I've been thinking about this a lot lately, and my reasoning is this:
In a truly equal society where men and women are both equally valued by its members, the need for a day where women are pampered and spoilt seems unnecessary.
If we're celebrating women, why aren't we celebrating men?
The way Women's Day is portrayed these days makes it seem as though it's all about getting the men to cook supper for a night and maybe do some laundry. Pages on Facebook are suggesting you buy a bunch of nice things for the lady in your life or take her out for a night of fine wine and dining.
But this isn't what Women's Day is about.
Women's Day is a commemoration of the event in 1956 where 20 000 women silently marched on Parliament with more than 100 000 signatures in protest of South Africa's "pass" laws. We seem to forget this.
Instead of the focus of Women's Day being on pampering ourselves, it should be a reminder of what still needs to be achieved in terms of gender equality, and a motivator to do just that.
The Women's Charter, drawn up by the Federation of South African Women (FSAW) who led the peaceful march on 9 August 1956, stated:
"We, the women of South Africa, wives and mothers, working women and housewives, African, Indians, European and Coloured, hereby declare our aim of striving for the removal of all laws, regulations, conventions and customs that discriminate against us as women, and that deprive us in any way of our inherent right to the advantages, responsibilities and opportunities that society offers to any one section of the population.
We women do not form a society separate from the men. There is only one society, and it is made up of both women and men. As women we share the problems and anxieties of our men, and join hands with them to remove social evils and obstacles to progress."
Much of this has been accomplished and this is certainly worth celebrating, but can we say all of this has been achieved?
I don't think so, and this is what I think Women's Day is all about.
Let's celebrate our womanhood, but not be content with the inequalities that still prevail. Let's not be content with the abuse and injustice many women in this country still face, and let's not lose sight of what Women's Day is really all about.
Staff Training's staff writer, Miss Knowitall, sometimes has an opinion that she can't keep to herself. This is one of those times.