International Women's Day - Ladies join your voices its time to celebrate!

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This year, March 8, celebrates International Woman's Day (IWD) marking 100 years of the declaration and observation of the first woman's day. It is a celebration of ordinary women as makers of history; and deeply rooted in the centuries-old struggle of women that want and deserve to participate in an equal society with men. 

Some Europeans might like to claim that we have achieved equality between women and men in Europe over the last 100 years, and that the struggle for equality no longer exists, but we all know we still haven’t. 

Fresh figures show that the average gender pay gap in Europe is 17,4 percent and that women’s job security is more precarious than those of men, Greece is no exception. Women here earn less than men, and they are usually the group that find themselves stuck in low-income dead-end jobs.

Unfortunately, male dominance complex traits can still be found in Greece, just like as I am sure they can also be found all over the world. But let’s face it, even if there are some more difficulties left to iron out, things are much better here than they were 40 and 50 years ago.

A lot of men (and even women) here in Greece claim that when females entered the market force, society was forever changed… and somehow this is true. The majority of families here in Greece are still based on the traditional model family and are dead against anything else. 

Even if parents are highly aware of gender equality, girls are brought up to believe that a woman’s real fulfilment only comes with the creation of a family, which allows them, especially in small communities, to feel socially correct and accepted. Regrettably,  this mentality has a deep-rooted history here, since women in Greece were always treated as second rate and inferior objects. In ancient times, and until the 1970-80s, they lived under the control of the men in their lives and this was widely accepted. 

Unfortunately, the common view from men here about women was, and in very small cases still is, that women are inferior objects, sexually dangerous and too vulnerable. In addition to that, men believed that we should of never been allowed to enter the work force, and let us not even examine the issue of exercising authority over others... That was not even debatable! 

Aside from the direct family, women here were never allowed to voice their opinion. Those who did... were looked at as "alien" and were usually shunned by their community and even called lesbians and feminists. It might sound silly, but it is true... and in some very few instances it still exists.  

Briefly, the perfect woman in their perception, 30 and 40 years ago, had to care of her family and remain submissive to her husband, who was the only one allowed to head the family. In villages, things were worse, women were raised to be sexually reserved as well, and anything opposite of that was not acceptable.Imagine their adjustment with the modern day Greek woman who are very promiscuous and totally sexually liberated. (Like I said earlier, a little too much in my opinion,)

When you really look at it with a deeper scope, you will realize that it has taken forever for things to change in this part of the world. After World War II ended, urbanization and industrialization brought about massive change. Western alliances started to internationalize the image of Greek people and women were, for the first time, finally allowed to vote (early 1950s). In addition to that, they also began to earn more wages than what they earned before the war, and female movements were born.

Following this, and in the 1970s-80s, when Western influence began penetrating the society here even more, women began to imitate western behaviors which resulted to them losing all of their old world roles, and that is when yet another revolution for them began. 

This new environment confused and upset the men here even more because they were raised expecting that nothing would ever change.It also disturbed many marriages and divorce became as common as a glass of water. Parallel to this, it also changed the way in which single people mingled. Now it was the women doing the "kamaki" and not the men, which in return frightened the men "or hunters" and added even more confusion to the communication of both sexes. I guess that is why men are afraid to approach women nowadays, because they do not really like our newly discovered aggressiveness. Personally I like it the other way around...it's actually flattering when men court you "kamaki"....

It was almost as if women went from one extreme to the other. From being totally limited one day, to holding bonfires and burning their bras the next. Society here couldn't grasp it... and they still can't till this day. Men don't mind that you work... just as long as we do not make more money then them, and they still expect their dinner on the table by 6 (well.. 9 in Greece). And all this because indeed women are more carefree, autonomous and totally liberated but they still raise sons that demand women who respect old world roles. And what is more they demand that their future daughter in laws also be raised on respecting old world roles! Kind of makes you laugh huh?

Certainly societies views here have to change on many things, they follow the two extremes. I was fortunate to be raised in Montreal, where I might of unwillingly been forced to adopt old world traditions, but I secretly  mixed them with the new... I feel that this created a balance in me and a better understanding of what the essence of a true women is. I think most of the children from immigrants did... because we were living in two societies every day... The old country... and the world of today! 

Certainly women who have this balance, are more inspired to sustain their femminity, while at the same time uphold old world traditions and roles and they don't have any scruples about their dynamic character either. Thank God! 

This indeed is where women here in Greece still need to still cultivate themselves. But like I said earlier, it takes time for change to sink into the society here... but it is slowly happening...

My real hope is in the youth. Maybe today’s youth in Greece, who is indeed better educated, less-narrow-minded and travels more more than their parents did, will one day become more sensitive to human rights issues and will be able to work better to ensure equality for both sexes.

In closing, and on a general scale, I have to admit that I have found very, very few people that genuinely have respect for the woman here as a whole, and this includes men and women. Certainly there is a passion for the feminine, but there is no real love for the female. There is admiration for the lady but surprisingly enough there is no real contempt for the woman, and educated women are totally doomed in the face of ignorant ones. 

Greece, like its society, can break our hearts, but we always come back spellbound. We still have a lot to achieve ladies, but today let’s celebrate. We have indeed come a long way… Happy Woman’s day to us all!