list, and take it up as this year’s resolution to read the books on your list. Make your list inclusive (unlike the world we live in!): Choose from books written by women for women, women of color, straight women, men, members of the LGBTQI, everyone. Pick one book from each category, and voila! You have your list!

6. Cook yourself a Julia Child recipe

“I think careful cooking is love, don’t you? The loveliest thing you can cook for someone who’s close to you is about as nice a valentine as you can give.”

– Julia Child

The revolutionary cookbook, Mastering The Art of French Cooking, by Julia Child should be your bible, this Wednesday. Child also starred in her own cooking show by the name The French Chef. You can YouTube the same. If you want to know more about Julia Child add another flick to your feminist movie list: Julie and Julia!

7. Debate

Debate on social media, invite your friends home or organize a proper debate in your society hall about why women are still struggling for basic human rights. After that, you can go home and watch all Harry Potter movies because JK Rowling wrote it, who is a single mom and was living on welfare when she wrote these ‘magic’pieces.

8. Celebrate Sarah Jessica Parker’s Birthday!

“The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And, if you find someone to love the you that you love, well, that’s just fabulous.”

– Carrie Bradshaw, Sex and The City

C’mon this woman inspired a whole generation of gals to go and live their dreams, that too in fabulous shoes, right?! So this Women’s Day, go ahead and clink a few champagne glasses with your BFFs. Parker’s birthday is on the 25^th, BTW, so you can call it a birthday party in advance!

9. Chug a beer

Sam Adams came up with the beverage that we love so much, yes, but, according to historians, it was women from ancient Mesopotamia who first developed, sold and also drank beer.

10. Slip into those running shoes

In London, at 7 pm this Wednesday, runners of all abilities will participate in a free 5km event. You need not be a fitness pro or a gym rat (no problem if you are one!) to take part. This marathon is for women to come together and build a community. Also, after the run you get a goodie bag. How cool is that! Register now!

11. Eat out

There are programs such as Dining for Women, which support programs, which in turn, support and fight for women’s rights. If you do not have such set ups in your locality, you can start your own fund-raiser. Whatever money you collect, can be donated to a charity that works for women or is trying to push policies that talk about women’s health and access to education.

12. Locate the female champs in your city

You can start by finding out about events in your area. In many places, local groups celebrate the day with art installations, poetry recitations, plays, dance dramas etc. You can meet your victors right there. If there is no such event in the area you live in, organize one yourself!

13. Go for a bridge walk

Women for Women International, a nonprofit organization, arranges bridge walks around the globe. The idea is to raise awareness about women who have survived wars.

Also known as Join Me on the bridge, this program was initiated by two of its directors, who were then working with the Women for Women International at Rwanda and Congo. A bridge walk invites women, men, kids and oldies to come together and walk for peace and to support the women who are suffering because of wars.

14. Tell the women in your life how much they mean to you

Your mom, granny, aunties, friends, colleagues, boss, all the women in your life, mean something to you. Say something nice to them today, and thank them for being there in your life and making it a little easier. Most of the things women do, go unnoticed. If your mom is a homemaker, thank her for keeping things normal at home, because of which you are giving your 100 per cent at work or study. This will mean the world to her.

Also, do not forget to thank yourself and tell yourself that you are loved.

15. Treat women with respect

If you are thinking this is a pretty obvious one, then you should reconsider that opinion. If everyone did respect women, the rate of rapes, female victims of molestation, assault, harassment and violence against women would not be so high. So stop making sexist jokes because that reinforces patriarchal ideas. Stop bullying and harassing a woman because of the way she looks or what she wears or does not wear. Stop calling a woman bossy when she is just doing her job. And when a woman says NO, take that as a statement that is complete in itself, and does not need explanation.

And for the women out there, our message is that you NEED to stand up for other women when they are being harassed. Also, don’t disrespect a girl to get the attention of some guys or to be accepted by them.

Plus, respecting women should not just be something you do on the 8^th of March. You ought to religiously follow this, every single day of your life.

16. Raise awareness

You can start by sharing this post with your friends!

That is all we have on the unique ways in which you can celebrate Women’s day this year. If you have any suggestions and want to add to this list, please leave them in the comment section. See you soon!

We at NLT would like to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Women’s Day! May you have the courage to be your beautiful self, and spirit to stand by someone, who for some reason, isn’t able to do the same.

Featured image source: Google, copyright-free image, under Creative Commons License

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