Sandscript

Today is International Women's Day and across the World the idea is to celebrate achievements, inspire other women, all very laudable. The day had its origin in New York 106 years ago and in 1913 the date 8th March was set. Ironically the day is an official holiday in Afghanistan. In China the day is a holiday for women only and better than Mother's Day, flowers and appreciation are the order of the day for all women.
But we are not a minority group, in the Twenty First Century why do we need a day? Nor are we an homogeneous group; just listen to BBC Radio Four's Woman's Hour or even to your own group of friends and you will find diametrically opposed opinions on everything from abortion and breastfeeding to hair weaving. Equality? Dad's push prams, who does what percentage of the housework? The daily domestic lives of people who actually have somewhere to live pale into insignificance compared with lives of crushing poverty for both sexes.
Worse, are two terrible crimes, one of which has only come to light for most of us this century and the other enabled by modern science. Female genital mutilation destroys the personal life and health of women and selective abortion prevents many girls even being born. This is no simple battle of women versus men; FMG is perpetrated by women and how long will the world continue to allow ignorance as an excuse? The uneven populations already seen in some societies result in many men, especially those who are poor, having no chance of a normal family life, no equality for them.
Like a happy marriage, civilisation requires cooperation between people, between men and women and cherishing of all children. Perhaps an International Human Being Day would be more appropriate.