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2023 International Women's Day Statement

A statement from the Women's Spirituality department for International Women's Day and Women's History Month

March 2, 2023

Dear Community,

In honor of Women’s History Month (March) and International Women’s Day (March 8), the Women’s Spirituality program invites the broader CIIS community to join us in gratitude for our feminist and womanist foremothers, activists, and scholars. It is the knowledge they amassed, the revolutions they started, the obstacles they endured – and even the missteps they took – that have allowed us to be where we are today. May we also express deep gratitude for the mothers, grandmothers, and female ancestors in our own lineages, to whom we owe our very existence. May we honor their care, learn from their struggles, and carry forward their wisdom.

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International Women's Day Banner Collage
From left to right: (1) The women of Iran on the cover of TIME magazine as heroes of the year; (2) bell hooks, activist, award-winning author, professor passed on December 15th, 2021; (3) Opal Lee, who worked to help make Juneteenth a federally recognized holiday, at the unveiling of her portrait for the state capital in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, February 8, 2023; (4) Young women organized and led the first major protests in China in over 30 years in November 2022. Many of them, including Cao Zhixin, has since disappeared; (5) Women all around the country showed up to vote in November 2022, successfully defending abortion rights in many states; (6) Hera Jay Brown, the first openly trans woman Rhodes Scholar, studies refugee displacement and forced migration in Jordan

We affirm all women – including poor and working-class women, trans women, disabled women, undocumented women, and women of all colors and nationalities, particularly those who are often overlooked in mainstream discourse. We recognize not only women’s economic and political struggles, but also our agency, resilience, and connection to the sacred spark within. We cordially invite you to join us for the following events celebrating this important time of year:

Contact wse@ciis.edu with any questions.

Happy Women’s History Month!

Happy International Women’s Day!

Cordially,

The Women’s Spirituality Department

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