Happy International Women's Day

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY 2008!

SATURDAY 8TH MARCH

Remember, if you're a woman and...

* you can vote, thank a feminist.

* you get paid as much as men doing the same job, thank a feminist.

* you went to college / university instead of being expected to quit after school so your brothers could go because "You'll just get married anyway", thank a feminist.

* you can apply for any job, not just "women's work", thank a feminist.

* you can get or give birth control information without going to prison, thank a feminist.

* your doctor, lawyer, judge or MP is a woman, thank a feminist.
* you play an organised sport, thank a feminist.

* you can wear trousers without being excommunicated from your church or run out of town, thank a feminist.

* your boss isn't allowed to pressure you to sleep with him, thank a feminist.
* you get raped and the trial isn't about your hemline or your previous boyfriends, thank a feminist.

* you start a small business and can get a loan using only your name and credit history, thank a feminist.

* you are on trial and are allowed to testify in your own defence, thank a feminist.

* you have the right to your own salary even if you are married or have a male relative, thank a feminist.

* you get residency of your children following divorce or separation, thank a feminist.

* you get a voice in the raising and care of your children instead of them being completely controlled by the husband/father, thank a feminist.

* your partner assaults you and it is illegal and the police stop him instead of lecturing you on better wifely behaviour, thank a feminist.

* you are granted a degree after attending university instead of a certificate of completion, thank a feminist.

* you can breastfeed your baby discreetly in a public place and not be arrested, thank a feminist.

* you marry and your civil human rights do not disappear into your husband's rights, thank a feminist.

* you have the right to refuse sex with your husband, thank a feminist.

* you have the right to keep your medical records confidential from the men in your family, thank a feminist.

* you have the right to read the books you want, thank a feminist.

* you can testify in court about crimes or wrongs your husband has committed, thank a feminist.

* you can choose to be a mother or not a mother in your own time not at the dictates of a husband or rapist, thank a feminist.

* you can look forward to a lifespan of 80 years instead of dying in your 20s from unlimited childbirth, thank a feminist.

* you can see yourself as a full, adult human being instead of a minor who needs to be controlled by a man, thank a feminist.

Sadly not all women around the globe can enjoy these rights and priviledges, however when people minimise the role of feminism and the demand for women's liberation - it is easy to forget who few rights women actually had in the past few decades.