March is Women's History Month

The month of March is Women's History Month. It's the month where schools, communities, the media, and women's focus groups devote the month celebrating women that have made achievements in numerous fields in American history. The event that preceded Women's History Month is International Women's Day which is March 8. International Women's Day began in 1911. In 1979 a school district in Sonoma, California starting celebrating Women's History Week recognizing famous women. In 1981, through the efforts of Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Congress offered a joint resolution sponsoring Women's History week which was the week coinciding with International Women's Day on March 8. The idea caught on very well in a number of public school districts and communities. In 1987 Congress proclaimed the month of March as Women's History Month and that month has been dedicated to celebrating womens' achievements since that time.

The precursor to what would eventually bring about Women's History Month was the Women's Movement of the 1960's. Betty Friedan wrote a book called "The Feminine Mystique" in which she promoted the equality of both men and women. She was lamenting against the "barriers" against women in the public arena which had prohibited them from being on equal par with men when it came to certain fields such as science, mathematics, and running for political office. The purpose of the movement was to eliminate Biblical distinctions between male and female and place them both on equal par. The sad part of the women's movement was they felt being a housewife and mother in and of itself wasn't fulfilling. They had the false notion that women needed to obtain a career and show they are just as intelligent and capable as men. It's true that women are capable and can do many things that men can do. However, it's placed the nuclear home in disarray today.

I have no problem with devoting the month of March as Women's History Month. I'm for the celebration of women's achievements. However, many feminists today believe that the only way a woman can find fulfillment is in a career. The truth of the matter is, there's been numerous women who never had a powerful career but were very influential in their communities and their churches. Where I attend church we have a wonderful group of ladies that are very keen intellectually and are dedicated when it comes to teaching the children of our church. Their husbands support them financially. They don't even make a dime teaching our students. They consider it a ministry. However, there isn't a better group of ladies that I know of that are dedicated like these women are. These women deserve to be honored on Women's History Month. Consequently they won't because they don't hold political office or aren't CEO's of a Fortune 500 corporation. However, the job these women perform at our church is more valuable and worthwhile than what some of the female CEO's perform. A woman doesn't have to have a career to show society she's valuable. A woman's value comes from the Lord. If a wife has a husband that loves her with all his heart, he will esteem her and make her more special than what any career could hold for a woman. The problem is that many husbands over the years have taken their wives for granted and didn't love them like Christ said to love them.

When it comes to equality, I do believe men and women are on equal footing in a limited sense: They are both equally human, both sexes equally needed a saviour to die for their sins, both deserve equal protection under the law, and both are equal intellectually. Some would probably disagree with me on women being equal with men intellectually However, I've seen women just as smart and even smarter than men. In this particular day, I'd venture to say women are superior to men in the intellectual realm. Women will dedicate themselves and study to acquire knowledge. They take academics seriously. Men are more consumed with hobbies such as sports, fishing, hunting, trucks, four-wheelers, and the list continues. Men are more concerned with those kinds of things that improving their mental capabilities. Therefore, women exceed men in that area. Consequently, the goal of the feminist movement is to promote competition or the "battle of the sexes" as I call it. It's tragic! Men and women weren't created by God to be in competition with one another. God had special roles for both genders. They're both equally important.

This month from time to time I'll feature blogposts about some famous women such as hymnwriters Fanny Crosby and Dottie Rambo. I'll also feature women that have made significant contributions in American history. There are women that have been gifted with all kinds of artistic talent and have used it in a great way. Given the statements I made in regards to women's equality, I'm not insinuating that women have to be "barefoot and pregnant". Women have capable minds and can achieve great things themselves. Women have dedicated themselves to their churches and communities over the centuries. Stop and think where our society would be if it weren't for those that are dedicated. They play an integral part in our country. May hat's off to them!